Mobile Technology and Home Broadband 2019
Today, 37% of U.S. adults say they mostly use a smartphone when accessing the internet. This share has nearly doubled since 2013, when the Center last asked this question. At that point, 19% of Americans named their smartphone as their primary device for going online.
Fully 81% of adults now say they own a smartphone, up slightly from 77% in 2018. Smartphone ownership is relatively common among Americans of different economic, educational and racial and ethnic backgrounds. Adults ages 65 and older are the only major demographic group in which a clear majority do not own this type of device, but ownership rates vary even within this population: 59% of those ages 65 to 74 are smartphone owners, but that share falls to 40% among those 75 and older.
The share of Americans who say they have broadband service at home has also risen slightly over the past year – from 65% in early 2018 to 73% today. But compared with smartphone ownership, there are more pronounced variations in broadband adoption across demographic groups. For example, 92% of adults from households earning $75,000 or more a year say they have broadband internet at home, but that share falls to 56% among those whose annual household income falls below $30,000. That 36-point gap in broadband adoption between the highest- and lowest-income groups is substantially larger than the 24-point gap in smartphone ownership between these groups. Educational differences follow a nearly identical pattern.
And as has been true with other Center surveys, there are double-digit gaps in home broadband adoption by community type, as well as by race and ethnicity.
Roughly one-in-four lower-income adults are “smartphone only” internet users
For some Americans without traditional broadband, smartphones may help bridge these gaps in connectivity. Overall, 17% of Americans are now “smartphone only” internet users – meaning they own a smartphone but do not subscribe to broadband internet service at home. This share has roughly doubled since 2013. At that time, just 8% of Americans relied on their smartphone for internet use at home. The 2019 figure is, however, somewhat lower than the percentage who said this in 2018 (20%).
In general, smartphone reliance tends to be more common among groups who also have lower levels of broadband adoption. Some 26% of adults who have a high school education or less are smartphone only internet users. By comparison, 16% of those with some college experience and only 4% of college graduates fall into this category. Lower-income adults are also more likely than those in higher-earning households to be smartphone only internet users.
Racial and ethnic gaps are also present: One-quarter of Hispanics and a comparable share of blacks are smartphone only internet users, compared with about one-in-ten whites.
Smartphone users are now more likely to go online using their mobile phone than with some other type of device
When asked to name the most important reason they do not subscribe to home broadband, more non-adopters point to the functionality of their smartphones today than in the past.
Some 23% of non-broadband users say the most important reason for them not having a broadband connection at home is because their smartphones let them do everything they need to do online – roughly doubling the share (12%) who said this in 2015.
And while financial factors remain a frequently cited reason for non-adoption, fewer non-broadband users cite cost as the primary reason they do not subscribe to these services. Some 21% of non-broadband users say the monthly cost of service is the single most important reason why they do not have broadband at home, with an additional 6% attributing their non-adoption to computers being too expensive. In each case, both of these shares were higher in 2015 (33% and 10%, respectively).
And for non-broadband users who own a smartphone, the functionality of their smartphone is the single most important reason they cite for not subscribing to high-speed internet at home. Some 37% of non-broadband adopters who have a smartphone say this, statistically unchanged from 2015. At the same time, roughly one-quarter of non-broadband users who have a smartphone say either the monthly cost of a broadband subscription (22%) or the cost of a computer (4%) is the primary reason they do not have home broadband, down from 38% in 2015.
A majority of non-broadband users have never had high-speed internet at home and relatively few are interested in having it in the future
In previous Center surveys, Americans of all kinds have linked not having broadband to a number of disadvantages – including difficulties finding job information or less access to government services. Despite these perceived challenges, non-adopters show little interest in becoming home broadband users in the future.
Six-in-ten non-broadband users say they have never had high-speed internet service at home in the past, while one-third indicate that they had previously subscribed to these services. And when asked if they are interested in having home broadband in the future, most non-adopters are unenthusiastic about the prospect. Fully 80% of non-broadband users say they would not be interested in having broadband at home, while 18% think this is something they would consider in the future. These sentiments are on par with those found in the Center's 2015 survey.
