Mobile is the needle; Social is the thread

Wichita State University Elliott School of Communications October 18, 2012 Kathryn Zickuhr, Research Analyst Pew Research Center

Mobile is the needle; Social is the thread

Kathryn Zickuhr Research Analyst Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project

[email protected] @kzickuhr @pewinternet @pewresearch

About Pew Internet

•  Part of the Pew Research Center, a non-partisan “fact tank” in Washington, DC

•  Studies how people use digital technologies

•  Does not promote specific technologies or make policy recommendations

About Pew Internet •  Data for this talk is from nationally

representative telephone surveys of U.S. adults and teens

–  In English and Spanish

– On landlines and cell phones

•  All slides and reports are available at pewinternet.org

Mobile is the needle; social is the thread How information is woven into our lives

Mobile = pervasive –  “Always-on” –  Information is instant, portable, location-aware

Social = powerful –  Nodes and networks (not linear) –  Information is personalized, participatory

% of adults ages 18+ who go online

Internet use over time (1995-2012)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

50% (2000)

14% (June 1995)

82%

(April 2012)

Source: Pew Internet surveys

% of adults ages 18+ who go online

Internet use over time (1995-2012)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

50% (2000)

14% (June 1995)

82%

(April 2012)

Source: Pew Internet surveys

Source: archive.org

Source: archive.org

Source: archive.org

Internet use in the U.S. in 2000 Slow, stationary connections built around a desktop computer: •  46% of U.S. adults used the internet

•  5% of adults had home broadband connections

•  53% owned a cell phone •  0% connected to internet wirelessly •  0% used social network sites

Information flowed mainly one way Information consumption was a stationary activity

Internet use in the U.S. in 2012 Mobile devices have fundamentally changed the relationship between information, time, & space: •  85% of U.S. adults use the internet, three-quarters of whom are online on any given day

•  2/3 of adults have broadband at home

•  85% have a cell phone; 45% use smartphones •  25% have a tablet computer •  2/3 are wireless internet users •  66% of online adults use social network sites

Information is now portable, participatory, and personal

80% 87%

68%

49%

29%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

12-17 18-29 30-49 50-64 65+

65% of online adults—and 80% of online teens—use social network sites

Source: Pew Internet surveys. pewinternet.org

80% 87%

68%

49%

29%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

12-17 18-29 30-49 50-64 65+

65% of online adults—and 80% of online teens—use social network sites

Source: Pew Internet surveys. pewinternet.org

Source: Pew Internet surveys. Data is for adults age 18+. pewinternet.org

Cell phone ownership, 2004-2012

85% Sept 2012

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

95% 91% 83%

65%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

18-29 30-49 50-64 65+

85% of U.S. adults have a cell phone

Source: Pew Internet survey, Sept 2012 pewinternet.org

66% 59%

34%

11%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

18-29 30-49 50-64 65+


45% of adults have smartphones

% of adult cell owners who use their phones to…

What people do with their phones

6%

18%

29%

34%

35%

38%

44%

54%

73%

73%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Use Twitter

Bank online

Social networking

Play music

Play game

Email

Access internet

Send photos/videos

Take photos

Text

3

5

9

14

50

64

67

13

20

34

35

36

23

24

84

74

57

50

13

13

9

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Finding romantic/dating partners

Reading comments by public figures

Making new friends

Connecting with others with shared interests

Reconnecting with old friends

Staying in touch with family

Staying in touch with current friends

Major Reason Minor Reason Not a reason

Why we use social network sites

66%

20% 16%

12% 12% 5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Pinterest Instagram Tumblr

For more information: http://pewrsr.ch/Pew-Pinterest

% of online adults who use each social media service

August 2012 survey. Data is for adults age 18+.

46% of adult internet users post original photos or videos online that they themselves have created 41% of adult internet users repost photos or videos that they have found online (…and 32% do both)

Creators and curators


Mobile is the needle; social is the thread How information is woven into our lives

Mobile technology… Social network sites…

Always with us Surround us with information through our many connections

Makes information accessible anytime and anywhere Connect us to strong & weak ties

Puts information & connections at our fingertips

Provide instant feedback, meaning and context

Magnifies the demand for timely information (on-demand) Allow us to shape and create

information ourselves and amplify others’ messages Makes information location-

sensitive

Mobile is the needle; social is the thread •  "The Internet" = harder to define

•  The way people get news & information today is personalized, participatory, portable—and highly social.

•  Credibility is complicated. Transparency is important.

•  Each platform has a different audience, different tone

•  Some voices are louder than others

•  Not everyone is on Facebook (or Twitter, or Tumblr…)

What does it mean to

“go online”?

•  "The Internet" = harder to define






Mobile is the needle; social is the thread














66%

20% 16%

12% 12% 5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%


















66%

20% 16%

12% 12% 5%

0%

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20%

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50%

60%

70%





66% 59%

34%

11%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

18-29 30-49 50-64 65+


45% of adults have smartphones

56% of adults don’t have smartphones

34% 41%

66%

89%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

18-29 30-49 50-64 65+


15% of adults don’t have cell phones

5% 9% 17%

35%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

18-29 30-49 50-64 65+








Thank you! Kathryn Zickuhr Research Analyst Pew Internet & American Life Project

[email protected]

@kzickuhr @pewinternet @pewresearch All data, slides, and reports available at pewinternet.org

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Mobile is the needle; Social is the thread