Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • IT Management
    • Mobile
    • PC Hardware

    Mobile Internet Use on the Rise, Led by African-Americans, Latinos

    By
    Michelle Maisto
    -
    July 8, 2010
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      More Americans than ever before are now wirelessly online, the Pew Internet & American Life Project revealed in a July report.

      The study found 47 percent of all adults now using a laptop, with a WiFi connection or PC card, to go online wirelessly-up from 39 percent in April 2009 – and 40 percent (up from 32 percent in 2009) to be surfing the Web, e-mailing and instant messaging on their mobile phones.

      In total, 59 percent of American adults are now wirelessly online, up from 51 percent in 2009.

      In addition, while cell phone ownership has held steady, says the report, cell phone Internet use is increasing, thanks to three groups in particular: 18- to 29-year-olds; adults with low levels of income and education; and African-Americans and Latinos, who are generally making better use of all of the features on their phones.

      Compared to a year ago, more Americans are now using their phones to take pictures, send and receive text messages, play games, access the Internet, play music and-showing the biggest increase, with a rise of 15 percent points, from 19 to 34 percent-record video. In every instance, however, the percentage of African-Americans and Hispanics using various mobile data applications was greater than that of whites.

      While 33 percent of whites reported using their phone to access the Internet, 46 percent of African-Americans and 51 percent of Hispanics said the same. Thirty percent of whites use their phone to send and receive e-mail, compared to 41 percent of American Americans and 47 percent of Latinos, and 29 percent of whites use their phone to play games, versus 51 percent of African-Americans and 46 percent of Latinos.

      Overall, the mean number of cell phone activities performed by whites was 3.8, compared to 5.4 for African-Americans and 5.8 for Latinos. Partly accounting for this variance, said the study, is laptop use and household income.

      The 8-point jump from 51 percent to 59 percent in wireless Internet use between the years was reflected across a number of demographics-with 18- to 29-year-olds and individuals with household incomes below $30,000 showing the greatest increases in use-though it remained flat for a small number of groups, including older Latinos.

      “These higher rates of growth in wireless internet use by whites and African-Americans compared with Latinos are largely a function of laptop adoption,” states the report. “Rates of laptop ownership have grown dramatically among African-Americans in the last year (from 34 percent in 2009 to 51 percent in 2010) and moderately among whites (from 47 percent to 55 percent). By contrast, laptop ownership among English-speaking Latinos has remained flat over that time (54 percent of Latinos currently own a laptop computer, compared with 56 percent who did so in 2009).”

      The study adds, “The affluent and well-educated have higher overall levels of wireless use due to their much higher rates of ownership and use of laptop computers.” The demographic most dramatically sidestepping the wireless Internet trend, said the report, were respondents ages 65 and older. Among this senior crowd, 24 percent do not go online wirelessly, and 56 percent don’t go online at all. The Pew study was based on telephone interviews conducted between April 29 and May 30, with 2,252 adults ages 18 years and older. It’s reported to have an error rating of 2.4 percent.

      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×