teens & mobile phones - lenhart april 2009 fosi talk

Teens and Mobile PhonesAn Overview of Pew Internet Data

Amanda LenhartKeeping Kids Safe in a Mobile EnvironmentFOSI April 22, 2009

April 22, 2009Teens & Mobile Phones

Methodology

• RDD surveys with teens 12 to 17 and a parent or guardian– Sept-Nov 2007 (n=700)– Nov-Feb 2008 (n=1102)

• Focus groups

April 22, 2009Teens & Mobile Phones

Teens and their tools

• 77% of teens 12-17 own a game console• 74% of teens 12-17 own an iPod or Mp3 player• 71% of teens 12-17 own a cell phone• 60% have a desktop or laptop computer• 55% have a portable gaming device like a DS or

a PSP

April 22, 2009Teens & Mobile Phones

Mobile phone ownership growing

• Mobile phone ownership is way up:– 45% of 12-17 year olds had them in 2004– 63% in 2006– 71% in early 2008.

• Computer ownership is stable at least over the past two years

• 88% of parents have mobile phones• 75% of adults have a mobile phone• Caveat: Concept of “ownership” varies from device to

device

April 22, 2009Teens & Mobile Phones

Who has a mobile phone?

• Age is very important – huge bump up in mobile phone ownership at age 14 – 52% of 12-13 year olds have a mobile phone– At age 14 jumps to 72% – By 17 its 84% of teens have a mobile phone

• No gender differences in ownership• No significant difference in mobile phone ownership by

race/ethnicity• Some differences by socio-economic status – but mostly a

minor bump up in the highest income and education brackets.• Internet users more likely than non users to have a cell phone

– thought 50% of non-users have a phone.

April 22, 2009Teens & Mobile Phones

Teens and phone use

• 88% of teens talk to friends on a landline• 67% of teens talk to friends on a cell phone

– 94% of teens with cell phones use them to talk to friends• 58% of all teens have sent text messages

– 76% of teens with cell phones have sent textsDaily:51% of teens with cell phones talk to their friends on the cell phone

every day43% of teens send messages through online social networks daily38% of teens send text messages to each other daily32% of teens talk on their landline everyday29% spend time with friends in person26% send instant messages everyday16% send email daily

April 22, 2009Teens & Mobile Phones

Teens and phone use: Voice

• Girls more likely to talk on any kind of phone – landline or mobile.

• Age isn’t a factor in landline use• Older teens with a cell phone much more likely to talk on

cell phone everyday;• Younger teens with a cell phone tend to use them for voice

calls a few times a week or less• Suburban kids a little less likely to talk on cell phone

everyday; no difference by locale in cell phone ownership.

April 22, 2009Teens & Mobile Phones

Teens and text messaging

• Text messaging daily up since 2006– 27% of teens texted daily in 2006– 38% text daily in 2008

• 54% of social network users have sent texts or IM through a social network site.

• Girls more likely than boys to text• Older teens 15-17 also more likely to text message.• No racial/ethnic differences in texting• Slight bump up in frequency of texting by income• Not using twitter yet, via mobile or any other way.• Not really going online w/ phone; but this is changing

April 22, 2009Teens & Mobile Phones

What teens aren’t using:Likelihood of Twitter use by age

April 22, 2009Teens & Mobile Phones

Other mobile devices

Portable game players (Nintendo DS, PSP)• Owned predominately by younger teens 12-14 (67% vs.

44%)• Drops at age 14• Boys more likely to own (61% of boys have one, 49% of

girls)• No difference in use by Race/Ethnicity or SES• PSP: Skype calling and IM, internet, RSS feeds• DS(i): Pictochat (w/in 30-65), wireless gaming (30-65ft),

WiFi gaming,

Thank You!

Amanda Lenhart

alenhart@pewinternet.org

http://www.pewinternet.org