56% of Americans Accessed Internet Wirelessly
A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project in April found that 56 percent of Americans said they had accessed the Internet with laptops, cell phones, game consoles and other wireless devices.
Thirty-nine percent said they had used a laptop computer to go online wirelessly, making this the most popular means of wireless online access, while 32 percent of Americans have gone online with a mobile device, using cell phones or other handheld devices to check e-mail and access the Internet for information, or sending instant messages, according to the report.
Overall, 51 percent of Americans have gone online by either of these two means, while 19 percent have used both means.
Internet use on mobile devices has grown by leaps and bounds since December 2007, when 24 percent of Americans said they had at some point used the Internet from their mobile devices. In April, this figure jumped up to 32 percent.
The survey also found that while white consumers use personal computers more often to access the Internet, minorities access the Internet more often via handheld devices.
Fifty-nine percent of white consumers go online with the use of a PC, compared to 45 percent of black consumers. However, 48 percent of black consumers indicated that they had ever gone online with a handheld device, along with 47 percent of Hispanics, compared to just 28 percent of white consumers.
On a typical day, 29 percent of black consumers and Hispanic consumers, respectively, go online with a handheld device, compared to 17 percent of white consumers.
This racial/ethnic divide concerning mobile online access also applies to the type of mobile content used by each group.
Forty percent of white mobile device owners send or receive text messages, compared to 47 percent of blacks and 59 percent of Hispanics.
Fifteen percent of whites take pictures with their mobile devices, compared to 22 percent of blacks and 41 percent of Hispanics.
The most drastic differences are seen in music and instant messaging, as just 8 percent of white mobile device owners played music wirelessly on these devices, compared to 23 percent of black owners and 14 percent of Hispanic owners. Just 8 percent of whites sent or received instant messages on their mobile devices, compared to 22 percent of blacks and 14 percent of Hispanics.
In all mobile content categories, white consumers accessed them less than black or Hispanic users.
Though 45 percent of adults have iPods or MP3 players, only 5 percent say they have used these devices to go online. Similarly, 41 percent of adults own game consoles, but only 9 percent have used them to go online.
Fifty percent of mobile users said mobile access is important to stay in touch with others, while 46 percent said it is important because it gives them access to online information on the go. Seventeen percent said mobile access is very important to them because it allows them to share or post online content when they are away from home or work.
Sources:</strong
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/12-Wireless-Internet-Use.aspx?r=1
