PewInternet.org

Technology use by different income groups

Annual Welfare Research and Evaluation ConferenceU.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesMay 29, 2013

Mary Madden: Senior Researcher, Pew Internet ProjectEmail: mmadden@pewinternet.org Twitter: @mary_madden

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• Part of the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan “fact tank” based in DC.

• PRC’s mission: provide high quality, impartial research that is freely available to the public

• Data from nationally representative telephone surveys of U.S. adults (on landlines and cell phones)

• For 13+ years of tech use data: www.pewinternet.org

Keep in mind…

Low income = <30K in HH income/per yr- 10-15% respondents don’t report income- Lower levels of education- Higher proportion of young adults + seniorsMore likely to be: • African-American or Hispanic• Living in rural areas

Internet users – 85% of adultsDecember 2012

Broadband at home – 68% of adults December 2012

Cell phones - 89% of adults January 2013

Mobile devices are changing the way we think about

connectivity…

“Cell-mostly” internet use

• 31% of cell internet users do most of their online browsing on their phones

Less than $30K = 43%*$30K-50K = 36%*$50-75K = 24%Over $75K = 21%

Other devices

Desktop or laptop - 78% of adults December 2012

Tablet- 31% of adults January 2013

Internet activities

Search engines% of internet users in February 2012

Health information in past 12 months% of internet users in September 2012

SNS – 67% of internet usersDecember 2012

Less than $30K = 72%$30K-50K = 65%$50-75K = 66%Over $75K = 66%

Cell phone activities

Use email via phone% of cell owners September 2012

Get news on phone% of cell users in April 2012

Mobile pix% of cell owners September 2012

Texting% of cell owners September 2012

Use social networking site on phone% of cell users in April 2012

Do banking on phone % of cell users in September 2012

Get health information on phone% of cell users in April 2012

Visit govt. website on phone% of cell users in April 2012

Teens (12-17)

Teen Internet Access Demographics% of teens in each demographic group

Access the Internet

Mobile Access to Internet

(phone, tablet, etc)

Access Internet

Mostly on Cell Phone

All teens, ages 12-17 (n=802) 95% 74% 25%Teen Gendera Boys(n=405) 97b 72 20

b Girls (n=397) 93 76 29a

Age of Teena 12-13 (n=246) 93 71 16b 14-17 (n=556) 96 76 29a

Parent Household Incomea Less than $30,000/yr (n=154) 89 66 30c

b $30,000-$49,999 (n=155) 94 72 25c

c $50,000-$74,999 (n=110) 99a 79 14

d $75,000+ (n=335) 99ab 79a 24c

Source: Pew Internet Teens and Privacy Management Survey, July 26-September 30, 2012. N=802 parents of teens ages 12-17 and 802 teens ages 12-17. Margin of error is +/- 4.5 percentage points.Note: Columns marked with a superscript letter (a) or another letter indicate a statistically significant difference between that row and the row designated by that superscript letter. Statistical significance is determined inside the specific section covering each demographic trait.

Twitter and social networking site usage demographics Among teen internet users, the % who use a SNS or Twitter, by demographic

Use a social

networking site

Use Twitter

All teen internet users (n=778) 81% 24%

Gender a Boys (n=395) 79 19 b Girls (n=383) 84 31a Age a 12-13 (n=234) 65 13 b 14-17 (n=544) 89a 30a Annual Household Income a Less than $50,000 (n=292) 83 24 b $50,000 or more (n=440) 78 24

Thanks!Mary Madden: Senior Researcher, Pew Internet ProjectEmail: mmadden@pewinternet.org Twitter: @mary_madden