Cell phone users flock online

More and more cell phone users are bypassing the traditional computer, instead turning to their phones to find information online. While that in itself isn’t very shocking, what is a surprise is just how common it’s becoming. A new study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that approximately 17% of cell phone users rely on their phones to do the majority of their online browsing, rather than using a computer or other device. And of the nearly 90% of U.S. adults currently own a cell phone, more than half, or 55%, use their phone to surf the web. That’s up from 31% in 2009. “In the space of three years, we’ve seen the proportion of cell owners who do this almost double,” Pew senior research specialist Aaron Smith told Nieman Journalism Lab’s Adrienne LaFrance. “Depending on where you start the clock on the consumer smartphone revolution—most people do that with the introduction of the iPhone in June 2007—within the space of five years we’ve gone from basically zero to half the country, with a sizable percentage using cell phones as their main source [to go online].”

For young adults (ages 18 to 29), the numbers are even more astounding. Among that demographic, a whopping 45% do most of their web browsing on cell phones. As Nieman’s LaFrance quipped, “Need any more evidence you need to make sure that mobile version of your website looks good and works well?” Slightly more than half, or 51%, of African-Americans are what Pew calls “cell-mostly” surfers, while about 42% of Latino users turn to their cell phones for surfing. That’s compared with about 24 percent for whites.

• New Pew data: There’s a good chance you’re reading this on your phone (Nieman Journalism Lab)

• Nearly Half of Young Adults Browse the Web Mainly on Their Phones (Slate)

• Pew: 17% Of U.S. Cell Phone Users Now Mostly Use Their Phones To Go Online (TechCrunch)

• Farewell Laptop? Mobile Internet Use Jumps (PC Magazine)

• Pew Study: More Net Surfers Primarily Using Cell Phones (Sci-Tech Today)

• A Look at Internet Use on Mobile Phones (Pew release)