Digital Media Buzz > Cutting the Cord: The Wireless Generation

Cutting the Cord: The Wireless Generation

By John Horrigan, Pew Internet & American Life Project

An April 2009 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project asked respondents whether they had used a variety of devices – laptops, cell phones, game consoles, and more – to go online using a wireless network. Altogether, 56 percent of Americans said they have at some point used wireless means for online access.

• 39% of all Americans have used a laptop computer to go online wirelessly, making this the most prevalent means of wireless access.
• 32% of all Americans have gotten online with a mobile device – meaning they have used a cell phone or other handheld device to check email, access the internet for information, or send instant messages.

Together, laptop and mobile wireless access account for the vast majority of wireless access, as 51 percent of Americans have gotten online using either of these two methods. Some people (19 percent of Americans) opt for both means of wireless access – portable laptops on fast WiFi networks or handheld access on slower networks from cell carriers.

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