Pew
Publishers who hope to avoid what Tom Rosenstiel called “digital hesitation 2.0” in a Poynter.org piece Wednesday might want to look at some findings from Pew released the same day.
Pew found that 37 percent of teenagers have smart phones, compared to 23 percent in 2011. Half of those kids “use the Internet mostly via their cell phone.” Teen girls, the report says, are significantly more likely than boys to say they access the Internet mostly using their cell phone.”
The report also highlighted an important finding for news organizations that want to reach younger people who may not have access to computers:
In overall Internet use, youth ages 12-17 who are living in lower-income and lower-education households are still somewhat less likely to use the internet in any capacity — mobile or wired. However, those who fall into lower socioeconomic groups are just as likely and in some cases more likely than those living in higher income and more highly educated households to use their cell phone as a primary point of access.
One-third of people under 30 get their news from social networks, Pew reported last fall. And despite reports that millennials are familiar with the concept of news on paper, Cory Bergman argued last month that “Mobile is not merely another form factor, but an entirely new ecosystem that rewards utility.”
Related: New studies offer 5 ways publishers can capitalize on mobile trends now | 5 reasons mobile will disrupt journalism like the Internet did a decade ago
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