How much are people using new technologies?

Below are a handful of interesting stats on new media usage for Americans. They should be both helpful and motivating in formulating your communications strategy for your organization:

• 97% of Americans own a cell phone. 
• As of 2020, 85% of Americans own a smartphone (up from just 35% in Pew Research Center’s first survey of smartphone ownership conducted in 2011).
• 92% of Americans 65 years and older own a cellphone. 61% in this age group own a smartphone.
• 93% of US adults use the internet, up from about 50% in early 2000.
• In 2000, 14% of adults over the age of 65 used the internet. In 2021, that number is up to 75%.
• In 2021, 99% of Americans ages 18-29 use the internet, 98% in the 30-49 age group, and 96% of Americans ages 50-64.
• Over 90% of Americans use email. Over 66% check it daily.
• The average teenager sends out 50 text messages per day.

Stats from this article were sourced through the Pew Research Center and Statista. 

One main takeaway is that email (and search) are still the most popular online activities. Additionally, older adults have widely adopted internet, email, and smartphone usage. If you don’t have an effective communication tool for your church or organization, stop what you are doing and start implementing a plan.

The means by which people are interacting with and using the internet is rapidly changing and is quickly becoming much more mobile, and these means of communicating are no longer relevant to only those in a younger age demographic. 

This trend will only continue in the years to come. Do you know someone in leadership who doesn’t believe it is both urgent and important to communicate using email and texting? Share this blog article with them!