Internet Use Studies from Pew Research Center

Use of the Mobile Internet Increases; African Americans Most Active Users. According to Wireless Internet Use, a report of an April 2009 survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, use mobile devices to access the Internet has grown sharply from the end of 2007 to the beginning of 2009. In December 2007, 24% of Americans said they had at some point used the Internet on their mobile device. By April 2009, 32% of Americans said they had at some point used the Internet on their mobile device. African Americans are the most active users of the mobile Internet. 48% of Africans Americans have at one time used their mobile device to access the internet for information, emailing, or instant-messaging, half again the national average of 32%. 29% of African Americans use the mobile Internet on their handheld on an average day, also about half again the national average of 19%. Compared with 2007, when 12% of African Americans used the internet on their mobile on the average day, use of the mobile internet is up by 141%.

Internet Ranks High Among Sources of Information During Recession. 88% of adult Internet users have used the Internet to help them with personal economic issues that have arisen in the recession and to gather information about the origins and solutions to national economic problems according to Pew's The Internet and the Recession. For broadband users, the Internet rivals print media but lags behind broadcasters for general economony information. However, the Internet is the most important source of personal financial information.

[JH]