Skip to main content

U.S. Smartphone and Mobile Internet Adoption


Baby boomers will eventually adopt smartphones and the Mobile Internet, and at the front-line of this movement are the younger boomers. But boomer mobile Internet adoption rates will be similar to their social media uptake -- that is, slower than the typical early-adopters.

According to the latest U.S. market assessment by eMarketer, boomers must see the benefits before they adopt smartphones and mobile Web applications (Apps).

Back in 1995, boomers were the pioneers of basic mobile phone usage, exceeding or equaling other age group's uptake of the devices, according to the Pew Research Center. Ownership rates have now grown to more than 85 percent among boomers, the majority using feature phones. But only 55 percent consider their mobile phone a necessity.

"Internet use will be the driving force behind boomers adoption of smartphones and the mobile Internet," said Lisa E. Phillips, eMarketer senior analyst. "They are avid Web users but no longer such early adopters."

Boomers made up 30.6 percent of all mobile phone users in August 2009, according to comScore's age breakout. However, they made up only 19.6 percent of all touch-screen users and 21.1 percent of smartphone users.

Younger boomers (ages 45 to 54) were more likely than older boomers to use touch-screens, smartphones and any mobile phone.

"Boomers are underrepresented among smartphone users but are becoming more interested in the devices," said Ms. Phillips. "Smartphones are now well established in the marketplace, which should help to convince the portions of the boomer cohort that are not early adopters."

The business applications of smartphones should appeal to the boomers who say they plan to continue working after retirement age. But, device and data service price is a factor for many.

Popular posts from this blog

Digital Talent Demand Exceeds Supply in Asia-Pac

Even the savviest CEO's desire for a digital transformation advantage has to face the global market reality -- there simply isn't enough skilled and experienced talent available to meet demand. According to the latest market study by IDC, around 60-80 percent of Asia-Pacific (AP) organizations find it "difficult" or "extremely difficult" to fill many IT roles -- including cybersecurity, software development, and data insight professionals. Major consequences of the skills shortage are increased workload on remaining digital business and IT employees, increased security risks, and loss of "hard-to-replace" critical transformation knowledge. Digital Business Talent Market Development Although big tech companies' layoffs are making headlines, they are not representative of the overall global marketplace. Ongoing difficulty to fill key practitioner vacancies is still among the top issues faced by leaders across industries. "Skills are difficul

How Cloud Fuels Digital Business Transformation

Across the globe, many CEOs invested in initiatives to expand their digital offerings. User experience enhancements that are enabled by business technology were a priority in many industries. Worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services is forecast to grow 21.7 percent to a total of $597.3 billion in 2023 -- that's up from $491 billion in 2022, according to the latest market study by Gartner. Cloud computing is driving the next phase of digital transformation, as organizations pursue disruption through technologies like generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), Web3, and enterprise Metaverse. Public Cloud Computing Market Development "Hyperscale cloud providers are driving the cloud agenda," said Sid Nag, vice president at Gartner . Organizations view cloud computing as a highly strategic platform for digital transformation initiatives, which requires providers to offer new capabilities as the competition for digital business escalates. "For example, generativ

Mobile Device Market Still Awaiting Recovery

The mobile devices market has experienced three years of unpredictable demand. The global pandemic, geopolitical pressures, supply chain issues, and macroeconomic headwinds have hindered the sector's consistent growth potential. This extremely challenging environment has dramatically affected both demand and supply chains. It has led to subsequent inflationary pressures, leading to a worsening global cost of living crisis suppressing growth and confidence in the sector. In tandem, mobile device industry stakeholders have become more cautious triggering market uncertainties. Mobile Device Market Development Operating under such a backdrop, the development of mobile device ecosystems and vendor landscapes have been impacted severely. Many of these market pressures persisted throughout 2022 and now into 2023, borne chiefly by the smartphone market. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, worldwide smartphone shipments in 2022 declined 9.6 percent Year-over-Year