Pew Research Mobile Technology Fact Sheet on Cell Phone Ownership and Usage

Highlights of the Pew Internet Project’s research related to mobile technology.

How Americans use their cell phones

As of January 2014:

• 90% of American adults have a cell phone
• 58% of American adults have a smartphone
• 32% of American adults own an e-reader
• 42% of American adults own a tablet computer

For the data behind device ownership trends, please visit our device ownership key indicator page.

For more information on e-readers, tablets, and libraries in the digital age, please visit the new section of our website: libraries.pewinternet.org.

67% of cell owners find themselves checking their phone for messages, alerts, or calls — even when they don’t notice their phone ringing or vibrating.

44% of cell owners have slept with their phone next to their bed because they wanted to make sure they didn’t miss any calls, text messages, or other updates during the night.

29% of cell owners describe their cell phone as “something they can’t imagine living without.”

(Above info based on April 2012 data found in this report.)

The demographic breakdown of cell and smartphone owners (January 2014):

Cell internet access:

As of May 2013, 63% of adult cell owners use their phones to go online.

34% of cell internet users go online mostly using their phones, and not using some other device such as a desktop or laptop computer.

For more specific information on cell internet access, visit our recent report.

Note: The data will be updated whenever new data is available.

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