Digital differences

Digital
differences
New data and trends
Kathryn Zickuhr, Research Specialist
Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project

American Library Association Spectrum Leadership Institute
Anaheim, CA - June 25, 2012

Kathryn Zickuhr
Research Specialist
Pew Internet & American Life Project
kzickuhr@pewinternet.org

@kzickuhr
@pewinternet
@pewresearch

About Pew Internet
•  Part of the Pew Research Center, a non-partisan “fact
tank” in Washington, DC
•  Studies how people use digital technologies
•  Does not promote specific technologies or make policy
recommendations
•  Data for this talk is from nationally representative
telephone surveys of U.S. adults and teens (on landlines
and cell phones)

All slides and reports are available at
pewinternet.org

PewResearchCenter
•  Public opinion attitudes toward the press, politics and
public policy issues (people-press.org)
•  The performance of the U.S. press (journalism.org)
•  The impact of technology (pewinternet.org)
•  Worldwide public opinion (pewglobal.org)
•  Religion and public life (pewforum.org)
•  The U.S. Hispanic population (pewhispanic.org)
•  Social and demographic trends (pewsocialtrends.org)

More: pewresearch.org

Factors
•  Age group
•  Race/ethnicity
•  Household income
•  Educational attainment
•  Quality of access

Internet use over time (1995-2012)
% of adults ages 18+ who go online

90%
82%

80%
(April

70% 2012)

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10% 14%
(June
1995)

0%

Source: Pew Internet surveys

Almost two-thirds of adults have home broadband
% of adults ages 18+ who go online at home via dial-up or broadband

Dial-up Broadband
80%

70%
66%
60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

3%
0%

June April March March April March March March April April May Aug April
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Source: Pew Internet surveys

@kzickuhr
@pewinternet
pewinternet.org

Internet use vs home broadband by age
Use
Internet
Have
home
broadband

100
97

91

90

80
75
77
77

70
62

60
53

50

39

40

30

20

10

0

18-‐29
30-‐49
50-‐64
65+

% of all adults 18+
@kzickuhr
@pewinternet

Source: Pew Internet April 2012 survey. pewinternet.org

Internet use vs home broadband by
race/ethnicity
Use
Internet
Have
home
broadband

100

90
84

80
77
75

71

70

60
54
51

50

40

30

20

10

0

White,
Non-‐Hispanic
Black,
Non-‐Hispanic
Hispanic
(English-‐
and

Spanish-‐speaking)

% of all adults 18+
@kzickuhr
@pewinternet


yearly household income
Use
Internet
Have
home
broadband

100
97

93

90
87
85
87

80
71
68

70

60

50
46

40

30

20

10

0

Less
than
$30,000
$30k-‐$49,999
$50k-‐$74,999
$75,000+

% of all adults 18+
@kzickuhr
@pewinternet


educational attainment
Use
Internet
Have
home
broadband

100
95

90
87

90

80
75
74

70

58
55

60

50

40
34

30

20

10

0

No
high
school
High
school
grad
Some
College
College
+

diploma

% of all adults 18+
@kzickuhr
@pewinternet

Source: Pew Internet April 2012 survey.

What is the MAIN reason you do not use
the internet? (asked of non-users)
Just not interested 31%

Don't have a computer 12%

Too expensive 10%

Too difficult 9%

It's a waste of time 7%

Don't have time to learn 6%

Don't have a access 6%

Don’t want/need it 4%

Too old to learn 4%

Physically unable 2%

Just don't know how 2%

Worried about viruses/spam/etc 1%

0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%

Source: Pew Internet May 2010 survey.
@kzickuhr
@pewinternet
pewinternet.org

Adult gadget ownership, 2006-2012
100%

88%

Cell
phone

80%

(total)

73%

Desktop

60%
68%
57%
computer

55%
Laptop

40%

computer

30%

e-‐Book

19%
reader

20%

19%

Tablet

2%
3%

0%

computer

Apr-‐06
Dec-‐07
Apr-‐08
Apr-‐09
Sep-‐09
May-‐10
Sep-‐10
May-‐11
Aug-‐11
Jan-‐12
Feb-‐12

