Smartphones outpace PCs among US adults: Pew study

The smartphone usage among the US adults is much more than owning consoles, according to a new research. Among the US adults under 30, the computer ownership is dropping, while smartphone usage is increasing.

It's estimated that 68 percent of US adults own smartphones, 45 percent own tablets, 73 percent own personal computers (PCs), 40percent own consoles and 14 percent own portable consoles. Among the US adults under 30, the computer ownership is dropping, while smartphone usage is increasing. 

Pew has come out with a comprehensive demographic breakdown of different electronic gadgets. PCs, tablets and smartphones can easily age out of relevance.

The study didn't consider the game capability of devices. The study also didn't include under 18 youngsters, who play a lot of games across a different variety of platforms, according to the new research data from Pew Research Center.

According to the study, almost two-thirds of Americans own a smartphone and half of the US own tablets. Among the US adults under 30, the computer ownership is dropping, while smartphone usage is increasing. 

About 78 percent of Americans under 30 own laptops or desktop computers. It was 88 percent in 2010. Smartphone usage is fast outpacing laptops and desktops as 88percent of youngsters in the age group of 18-29 own one smartphone in 2015.

On the other hand, desktop and laptop ownership remains flat, while MP3 players and e-readers have been falling since 2010.

The increasing smartphone usage is considered to be a major impact on social, political and cultural aspects. The smartphones have been changing the human relations as people get connected with their friends, colleagues and relatives through different media using smartphones. 

The smartphone-using adults were 35 percent in mid-2011 and now it's hovering at 68 percent. About 92 percent American adults own a cellphone and it was more or similar owning mobile devices in 2014.

Though owning cell phones is a common feature today, but the percentage of adults owning it has been increasing significantly since 2004, during which 65 percent of Americans own mobile phones.

Young adults own tablet mainly for educational requirements. About 62 percent of college graduates own a tablet, 35 percent of high school diploma holders own tablet and 19 percent who have not completed high school own it. Whites are more likely than Hispanics in using a tablet computer. Blacks own mostly tablets. 

Rural people using smartphones is slightly behind the urban numbers. However, 87 percent of rural people own mobile devices. The number of tablet users rose ten times since 2010 from four percent to 45 percent.