Stanford Medical Student Joyce Ho interviews Susannah Fox about her report, “Tracking for Health.”

Seven in ten (69%) U.S. adults track a health indicator for themselves or a loved one and many say this activity has changed their overall approach to health. In all:

  • 60% of U.S. adults say they track their weight, diet, or exercise routine.
  • 33% of U.S. adults track health indicators or symptoms, like blood pressure, blood sugar, headaches, or sleep patterns.
  • 12% of U.S. adults track health indicators or symptoms for a loved one.

However, their tracking is often informal:

  • 49% of trackers say they keep track of progress “in their heads.”
  • 34% say they track the data on paper, like in a notebook or journal.
  • 21% say they use some form of technology to track their health data, such as a spreadsheet, website, app, or device.

Read the full report: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Tracking-for-Health.aspx

From our new report: Health Online 2013

One in three U.S. adults say that at one time or another they have gone online specifically to try to figure out what medical condition they or someone else might have. And yet medical professionals are still most people’s top choice when they are dealing with a serious health concern.

“Online health information is available day or night, at no cost, and the internet has become a de facto second opinion for many people,” says Susannah Fox, an associate director of the Project and lead author of the report. “The open search box invites people to begin their journey toward better health, but this study shows that the internet is just one piece of the puzzle. Clinicians are still central.”

Read more in the full report: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Health-online.aspx

pewresearch:

In a large press conference, Facebook has just announced a new “graph search” feature, which Mark Zuckerberg calls “one of the coolest things we’ve done in a while.”
Take a look at the numbers above from the Pew Internet & American Life Project to get a better picture of the site’s demographics. Will “graph search” be a hit?
 [via]

For more context, be sure to check out our recent report, Photos and Videos as Social Currency Online!

pewresearch:

In a large press conference, Facebook has just announced a new “graph search” feature, which Mark Zuckerberg calls “one of the coolest things we’ve done in a while.”

Take a look at the numbers above from the Pew Internet & American Life Project to get a better picture of the site’s demographics. Will “graph search” be a hit?

 [via]

For more context, be sure to check out our recent report, Photos and Videos as Social Currency Online!

Tags: tech

The social media platforms that arts orgs use — #1 = FACEBOOK.
(http://pewrsr.ch/VD8pFz for more context)

The social media platforms that arts orgs use — #1 = FACEBOOK.

(http://pewrsr.ch/VD8pFz for more context)

All the world’s a stage …
MAJOR new report out today that shows how the internet & technology have impacted the arts. 97% of the arts orgs in our survey have a social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr or other platforms — and 77% agree that digital tech has “played a major role in broadening the boundaries of what is considered art.” http://pewrsr.ch/WaYiGf

All the world’s a stage …

MAJOR new report out today that shows how the internet & technology have impacted the arts. 97% of the arts orgs in our survey have a social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr or other platforms — and 77% agree that digital tech has “played a major role in broadening the boundaries of what is considered art.” http://pewrsr.ch/WaYiGf

As of August 2012, 85% of American adults use the internet, up from 82% in April and 80% in February.

Those with no high school diploma are the least likely to use the internet - 61%.

See more: pewrsr.ch/JCxHSa & pewrsr.ch/NgJGmd

(Source: pewinternet.org)

Disability in the Digital Age

According to a September 2010 survey by Pew Internet, nearly three in 10 American adults (27%) live with a disability that inhibits their daily functioning. Individuals who identified a disability use the internet at lower rates than those who did not report disabilities, Pew Internet data also demonstrates (54% vs. 81%).

Here’s a detailed look at people living with disability in the U.S. — their demographic profile, technology status, and use of the internet for health information (slide deck).

(Source: pewinternet.org)

Internet Use and Home Broadband Connections: Demographic breakdown
According to our April 2012 survey, 82% of American adults use the internet and 66% have a high-speed broadband connection at home. Here’s a closer look at internet use versus broadband use by various demographic groups.

Internet Use and Home Broadband Connections: Demographic breakdown

According to our April 2012 survey, 82% of American adults use the internet and 66% have a high-speed broadband connection at home. Here’s a closer look at internet use versus broadband use by various demographic groups.

Chart of the week: Gadget ownership by age group

Chart of the week: Gadget ownership by age group

Tags: tech mobile stats

"People are not hooked on gadgets—they are hooked on each other."

— Lee Rainie and Barry Wellman, Networked individualism: What in the world is that?

New report: For the first time, half of seniors use the internet. As of April 2012, 53% of American adults age 65 and older use the internet or email. Though these adults are still less likely than all other age groups to use the internet, the latest data represent the first time that half of seniors are going online. After several years of very little growth among this group, these gains are significant.

Read more

Chart of the week: Broadband and dial-up adoption, over time
Our latest survey shows that 66% of Americans have braoadband connections at home. In February 2001, when about half of adults were online, only 4% of American households had broadband access.

Chart of the week: Broadband and dial-up adoption, over time

Our latest survey shows that 66% of Americans have braoadband connections at home. In February 2001, when about half of adults were online, only 4% of American households had broadband access.

Facebook: A Profile of its ‘Friends’
In light of the Facebook IPO, we rounded up highlights of our data on adult Facebook users. What do Facebook users do on the site? How many friends they have? What are their social and civic lives like?
Some fast facts:
229: The average number of friends a person has on Facebook
Women average 21 updates to their Facebook status per month while men average 6
Facebook, on an Average Day:
15% of Facebook users update their own status
22% comment on another’s post or status
20% comment on another user’s photos
26% “Like” another user’s content 
10% send another user a private message
Read the full portrait for more on the social and civic characteristics of Facebook users and the privacy management habits of social networking site users 

Facebook: A Profile of its ‘Friends’

In light of the Facebook IPO, we rounded up highlights of our data on adult Facebook users. What do Facebook users do on the site? How many friends they have? What are their social and civic lives like?

Some fast facts:

  • 229: The average number of friends a person has on Facebook
  • Women average 21 updates to their Facebook status per month while men average 6

Facebook, on an Average Day:

  • 15% of Facebook users update their own status
  • 22% comment on another’s post or status
  • 20% comment on another user’s photos
  • 26% “Like” another user’s content 
  • 10% send another user a private message
Read the full portrait for more on the social and civic characteristics of Facebook users and the privacy management habits of social networking site users 

Mobile: Fast facts

88% of American adults have a cell phone, 57% have a laptop, 19% own an e-book reader, and 19% have a tablet computer; about six in ten adults (63%) go online wirelessly with one of those devices.

Among cell phone owners, 53% own a smartphone as of February 2012. This means that 46% of all American adults own a smartphone.

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.

Hungry for more mobile info? Check out this research roundup.

Hungry for social networking info? Check out this research roundup too!