Associate Director for Research Kristen Purcell will share Pew Internet data on the rapid growth of mobile connectivity and social networking in the U.S., focusing on how information consumption patterns are changing in light of these two technological developments, at the annual Radiodays Europe conference in Barcelona, Spain.
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Mobile is the Needle, Social is the Thread: How Information Today is Woven Into Our Lives
1. Mobile is the Needle,
Social is the Thread
How Information Today is Woven
Into Our Lives
Kristen Purcell, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Research
Pew Internet Project
Radiodays Europe
March 15-16, 2012
Barcelona, Spain
2. • Part of the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan “fact tank” based
in Washington, DC
• PRC’s mission is to provide high quality, objective data to thought
leaders and policymakers
• Data for this talk is from nationally representative telephone
surveys of U.S. adults and teens (on landlines and cell phones)
• Presentation slides and all data are available at pewinternet.org
3. Internet Use in the U.S. in 2000
Slow, stationary connections
46% of US adults used the internet built around a desktop
computer
5% had home broadband connections
53% owned a cell phone
0% connected to internet wirelessly
0% used social network sites
__________________________
Information flowed mainly one way
Information consumption was a
stationary activity
4. The Internet in 2012
Mobile devices have
82% of US adults use the internet, fundamentally changed the
76% of whom are online on any relationship between
given day information, time and space
2/3 have broadband at home Information is now
portable, participatory, and
88% have a cell phone; 46% are personal
smartphone users
14% have a tablet computer
2/3 are wireless internet users
65% of online adults use SNS
5. The Very Nature of Information Has Changed
Information Information
was… is…
Scarce All around us
Expensive Cheap or free
Shaped and controlled Shaped and controlled by
by elites consumers and networks
Designed for one-way, Designed for sharing,
mass consumption participation and feedback
Slow moving Immediate
External to our worlds Embedded in our worlds
6. Information is Woven Into Our Lives
Mobile is the needle, Social Networks are the thread
Mobile… Social Networks…
Moves information Surround us with
with us information through our
many connections
Makes information
accessible ANYTIME Bring us information
and ANYWHERE from multiple, varied
sources
Puts information at
our fingertips Provide instant feedback,
meaning and context
Magnifies the demand
for timely information Allow us to shape and
create information
Makes information
ourselves and amplify
location-sensitive
others’ messages
7. Mobile is the Needle: 88% of US Adults Have a Cell Phone
% in each age group who have a cell phone
46% of US adults now own
smartphones, up from 35%
in Spring 2011
Highest among young adults:
67% of 18-24 year-olds
Teen data July 2011 Adult data Feb 2012 71% of 25-34 year-olds
8. Mobile is the Needle That Weaves Information Throughout Our World
% of US adult cell owners who use their phones to…
9. Overall, if you had to use one single word to describe how you feel about
your cell phone, what would that one word be?
10. How Phones Function In Our Lives
% of US adult cell owners who had done each of the following in the past 30 days…
11. Tablet and E-reader Use is Growing
Percent of US adults 18+ who own each type of gadget…
88%
Tablet ownership
rose from
57%
4% to 14%
55%
between
September 2010
14% 14% and
February 2012
Cell Phone Laptop Desktop Tablet e-Reader
Computer
Based on Pew Internet Tracking Surveys, 2011-2012
Tablet and e-reader ownership is highest among….
college graduates
adults with household incomes of $75,000+
12. Apps: From Superhighway to Bypass
One in three US adults download apps to a cell phone or tablet computer
Apps provide direct connections to information
% of app downloaders who have downloaded each type of app…
App downloading
is highest among
young adults age 18-29 Based on August 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey
14. Social Networks are the Threads That Connect Us
65% of US adults use social
networking sites
Consistent rates across gender,
race/ethnicity, and income groups
16. Social Networks and Social Cohesion
For networked individuals, information is embedded
A Pew study finds that
contrary to fears the and ambient
internet isolates
people...
• Facebook users
are more trusting
than other adults
• Facebook users
have more close
relationships
• Facebook users
get more social
support than
other adults
17. Social Networks Give Rise to “News Participators”
In January 2010, 37% of internet users
contributed to, commented on, or disseminated
news content via SNS
71% got news/info through email or SNS posts
_________________________________________________
In January 2011, 41% of adults were
“local news participators”
Share links to local stories/videos
Comment on local news stories/blogs
Post information about their community on SNS
Contribute to online discussions about their community
“Tag” or categorize local content
Post articles/photos/videos about their community
18. Most Popular Online Sources for News and Information
Portal Sites 56%
TV News Org Site 46%
Special Topic Site 38%
Newspaper Site 38%
Indiv or Org on SNS 30%
Int'l News Org site 18%
% of online news consumers who use each source
on a typical day
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
19. The Culture of Shared Information
Popular features of online news sites….
68 The most
Links to related material 72
48
popular
Multi-media content 57 features allow
Portal/News aggregator 48 people to
55
interact with,
44
Easily share content 57 share, and
42 customize
Customize news 48 their
Interactive material
38
45
information.
37
This is
Ability to comment 51 especially true
Follow on soc media
25 for young
39
adults.
Total 18-29
Based on Jan 2010 Pew Internet Survey
20. Information is Directly Embedded
in Our Environments
Convergence of physical and
digital worlds
The Internet Networked objects
of Things
Immersive environments
Information is no longer external to our world,
but woven into its very fabric
21. All data available at pewinternet.org
Kristen Purcell, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Research
Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project
kpurcell@pewinternet.org
Twitter:
@pewinternet
@kristenpurcell