PRC: 21% Americans Go Online Almost Constantly

Smartphones, tablets, laptops and other such gadgets have made it easier for us to get “connected”, so much so that we are addicted to it – just tapping the phone to see latest news feed on Facebook, or if there are any new mails or just simply surfing the internet.

A new survey from the Pew Research Centre estimates the time spent online by Americans. According to the report:

“73% of Americans go online on a daily basis. Along with the 21% who go online almost constantly, 42% go online several times a day and 10% go online about once a day. Some 13% go online several times a week or less often. And in this survey, 13% of adults say they do not use the internet at all.”

It’s quite obvious that the younger demographic spends more time online – 36% of people in the 18-to-29 age group go online almost constantly and 50% go online several times a day. In contrast, only 6% of people aged 65 or above go online almost constantly and 24% go online several times a day. Also, 92% teens go online at least daily, as compared with 73% of adults.

“Almost constantly” has been included for the first time in the survey and denotes the frequency of internet use among adults.

The report says that nearly three-quarters of Americans use a smartphone, tablet or other mobile device to access the internet at least occasionally – of these 87% go online daily and 27% go online almost constantly. Those citizens who don’t use a mobile device to access the internet, 65% go online daily and just 8% report that they go online almost constantly.

“Some 29% of adults with a college education or more go online almost constantly (and 89% go online daily), compared with 14% of adults with a high school education or less”, the report said.