• by Mark Walsh , March 13, 2013

Nearly half of American teens now have smartphones and one in four are “cell-mostly” Internet users, according to a new study of teen mobile use. Among key findings from the Pew Research Center survey of 802 people aged 12-17 and their parents:

-78% of teens now have a cell phone, and almost half (47%) of them own smartphones. That translates into 37% of all teens who have smartphones, up from just 23% in 2011. 

-23% of teens have a tablet computer, a level comparable to the general adult population.

-95% of teens use the Internet.

-93% of teens have a computer or have access to one at home. Seven in ten (71%) teens with home computer access say the laptop or desktop they use most often is one they share with other family members.

Mobile Web access is common among teens:

4% teens ages 12-17 say they access the Internet on cell phones, tablets and other mobile devices at least occasionally.

-25% of teens are “cell-mostly” Internet users—far more than the 15% of adults who are cell-mostly. Among teen smartphone owners, half are cell-mostly.

-Older girls are especially likely to be cell-mostly internet users; 34% of teen girls ages 14-17 say that they mostly go online using their cell phone, compared with 24% of teen boys ages 14-17. This is notable since boys and girls are equally likely to be smartphone owners.

-Among older teen girls who are smartphone owners, 55% say they use the Internet mostly from their phone.

Read more on the Pew findings here.