Source: Pew Internet surveys. Data is for adults age 18+. pewinternet.org

Gadget ownership by age group
Ages 18-29 Age 30-49 Ages 50-64 Age 65+
100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Cell phones Desktops Laptops E-readers Tablets

Amost nine in ten adults (and three-
quarters of teens) have a cell phone
100%
90%
80% 88%
70% 77%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

Teens (12-17) Adults (18+)
Teen data: July 2011 Adult data: Feb 2012

Source: Pew Internet surveys. pewinternet.org

Cell phones by age group
100
95%
94%

86%

80
77%

67%

60

40

20

0

12-‐17
18-‐29
30-‐49
50-‐64
65+



Gadgets by household income
< $30k/yr $30k-$49,999 $50k-$74,999 $75k+
120%

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%


Gadget ownership by education
No high school diploma High school grad Some college College +
100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%


Gadget ownership by race/ethnicity
White Black Hispanic*
100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Source: Pew Internet surveys. Data is for adults age 18+. *
English-‐
and
Spanish-‐speaking

Cell phone ownership (total) by race/
ethnicity
100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

87%
88%
88%

40%
Cell
phone
(total)

30%

20%

10%

0%

White
Black
Hispanic

(English-‐
and

% of all adults 18+ Spanish-‐speaking)

Source: Pew Internet February 2012 survey.

Cell phone activities by race/ethnicity
% of adult cell phone owners 18+ within each group who do the following activities with their cell phone

White, non- Black, non- Hispanic
Hispanic Hispanic (n=196)

Send or receive text messages 70 76 83*
Take a picture 71 70 79*
Access the internet 39 56* 51*
Send a photo or video to someone 52 58 61*
Send or receive email 34 46* 43*
Download an app 28 36* 36*
Play a game 31 43* 40*
Play music 27 45* 47*
Record a video 30 41* 42*
Access a social networking site 25 39* 35*
Watch a video 21 33* 39*
Post a photo or video online 18 30* 28*
Check bank balance or do online banking 15 27* 25*
*indicates statistically significant differences compared with whites.
Source: Pew Internet May 2011 survey

About half of adults (and almost a
quarter of teens) have a smartphone
50%
45%
40% 46%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
23%
10%
5%
0%

Teens (12-17) Adults (18+)


Smartphones by age group
80%

70%
66%

59%

60%

50%

40%
34%

30%
23%

20%
13%

10%

0%

12-‐17
18-‐29
30-‐49
50-‐64
65+



Smartphone ownership by age and
income/education
% of adults within each group who own a smartphone

18-29 30-49 50-64 65+
(n=336) (n=601) (n=639) (n=626)

All adults 66% 59% 34% 13%
Household Income
Less than $30,000/yr 58 42 16 5
$30,000 or more/yr 72 69 44 27
Educational Attainment
High school grad or less 63 43 22 8
Some college or college grad 70 71 44 20
Adult data: Feb 2012

@kzickuhr
@pewinternet
pewinternet.org

Smartphone ownership by race/
ethnicity
100%

90%

80%

70%
40%

42%
39%

60%

50%

40%
Other
cell
phone

30%
Smartphone

44%
45%
49%

20%

10%

0%

White
Black
Hispanic

(English-‐
and

% of all adults 18+ Spanish-‐speaking)

Source: Pew Internet February 2012 survey.

25% of smartphone owners say
they mostly go online with their
smartphone.
About one third of them do not have a traditional
high-speed broadband connection at home.

