If you know of a small business owner who doesn’t have a website or any presence on social media, print this out and hand it to them. Nearly 90 percent of Americans today are online, up from about 50 percent in the early 2000s, according to the Pew Research Center. Pew has chronicled the growth trends related to internet usage through more than 15 years of surveys on internet and technology use. Here are four key trends illustrating the current technology landscape in the U.S. as we begin 2017.


1 | More than three-quarters of Americans own a smartphone

77% | (2016) Percentage of Americans who own a smartphone
35% | (2011) Percentage of Americans who owned a smartphone

92% | Percentage of 18-29 year-olds who own a smartphone
74% | Percentage of 50-64 year-olds who owned a smartphone

2 | The share of Americans with broadband service at home increased by 6 percentage points in 2016

73% | Percentage of Americans indicating they broadband service at home

But not all Americans have shared in these gains. For instance, those who have not graduated from high school are nearly three times less likely than college graduates to have home broadband service

34% | Percentage of non-college graduates who have home broadband
91% | Percentage of college graduates who have home broadband

3 | Social media is used by most U.S. adults

69% | Percentage of U.S. adults who are social media users.
86% | Percentage of 18-29 year-olds who are social media users
80% | Percentage of 30-49 year-olds who are social media users
64% | Percentage of 50-64 year-olds who are social media users
34% | Percentage of 64 year-olds and older who are social media users

4 | Half of all Americans now own a tablet computer

51% | Percentage of U.S. adults who have a tablet computer


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