Pew on Digital Differences

By Brad

Pew has released its latest “Digital differences” report, examining Internet adoption and mobile connectivity. The full report is worth digging in to, but here are some interesting highlights.

On the state of America’s digital divide:

• One in five American adults does not use the internet. Senior citizens, those who prefer to take our interviews in Spanish rather than English, adults with less than a high school education, and those living in households earning less than $30,000 per year are the lest likely adults to have internet access.

On current levels of technology adoption:

• Currently, 88% of American adults have a cell phone, 57% have a laptop, 19% own an e-book reader, and 19% have a tablet computer; about six in ten adults (63%) go online wireless with one of these devices.

When it comes to smartphones, adoption among minorities continues to be impressive. As the report finds:

As we found in our May 2011 study of smartphone adoption, several demographic groups have higher than average levels of smartphone adoption, including groups that traditionally have higher rates of tech adoption in general: the financially well-off, the well-educated, and adults under age 50.

Additionally, we see no significant differences in use between whites and minorities. Both African-Americans and Latinos have overall adoption rates that are comparable to the national average for all Americans (smartphone penetration is 49% in each case, just higher than the national average of 46%).

There’s much, much more to be found in Pew’s report. Check it out.