Groups that are more likely to say their phone
is their main source of internet access:
•  Young adults
•  Minorities
•  Those with no college experience
•  Those in lower-income households

Twitter use by race/ethnicity
30%

25%
28%
20%

15%

14%
10%

12%
5%

0%

White Black Hispanic*

% of internet users ages 18+
Source: Pew Internet February 2012 survey. *
English-‐
and
Spanish-‐speaking

Questions?
@kzickuhr
@pewinternet
@pewresearch

Libraries
of today and tomorrow

About our libraries research

•  Goal: To study the changing role of public
libraries and library users in the digital age

•  Funded by a three-year, $1.4 million grant
from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

libraries.pewinternet.org

RESEARCH TIMELINE

Stage I (August 2011-July 2012)
Libraries + new technologies
•  The rise of e-reading (April 2012)

•  E-books, patrons, and libraries – JUST PUBLISHED
–  Includes quotes from librarians and patrons
–  Available online at libraries.pewinternet.org

•  Library use in different community types (summer)
•  The habits of younger library users (summer)

Report: The rise of e-reading
One in five adults has read an e-book in the past year
80%

70%
68%

60%

50%

40%

30%
21%
19%

20%
11%

10%

0%

Print book E-book Audiobook No book

Note: Due to multiple responses, categories do not add up to 100%

Book reading by age group

% of each age group who have read a book (in any format) in whole or in part
in the past 12 months
100%

80% 86%
82% 81%
77%
60% 68%

40%

20%

0%

Ages 16-17 Ages 18-29 Ages 30-49 Ages 50-64 Age 65+

Source: Pew Internet December 2011 survey. libraries.pewinternet.org

The book format used by readers on
any given day is changing
% of adult book readers (age 18+) using this format on an average day,
as of June 2010 and December 2011

100% 95%
90% 84%
80%
70%
60%
50%
Jun-10
40%
Dec-11
30%
20% 15%
10% 4% 4% 4%
0%

Print
book
E-‐book
Audiobook


Who reads e-books?
E-book readers are more likely than
other readers to be:
•  Under age 50
•  College educated
•  Living in households earning $50K+

Other key characteristics:
•  They read more books, more often
•  More likely to buy their books than borrow

How e-readers read their e-books
% of all Americans age 16 and older who read an e-book in the past
12 months, as of December 2011

50%

40%
42% 41%
30%
29%
20%
23%
10%

0%
On a cell phone On a computer On an e-reader On a tablet


Who owns tablets and e-readers?

29%
of
US
adults
own
a

specialized
e-‐reading

device
(either
a
tablet
or

an
e-‐reader)

19%
of
adults
own
an

e-‐reader

19%
of
adults
own
a

tablet
computer

Who owns tablets and e-readers?

E-reader and tablet
ownership are strongly
correlated with income &
education, as well as age—
both devices are most
popular with adults under 50.

Women are more likely than
men to own e-readers

Parents are more likely than
non-parents to own tablets

How device owners read their e-books
% of owners of each device who read e-books on that devicewho
read an e-book in the past 12 months, as of December 2011

100%
90%
93%
80%
70%
81%
60%
50%
40% 46%
30%
20% 29%
10%
0%
On a cell phone* On a desktop or On an e-reader* On a tablet*
laptop*

* = among people who own that device

Which is better for these purposes, a printed
book or an e-book?
Among people ages 16+ who read both an e-book & a print book in the past year

Printed books E-books
100%

81% 83%
80% 73%
69%

60% 53%
43% 45%
40% 35%
25%
19%
20% 13%
9%

0%
Reading with Sharing Reading Having a wide Reading while Being able to
a child books with books in bed selection to traveling or get a book
other people choose from commuting quickly

“My Kindle fits in my purse, so I
can carry my Kindle places I
wouldn’t carry a book. I find
myself taking it almost
everywhere I go so if I find
myself with a free couple of
minutes, I can read a couple of
pages.”
– E-book borrower

How people used the library in
the past year
The % of Americans ages 16+ who used the library for the following
purposes in the past year

60%

50% 56%

40%
40%
30% 36%

20%
22%
10%

0%
For research (all) To borrow books To borrow Total used the
newspapers / library
magazines

12% of e-book readers
borrow e-books from
the library


When you want to read a particular
e-book, where do you look first?
Among all people ages 16+ who read an e-book in the past year

