Pew Internet

25% of teens use cell phones to get online. Among adults it’s 15%.

Full graphic

Full report

More: Cell phone and smartphone ownership, over time.

This image of Martin Cooper with the world’s first cell phone has made its way round the interwebz today. In honor of the 40th anniversary of the mobile phone call today, we give you STATS:

• 87% of American adults have a cell phone, along with 78% of American teenagers ages 12 to 17
• 44% of adult cell owners have slept with their phone next to their bed
• 67% find themselves checking their phone for messages, alerts, or calls even when they don’t notice it ringing or vibrating
• and 29% describe their cell phone as “something they can’t imagine living without.”

In short: We’ve gone mobile.

Our director has a nice excerpt in his book about the first cell phone call: http://pewrsr.ch/10z9uQ1

TEENS HAVE GONE MOBILE.

Check these stats:

• 78% of teens now have a cell phone, and almost half (47%) of them own smartphones. That translates into 37% of all teens who have smartphones, up from just 23% in 2011.
• 23% of teens have a tablet computer, a level comparable to the general adult population.
• 95% of teens use the internet.
• 93% of teens have a computer or have access to one at home.

AND - 1 in 4 teens are “cell-mostly” internet users, who say they mostly go online using their phone and not using some other device such as a desktop or laptop computer.

More: http://pewrsr.ch/ZmwgLG

Here’s your Friday morning data dump: New gadget ownership numbers.

As of December 2012, 87% of American adults have a cell phone, and 45% have a smartphone. As of January 2013, 26% of American adults own an e-book reader, and 31% own a tablet computer.

More: http://www.pewinternet.org/Static-Pages/Trend-Data-(Adults)/Device-Ownership.aspx

Gadget ownership in the U.S., over time

The % of female cell owners who play games on their phones is practically equal to the male % — who knew!

(Via http://pewrsr.ch/VaHvmQ)

How some of the most popular cell phone activities have grown, over time:

• In 2010, 76% of cell owners used their phone to take pictures. NOW: 82%
• TEXTING: 2007 = 58%. Now = 80%
• ACCESSING THE INTERNET: 2008 = 25%. Now = 56%
• SEND/RECEIVE EMAIL: 2007 = 19%. Now = 50%
• RECORD VIDEO: 2007 = 18%. Now = 44%
• DOWNLOAD APPS: 2009= 22%. Now = 43%
• LOOK FOR HEALTH INFO: 2010= 17%. Now = 31%
• CHECK BANK ACCOUNT: 2011 = 18%. Now = 29%

Breakdown of registered voters within party ID who use political text messaging

(http://pewrsr.ch/Rb0eBf)