In the Pew Internet Project’s first typology, tech-oriented users were generally those who had broadband at home. This typology largely abandons that dichotomy with its focus on people’s attitudes and use of mobile devices and applications. In the past, having tech gear such as broadband at home generally placed people on the cutting edge; that is no longer the case in this edition of the typology. Our new study shows that mobile connectivity is the new centerpiece of high-tech life.

That means that two groups who used to seem high tech seem less so nowadays. They are the Desktop Veterans and the Drifting Surfers. They make up 26% of the adult population, and they have broadband adoption rates of about 80%. But their occasional use of mobile applications and decidedly lukewarm attitudes toward them leave them off the cutting edge.