The Mobile Difference

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Summary of Findings

Overview
Digital Collaborators: 8% of adults use information gadgets to collaborate with others and share their creativity with the world.
Ambivalent Networkers: 7% of adults heavily use mobile devices to connect with others and entertain themselves, but they don’t always like it when the cell phone rings.
Media Movers: 7% of adults use online access to seek out information nuggets, and these nuggets make their way through these users’ social networks via desktop and mobile access.
Roving Nodes: 9% of adults use their mobile devices to connect with others and share information with them.
Mobile Newbies: 8% of adults lack robust access to the internet, but they like their cell phones.
Desktop Veterans: 13% of adults are dedicated to wireline access to digital information, and like how it opens up the pipeline to information for them.
Drifting Surfers: 14% of adults are light users – despite having a lot of ICTs – and say they could do without modern gadgets and services.
Information Encumbered: 10% of adults feel overwhelmed by information and inadequate to troubleshoot modern ICTs.
The Tech Indifferent: 10% of adults are unenthusiastic about the internet and cell phone.
Off the Network: 14% of adults are neither cell phone users nor internet users.
Most “motivated by mobility” groups have positive and improving attitudes about cell phones, while remaining groups have tepid and deteriorating attitudes about them.
Deepening attachment to digital resources – wired and wireless – means connectivity is for many users now about continual information exchange.
The bar for what qualifies as high-tech among users has risen.
The “penalty” for having little or no access rises in a multi-platform world.

Digital Collaborators: 8% of adults use information gadgets to collaborate with others and share their creativity with the world. ›

Copyright 2010 Pew Internet & American Life Project

The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project is one of seven projects that make up the Pew Research Center. The Center is supported by The Pew Charitable Trust.