A study from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, “Cell Internet Use 2012,” found that 55% of U.S. adults use their cell phones to go online. More importantly, 31% of these users primarily “mostly” go online with their cell phones.
This report does not include ethnic data, but what is interesting to think about is this report in the context of Latinos using cell phones. A report from Nielsen earlier this year found that ethnic and racial minorities use smartphones at a higher rate than the rest of the population:
But smartphone penetration is even higher among mobile users who are part of ethnic and racial minorities in the U.S. – namely Asian/Pacific Islanders (45%), Hispanics (45%) and African-Americans (33%), populations that also tend to skew younger. Meanwhile, only 27 percent of White mobile users reported owning a smartphone.
If we compare this information, it might appear that minorities are more apt to access the Internet via their mobile devices. You miss out on all kinds of neat stuff on the Internet without a computer connection, not just graphics, but interfaces. One example I heard was being able to apply for a job online, something not possible on a cell phone (usually).
In any case, just interesting to look at this data in different contexts.
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Sara Inés Calderón is a journalist and writer who lives between Texas and California. Follow her on Twitter @SaraChicaD.
