Trends on Tuesday: Pew Cell Phone Activities Report

Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project recently released their report on Cell Phone Activities for 2013. The report stated that 91% of American adults own a cell phone and many use their devices for more than just phone calls.

In Pew’s recent survey, they found the most popular activities people perform on the smartphones are what you might expect; texting, accessing the web, and emailing. App downloads by phone owners have increased to 50% – up from 22% in 2009. Many are also accessing location-based services such as directions or recommendations. Nearly half (48%) use their phones to listen to music. Also the proportion of video calling has tripled since May 2011.

These trends are important when trying to determine the best Mobile User Experience for your website and/or app. Without knowing these trends it would be difficult to properly leverage an app or a mobile website to its full potential.

See our article on Making Mobile Gov: User Experience Recommendations guidelines on creating good mobile user experiences.

Lisa Wilcox, U.S. Department of Agriculture