---
title: "More Use Cell Phones to Get Health Information"
description: "About three-in-ten adults who own a cell phone have used it to look for health or medical information."
date: "2012-11-14"
authors:
  - name: "Russell Heimlich"
    job_title: "Former web developer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2012/11/14/more-use-cell-phones-to-get-health-information/"
---

# More Use Cell Phones to Get Health Information

Now that 85% of U.S. adults own a cell phone—and half (53%) of those are smartphone owners—information is available wherever and whenever people need it.

According to a survey conducted Aug. 7-Sept. 6, 31% of cell phone owners say they use their phone to look for health or medical information online. That is up from 17% of cell phone owners in September 2010.

Smartphone owners lead this activity: 52% have used their phone to search for health information, compared with 6% of other cell phone owners. Among all cell phone owners, some demographic groups are more likely than others to look for health information on their phones: Latinos, African Americans, those between the ages of 18 and 49, and college graduates.

Mobile health information also seems to appeal to certain groups of health consumers: caregivers, people who went through a recent medical crisis, and those who experienced a recent, significant change in their physical health and health habits such as gaining or losing a lot of weight, becoming pregnant, or quitting smoking. [Read More](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/Reports/2012/Mobile-Health/Key-Findings.aspx)