80%
75%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

12%

10%
5%
5%

0%

At
an
online
At
your
public
Someplace
else
Don’t
know

bookstore/website
library

When you want to read a particular
e-book, where do you look first?
Among people who borrowed an e-book from the library in the past year
n=111

80%

70%

60%

50%
47%

41%

40%

30%

20%

10%
7%

4%

0%

At
an
online
At
your
public
Someplace
else
Don’t
know

bookstore/website
library

Have you ever wanted to borrow a particular
e-book from the library and found that...
Among e-book borrowers
Yes No Don’t know

It was not compatible 18% 80% 3%
with your e-reader

There was a waiting list 52% 46% 3%

The library did not carry it 56% 39% 5%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%


“Fast, easy,
plentiful.”
– E-book-borrowing patron

62% of all Americans ages
16 and older, including 58%
of library card holders, say
they do not know if their
library lends e-books.

What is the main reason you do not borrow
e-books from your public library?
Among
e-‐book
readers
who
do
not
get
e-‐books
at
the
public
library

% of e-book readers who
Reason do not get e-books at the
public library

Inconvenient / easier to get another way 22%
Didn’t know I could / didn’t know library offered e-books 19
Don’t use library / no library nearby 8
No interest / no real need 7
Just found out about it / haven’t had a chance to try it yet 6
E-books still new to me / no time to learn 5
Just never thought to 5
Don’t read a lot / don’t use e-reader much 4
Prefer to own my own copy 4
My library doesn’t offer e-books 4
Prefer print books 3
Poor e-book selection at library 2
Do not have format I need 2
Cumbersome process / wait list / short borrowing period 2
Other 6

Among those who do not currently borrow e-books
from libraries, the % who say they would be likely to…

...take a class on how
to use an e-reader or 32%
tablet

...take a class on how
32%
to download e-books

...borrow a pre-loaded
46%
e-reader

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Among those who do not currently borrow e-books
from libraries, the % who say they would be likely to…

...take a class on how All three ideas
to use an e-reader or 32%
tablet
are most
popular with:
African-Americans and
...take a class on how Hispanics
32%
to download e-books Those under age 65
Those in households
making less than $30k
per year
...borrow a pre-loaded
46% Those who had not
e-reader
completed high school
Parents of minor
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% children

What these
changes
[could] mean
for libraries

“Our customers are still using
the library but in different ways.
They browse our catalog online,
place reserves on the items they
want, then pick them up at their
location of choice. Many fewer
browse the collection in person,”

“People are asking for digital
content. Anything digital. They
are hungry for it.”
– Library staff member

“We spend a significant part of
our day explaining how to get
library books onto e-book
readers.”

“The greatest change has
been the need not only for
computer access, but
computer assistance.”

“It all feels pretty murky. Some
clarity and good advice would
be nice. It’s OK for libraries with
big budgets to plunge into e-
book readers. As a small library
with limited collection funds, we
have to be more careful.”

Imagining the
“librarian of the future”

Aggregator/
Organizer
Network
node
Facilitator

Synthesizer

“Our library is a critical
link in our community.
It provides access to
books, computers,
[and] knowledge, and is
a critical social center.”

RESEARCH TIMELINE

Stage II (May-November 2012)
The changing world of library services

•  The evolving role of libraries in communities
–  New library services
–  People’s expectations of libraries
–  “The library of the future”

•  The role of libraries in the life of special populations
–  Lower-income users, minorities, rural residents, senior
citizens

RESEARCH TIMELINE

Stage III (Sept. 2012–April 2013)
A closer analysis of who does – and does not – use
libraries

•  A “library user” typology
–  Different user “types” based on:
•  What their local libraries are like
•  How they use libraries
•  Attitudes about libraries in general

•  An updated, in-depth portrait of how teens & young
adults use libraries

Thank you!
Kathryn Zickuhr
Research Specialist
Pew Internet & American Life Project
kzickuhr@pewinternet.org
@kzickuhr @pewinternet @pewresearch

All data, slides, and reports available at
pewinternet.org

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