Fully 85% of U.S. adults own a cell phone. Of those, 53% own smartphones.\u00a0This report will provide details about both groups\u2014people who own a cell phone of any kind and the smaller group of people who own smartphones.<\/p>\n\n
One in three cell phone owners (31%) have used their phone to look for health information. In a comparable, national survey conducted two years ago, 17% of cell phone owners had used their phones to look for health advice.<\/p>\n\n
Smartphone owners lead this activity: 52% gather health information on their phones, compared with 6% of non-smartphone owners. Cell phone owners who are Latino, African American, between the ages of 18-49, or hold a college degree are also more likely to gather health information this way.<\/p>\n\n
Health status also plays a role. Caregivers, those who recently faced a medical crisis, and those who experienced a recent, significant change in their physical health are more likely than other cell phone owners to use their phones to look for health information.<\/p>\n\n
A whopping 80% of cell phone owners say they send and receive text messages, but just 9% of cell phone owners say they receive any text updates or alerts about health or medical issues.<\/p>\n\n
Women, those between the ages of 30 and 64, and smartphone owners are more likely than other cell phone owners to have signed up for health text alerts.<\/p>\n\n
Smartphones enable the use of mobile software applications to help people track or manage their health. Some 19% of smartphone owners have at least one health app on their phone. Exercise, diet, and weight apps are the most popular types.<\/p>\n\n
The results reported here come from a nationwide survey of 3,014 adults living in the United States. Telephone interviews were conducted by landline (1,808) and cell phone (1,206, including 624 without a landline phone). The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. Interviews were done in English and Spanish by Princeton Data Source from August 7 to September 6, 2012. Statistical results are weighted to correct known demographic discrepancies. The margin of sampling error for the complete set of weighted data is \u00b12.4 percentage points.<\/p>\n\n
The Pew Internet & American Life Project is an initiative of the Pew Research Center, a nonprofit \u201cfact tank\u201d that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. The Project is nonpartisan and takes no position on policy issues.<\/p>\n\n
Support for this study was provided by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the California HealthCare Foundation.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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