pew

Twitter is now being used by 8 percent of online adults in the United States, according to a report out today from Pew Internet.

Based on survey results, the study found that among the Twitter users interviewed, 24 percent check their tweets several times a day, while 12 percent check in once a day.

Breaking down the demographics, adults ages 18-29 are much more likely to use Twitter than are older adults, minority users (African-Americans and Latinos) are twice as likely to use the service as are white users, and city dwellers are twice as likely to hop onto Twitter … Read more

The G-20 nations have the most power and the largest impact on the future of clean energy because together they account for 90 percent of the world's investment in clean energy. In addition, China leads the G-20 and the world in investment and almost every other category when it comes to clean-energy development, and it may do so for the next 10 years.

That's according to a report released today by The Pew Charitable Trusts, in conjunction with Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The report, called "Global clean power: A $2.3 trillion opportunity," offers predictions for … Read more

Income can dictate how often a person accesses the Internet, a new study has found.

According to Pew Research, 95 percent of Americans living in households with $75,000 or more in annual income are "at least occasionally" likely to access the Web. That figure drops to 70 percent of people in homes with less than $75,000 of annual income. About 57 percent of those with less than $30,000 in annual income use the Internet. Pew also found that 99 percent of people in higher income households access the Internet from home, while 93 percent of … Read more

U.S. consumers crave their gadgets, but the cell phone rules them all, according to a new Pew Internet study.

Among the 3,000 adults surveyed, 85 percent own cell phones. Mobile phones are especially in demand among younger adults, with 96 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds owning one. But even among those 65 and older, 58 percent have a cell phone.

The second hottest device--a computer--is owned by 76 percent of those surveyed. Breaking down that category, the laptop has grown in popularity and is now owned by 52 percent versus 30 percent in early 2006. Meanwhile, desktop ownership … Read more

Though more mobile apps are finding their way onto cell phones, their owners aren't all necessarily using them.

Among the 2,252 U.S. adults surveyed for a new Pew Internet study, 1,917 said they use cell phones. Out of those people, 35 percent have mobile apps on their devices. However, only 24 percent of the 1,917 said they actually use those apps, and 11 percent were in the dark, not even knowing if their phones had any apps.

Released Tuesday, the "Rise of Apps Culture" study was based on phone interviews of people ages … Read more

Nearly three-quarters of adult mobile phone users text message others, but the average teenager sends and receives five times as many messages as an adult, Pew Internet found in a recent study.

Currently, 72 percent of adults text message, up from 65 percent back in 2009. But it's teens who are leading the "texting" charge. Pew found that 87 percent of teens text others, averaging a whopping 50 messages sent and received per day. The average adult sends and receives just 10 messages each day.

Teens are also more likely to be "heavy texters." Pew … Read more

Though our cell phones make us feel safer and more connected, we're not so crazy about how they interrupt our daily lives.

A majority of the people surveyed by Pew Internet for a report released Thursday said owning a cell phone makes them feel safer because they can always use it to call for assistance. A large number (88 percent) also said their phones help them make plans with other people. In particular, the adults surveyed by Pew said they use calls and text messages to set up meetings and check in with others.

A significant number (65 percent) … Read more

Has the market for home broadband reached a saturation point? It may have, at least according to the results of a new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

After several years of solid gains, the rate of broadband adoption has slowed over the past year, according to the Home Broadband 2010 study (PDF) released Wednesday.

Among the more than 2,000 adults surveyed for the study, 66 percent now have a broadband Internet connection at home, a number not much higher than the 63 percent reported last year. Those percentages compare with 55 percent for the same period in 2008 and 47 percent in 2007.

The study discovered that 21 percent of those surveyed just don't use the Internet, citing a few different reasons. Many believe the content they'd find online wouldn't be very relevant to their lives. Some are simply not interested in jumping online. And others said they're not comfortable or savvy enough to use computers or the Internet on their own.

But those who don't have broadband access do face several challenges, according to the survey respondents. Among those questioned, many believe the lack of broadband is a major disadvantage when discovering job opportunities or gaining new career skills, getting information on health, and just learning new things to enrich or improve their lives.… Read more

Generation Y is using online social-networking tools now and will likely continue to do so for the next 10 years, Pew Internet Research found in a recent study.

According to Pew, which surveyed technology experts on the future of social networking, 67 percent of respondents believe that those born in the 1980s and 1990s will be "ambient broadcasters" on social networks in 2020. They will continue to "disclose a great deal of personal information, in order to stay connected, and take advantage of social, economic, and political opportunities." Just 29 percent of respondents said that by … Read more