Pew: Nearly Two-Thirds of U.S. Adults Use Smartphones for ‘Just-in-Time’ Information
PRESS RELEASE:
The Pew Internet Project released a new report this morning, “Just-in-time Information through Mobile Connections.” The full report is available on our site:
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Just-in-time.aspx
A summary:
Some 70% of all cell phone owners and 86% of smartphone owners have used their phones in the previous 30 days to perform at least one of the following activities:
· Coordinate a meeting or get-together — 41% of cell phone owners have done this in the past 30 days.
· Solve an unexpected problem that they or someone else had encountered — 35% have used their phones to do this in the past 30 days.
· Decide whether to visit a business, such as a restaurant — 30% have used their phone to do this in the past 30 days.
· Find information to help settle an argument they were having — 27% have used their phone to get information for that reason in the past 30 days.
· Look up a score of a sporting event — 23% have used their phone to do that in the past 30 days.
· Get up-to-the-minute traffic or public transit information to find the fastest way to get somewhere — 20% have used their phone to get that kind of information in the past 30 days.
· Get help in an emergency situation — 19% have used their phone to do that in the past 30 days.
Overall, these “just-in-time” cell users—defined as anyone who has done one or more of the above activities using their phone in the preceding 30 days—amount to 62% of the entire adult population.
“Smartphones are changing basic patterns of human communication because they allow people to get real-time information to help them solve problems,” noted Susannah Fox, co-author of the new Pew Internet Project report. “Just-in-time information searches are changing people’s expectations about where, when, and how they can reach out for help. This is rapidly speeding up the flow of information users’ lives.”
