People Are Going Online Using Their Smartphones Now More Than Ever

According to data released by the Pew Research Center, more mobile users based in the United States are becoming dependent on mobile means when connecting to the world wide web or when watching video content online. The Pew Research Center gathered its data via a survey it conducted earlier this year.

The results of the survey indicated that 80 percent of adult Americans now have high speed access (either through home broadband or wireless mobile) to the information superhighway, which is a modest but marked increase from a couple of years ago. The percent of connections made via home broadband may have remained about the same, but the rate in which people are browsing the Internet using smartphones have risen dramatically. Indeed, the Pew Research Center’s data shows that almost 70 percent of all adults in the US now are in possession of a smartphone, which is about the same percentage as those who have home broadband. Plus, more than 50 percent of all American adults have both home broadband and mobile connections.

The results are certainly intriguing, especially when one considers that broadband Internet has been generally made available since the 1990s, which is a generation ago. Smartphones, on the other hand, have only been here about a decade ago. In comparison, landline phones never breached the 95 percent mark even after having existed since, like, forever.

It is certainly not hard to see the evidence in our daily lives. While waiting for lunch to be served, we are probably checking our Facebook news feed on our iPhone or Galaxy device. Every time we visit a new place, we are probably taking a picture and then posting it in our Instagram account. If we are wondering how the Golden State Warriors are doing right now, we can just Google the latest scores or results via our smartphones.

The Pew Research Center’s survey also sheds light on the percentage of adult Americans who depend exclusively on mobile devices when going online. Back in 2013, that number was only on 8 percent. But this year, the percentage has increased significantly to 13 percent. Much of the dramatic rise has been attributed to certain demographics (lower income Americans, Hispanics, and African Americans) who previously were averse to surfing the web via mobile, but are now doing the exact opposite.

A lot of industry watchers have been saying that it was bound to happen -- it was inevitable that everybody would eventually get connected to the web. Now, we are bearing witness to it.