Americans Really Love Their Cell Phones
According to a recent Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project study, 82% of Americans own some sort of cell phone device. The researchers discovered that these devices have changed the way Americans communicate and live.
The study indicates that half of all adult cell phone owners used their phones, within the previous thirty days, to quickly retrieve needed information. This compares to the 27% of users who had trouble doing something because their phone was not at hand.
Cell phones were found, by the study, to be helpful in emergency situations. 40% of cell phone users indicated their phones helped them in an emergency situation.
When cell phone users were bored, 42% found themselves being entertained by their phones. And 29% of users turned off their phone when they needed to get a break from using it.
Several users found it frustrating to use their phones. 20% of owners were frustrated when it took too long to download something, 16% had difficulty reading on the small screen and 10% had difficulty typing a lot of text on their phone.
Some users were willing to ignore those around them. 13% of users pretended to be using their phone to avoid others around them.
The study shows how Americans use their phones. Outside of voice calls, 73% us their phones for text messaging and taking pictures while 54% like to send photos or share video.
Only 6% of users access Twitter or Video Chat on cell phones.
The study also shows that smartphone users are more likely to access the wide range of services accessible by their phone. 92% of smartphone users text or take pictures. 84% access the internet.
While social networking is still low on the list of activities, the percentage of users more than doubles to 15% of smartphone users accessing Twitter and 13% participating in a video chat.
Pew Research interviewed 2,277 adults during the April 26-May 22, 2011 period. 1,522 interviews were conducted by landline phone while 755 interviews were conducted by cell phone.
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