A few days ago, the Pew Research Center released a report that Americans are looking online to fight the recession. On Tuesday it added that most of us are doing that via wireless Internet.
The results of the center's Internet & American Life Project survey show that 56 percent of adult Americans have accessed the Internet via wireless means, such as a Wi-Fi laptop, a mobile device, a game console, or an MP3 player. The most popular way people get online wirelessly is with a laptop computer, numbering 39 percent of some 2,200 survey participants.
The report also revealed the rising levels of Americans using the Internet on a mobile handset. Almost one-third (32 percent) have used a cell phone or a smartphone to access the Internet for e-mailing, instant messaging, or reading news.
For comparison, only 24 percent of Americans had done this by December 2007. Now, in a typical day, nearly one-fifth (19 percent) of Americans use the Internet on a mobile device, up substantially from the 11 percent level recorded in December 2007.
The cell phone's main purpose as a voice device has changed substantially. According to the report, in 2009, 69 percent say that they have used the cell phone for at least one of the non-voice activities.
These activities include text messaging, taking a picture, playing a game, accessing the Internet, recording video, instant messaging, playing music, getting maps or directions, and watching video. Back in 2007, only 58 percent did this.
The usage of of non-voice activities on a typical day has also increased from only 32 percent in 2007 to 44 percent in 2009. Half of Americans now think that the ability to access the Internet via their mobile devices is vital to how they stay in touch with people.
These changes in the way we access the Internet are hardly surprising, especially with the proliferation in recent years of smartphones that come with advanced Internet capabilities, such as the iPhone or the Palm Pre.
Personally, I read most of my e-mails via my iPhone 3G and I use it mostly for non-voice purposes. How about you?
The American appetite for high-speed Internet hasn't been stalled by the recession.
Among U.S. consumers surveyed, 63 percent now have broadband access at home, up from 55 percent a year ago. The study, released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, found that home broadband adoption has bounced back from 2008's relative period of stagnation.
High-speed access has risen among a wide spectrum of groups by age and income. Usage among people 65 years and older grew to 30 percent in April 2009, versus 19 percent in May 2008. For people aged 50 to 64 years, usage jumped to 61 percent this year from 50 percent in 2008.
Among consumers with incomes of $20,000 or less, 35 percent have broadband compared with 25 percent last year. For people in rural areas, high-speed access climbed to 46 percent in April from 38 percent last year.
Internet access was seen by those surveyed as a vital tool for finding information. About 68 percent said the Internet is a "very important" way to stay updated about their community. To trim expenses, more than twice as many people said they had cut back or dropped a cell phone or cable TV plan than said they had canceled their Internet access.
Only 7 percent of the people surveyed said they still use a dial-up connection at home, half the level it had been two years ago. Among those people, 32 percent said the price would have to fall for them to consider moving to broadband, while 17 percent said it would have to become available in their area.
The Pew Internet Project is a nonprofit group that analyzes the effect of the Internet on children, families, communities, the workplace, schools, health care and civic/political life. The survey results were based on interviews with 2,253 U.S. consumers.
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