Pew continues to release interesting reports tracking U.S. rates of internet adoption. The latest report, based on a Pew Internet telephone survey of 2,252 U.S. adults age 18 and older, conducted by Princeton Survey Research International between April 29 and May 30, 2010, is focused on app usage on mobile devices. The report also contains Nielsen data from an analysis of 3,962 adults (age 18+) gathered in the December 2009 Apps Playbook.
According to the report, some 35% of U.S. adults have software applications or “apps” on their phones, yet only 24% of adults–about two-thirds of those who have them–use those apps. Many adults who have apps on their phones, particularly older adults, do not use them, and 11% of cell owners are not sure if their phone is equipped with apps. What’s interesting are some of the discrepancies between active app users and non-users, especially as they relate to social networking:
- Social networking-related apps are the fourth-most popular type of app, with 47% of recent downloaders reporting they had used a social networking app in the last month
- 59% of social network users and 71% of Twitter users have apps, compared to 43% of all cell phone users
- Women in the sample were more likely than men to have used a social networking app in the past 30 days (53% v. 42%), and women who used the Facebook app were also more likely to use that app everyday (64% v. 55%)
- 75% of 18-24 year-old Twitter app users reported using that app every day, compared with 52% of the 25-34 year-olds and 48% of the Twitter users age 35 and older
- Among Nielsen’s Facebook app users, 25-34 year-olds were more likely than both younger and older Facebook app users to report using their Facebook app daily
To access the complete report, go to http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/The-Rise-of-Apps-Culture.aspx.
UPDATE: Emedia Vitals has a nice analysis of what publishers can learn from this research.
