New Pew Reports on Networked Workers and Families

Most working Americans use the Internet or email at work according the Pew Internet report Networked Workers. Just over half of American adults (53%) say that they are currently employed with full or part-time work. Among those who are employed, 62% could be considered “Networked Workers” who use the internet or email at their workplace. Networked Workers are not only connected while at work, but they are also more likely than average Americans to have access to a wide array of technological assets outside of the workplace. They are more likely to own cell phones, desktop and laptop computers, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Among Networked Workers:

• 93% own a cell phone, compared with 78% of all American adults.
• 85% own a desktop computer, compared with 65% of all adults.
• 61% own a laptop computer, compared with 39% of all adults.
• 27% own a Blackberry, Palm or other personal digital assistant, compared with 13% of all adults.

The Internet and cell phones have become central components of modern family life, according to the Pew Internet report Networked Families. "Parents and spouses are using the internet and cell phones to create a “new connectedness” that builds on remote connections and shared internet experiences."  For today’s married-with-children households, ownership of multiple gadgets and communication tools is a standard feature of family life:

• 58% of those living in married-with-children households own two or more desktop or laptop computers. Nearly two-thirds of those living in multiple-computer households (63%) link those computers in a home network.
• Both spouses use the internet in 76% of married-with-children households, as do 84% of their children aged 7-17. Indeed, 65% of married-with-children households with a child between the ages of 7-17 contain a husband, wife, and child who all use the internet.
• 89% of married-with-children households own multiple cell phones, and nearly half (47%) own three or more mobile devices. Children in these households are somewhat less likely to own a cell phone than they are to go online: 57% of these children (aged 7-17) have their own cell phone.

[RJ]