The mobile phone is increasingly displacing the PC for women in the US, especially in the 12-24 age group, according to SRG’s new Women and Digital Life study.
The study, based on in-depth interviews with 2,000 women aged 12 and older in the US, found that over 80% of US women are now using a wireless device and 17% are using a smartphone such as an iPhone or BlackBerry.
Among US women with access to internet and a mobile phone, teens and young women under 25 spend twice as much time (2.8 hours per day) on average with their mobile phones compared to women 40+ (1.2 hours). In contrast, young women spend 2.9 hours per day with their PCs, significantly less than the 40+ average of 3.5 hours, the research found.
Younger women are also much more likely to use the full functionality of their wireless devices than older women. For example, 12-24s are twice as likely to have sent a text message in the past month compared to women 40+ (85% vs. 43%).
When asked “what technology had the most impact on your life in the last 2 years,” women overall picked the internet, followed by PC/Computer, and mobile/wireless in third. Among young women, however, wireless devices took the #1 spot.
A recent Netpop report revealed that mobile internet access increased by 36% in the US last year, with 18 million Americans aged 13 and above connected to the mobile web (see US mobile internet access increased 36% last year).
Magna’s latest global advertising forecast predicted that US mobile advertising will grow by 36% this year, rising from $169 million in 2008 to $229 million during the course of 2009 (see US mobile advertising to grow by 36%).
