The rise in smartphone adoption in the United States over the past six years has unsurprisingly led to an increase in mobile Internet usage. But according to a Pew Research Center study, published Monday, the “post-PC” era is in full swing, with 21 percent of all U.S. mobile users now accessing the Internet “mostly” from their smartphones.
The study, conducted by Pew Internet, took place in April and May of this year and surveyed a sample of 2,252 U.S. adults over the age of 18. Overall, Pew found that 63 percent of all U.S. mobile phone owners use their phone to access the Internet, up from 55 percent last year and 31 percent in 2009, the first year the study took place.
The upward trend of mobile Internet usage is not surprising, but the fact that over one-fifth of mobile users reported that they “mostly use their phone” to access the Internet is notable:
We call these individuals “cell-mostly internet users,” and they account for 21% of the total cell owner population. Young adults, non-whites, and those with relatively low income and education levels are particularly likely to be cell-mostly internet users.
According to Pew’s 2012 report, this year’s “cell-mostly” percentage represents an increase of four percent over last year.
Pew’s report also revealed another milestone: with total U.S. cell phone ownership at 91 percent, the study’s finding that 63 percent of cell phone owners access the Internet from their phones means that more than half, 57 percent, of all Americans at least occasionally “go online using a mobile phone.”
It’s important to note that the study looked at all mobile phone owners, including those with basic “feature” phones that lack the capability to access most or all online services. When looking at just smartphones, 93 percent of users access the Internet from their device.
Those interested in more information can find all the details in the full report, hosted as a PDF document on Pew Internet’s website.