Report Indicates That Americans Are Becoming Obsessed with and Dependent on Smartphones

At one time in the not so distant past, smartphones were an anything but commonplace luxury enjoyed by the most elite mobile users with big money to burn.

In short order, however, smartphones began “trickling down” to the masses. As a result, they became a fascination to some and a must-have for many more.

Today, smartphones have become a full-blown mobile consumer obsession. That much is obvious in a new report from Pew, which shows that the public’s growing dependence on smartphones is deepening.

With a sizable chunk of the US population now bypassing a home phone line or broadband Internet connection, mobile connectivity has become a veritable lifeline to those for whom smartphones are now a personal and professional necessity – not a luxury.

In fact, 87% of smartphone owners now go online to access email. 68% do so daily.

As MMW reported yesterday, they results of a first-ever survey on smartphone usage by the Pew Internet Project revealed that 25% of respondents prefer to use their smartphones to access the Internet over traditional PCs.

Additionally, the survey indicated that 35 percent of all US adults now own a smartphone.

Other key points of the Pew survey reveal that smartphone adoption is highest among the affluent and well-educated. “Several groups have higher than average levels of smartphone adoption,” Pew says, including:

• The financially well-off and well-educated — 59% of adults living in a household earning income of $75,000 or more are smartphone owners; 48% of those with a college degree own smartphones.
• Those younger than age 45 — 58% of Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 now own a smartphone as do 49% of those ages 18-24 and 44% of those ages 35-44. Even among those with a household income of $30,000 or less, smartphone ownership rates for those ages 18-29 are equal to the national average.
• African-Americans and Latinos — 44% of blacks and Latinos are smartphone users.
• Urban and suburban residents are roughly twice as likely to own a smartphone as those living in rural areas, and employment status is also strongly correlated with smartphone ownership.

To learn more about the Pew survey and report, click here.