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Use of the internet and smartphones is no longer on the rise in America


steven36

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For years, the number of Americans who have reported using the internet, social media, and smartphones has been on a meteoric rise. But that rate has slowed to a near-stall.

 

 

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New data published this week by the Pew Research Center show that, since 2016, that number has plateaued, indicating those technologies have reached a saturation point among many groups of people. The percentage of Americans using smartphones (77%), the internet (88% to 89%), and social media (69%) has remained virtually unchanged during the last two years.

“Put simply, in some instances there just aren’t many non-users left,” the report states.

More than 90% of adults younger than 50 report they use the internet or own a smartphone. This number squares with some of the trends noticed earlier this year by Gartner, a global research firm. The fourth quarter of 2017 marked the first time since 2004 that the market for smartphones declined globally compared to the prior year. People are less frequently buying new phones.

“While demand for high quality, 4G connectivity and better camera features remained strong, high expectations and few incremental benefits during replacement weakened smartphone sales,” the firm reported.

That’s already posed significant challenges for foreign companies looking to break into the US market. The Chinese brand Xiaomi is the fourth-largest seller of smartphones in the world. But as CNBC reported earlier this year, any goals it has for getting its products into American hands will be tough, with market saturation being a big reason why.

Of course, there are segments of the US population that represent room in which to expand the use of smartphones and the internet. About 60% of Americans living in rural zones complain they have internet speeds so slow that it inhibits use. There’s also the population over 50 years old, which often complains that learning a new technology isn’t worth their time, according to the Pew report. In 2015, a Pew survey showed 34% of people over 65 said they had no confidence in their ability to perform tasks online.

So for companies looking to make inroads, some of the challenges are clear: Invent products that make usability improvements to what’s already offered by Apple or Samsung that can be applied across a broad age range of people. It’s a tall order, but a tighter market could just pave the way for a newer, better wave of technology.

 

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Same thing  happen to the PC here, everyone already owns 1 or 3 or more that can afford one or wants one..

 

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I’m somehow disappointed. It’s awesome to hear about technologies such as machine learning/AI, cryptocurrencies, self-driving cars, drones, graphene, biology and all that get all the “amazing headlines”, but I don’t really feel it touches my life. It all feels very much like hype; all hype that doesn’t really revolutionize how I brush my teeth or how I sleep.

 

Hype doesn't sell ,the 1st smart phone was released 25 years ago and PCs 1st gained mainstream  popularity in the USA  in  the 1990s so for the last 25 years they been steadily reinventing the wheel and it's puttering out .. . the normal person sees AI as a threat  to there jobs and can't afford normal new cars, let alone self-driving cars ..most people buy used hand me down cars that rich people traded off for new ones.  The digital age is only growing in places were they have lots of people who don't have the internet yet  .. They not invented anything new that people want to buy much in 25 years.

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Those statistics are not really clear in some items: they show that about 95% of US adults have a cellphone and 73% a smartphone. Are smartphones counted as part of that cellphone statistics? Most probably YES. I say "probably" but this should show the inconsistency. Currently, as I see, most people I know with smartphones doesn't have an operative "simple" cellphone, though I do know people with several old cellphones in grandma's trunk, with no charger, bad battery,, cracked screen or simply so old that mobile service povider's technological platforn no longar can porvide signal.

Statistics talk about US adults. but actually how they account for smartphones in the hand of teenagers and even kids no more than 6 - 7 years old?

About 69% have a computer and 53% a tablet... now wait a minute:  obviously lot of people might have both of them! And, same as smartphones, no way to account how many tablets are in the hand of non-adults! And again, count on individuals having a computer/ laptop or a tablet. So how about adults having 2 or more computers and laptops? How about home networks which link desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones? How about families of 6 adults using same internet network connection (yes, father and mother may have 4 children over 18)

Ok, all I mean to show that "statistics" are sometimes misleadig or result not as obvious as might look at first sight.

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