Online Community and Connection in America
Nearly four-in-ten U.S. adults are in an online community. These virtual third spaces can take many forms, like Facebook groups, online video games or fandom forums on Reddit.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Nearly four-in-ten U.S. adults are in an online community. These virtual third spaces can take many forms, like Facebook groups, online video games or fandom forums on Reddit.
All
Publications
As you may know, we recently published a big report about e-book lending at libraries. We’ll have some posts exploring different aspects of the report in the coming weeks, but you can also read the entire report online (or download the PDF, if you prefer). And if you want to jump to a specific section, here’s a brief outline of the findings.
As of early 2012, 88% of American adults have a cell phone, 58% have a desktop computer, 61% have a laptop, 18% own an e-book reader, and 18% have a tablet computer. Here’s a closer look at the demographic breakdown of U.S. adult gadget ownership.
12% of e-book readers have borrowed an e-book from a library. Those who use libraries are pretty heavy readers, but most are not aware they can borrow e-books.
Nearly half of U.S. teens (46%) say they’re on the internet almost constantly. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat remain widely used by teens.
Most teens at least sometimes feel happy and peaceful when they don’t have their phone, but 44% say this makes them anxious. Half of parents say they have looked through their teen’s phone.
These groups are far apart in their enthusiasm and predictions for AI, but both want more personal control and worry about too little regulation.
Most U.S. adults today say they use the internet (95%), have a smartphone (90%) or subscribe to high-speed internet at home (80%). About four-in-ten report being online almost constantly.