A new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, “Teens and Mobile Phones,” reveals that low-income teens (defined as those living in homes with less than $30,000 income annually) use their mobile phones to access the Web almost twice as much as their higher-income peers. Those same teens were also significantly less likely to have a computer in their home. Additionally, African-American and Hispanic teens were both more likely to use their phones to go online than white teens. The report notes that by providing Internet access to underserved teens, mobile phones are helping to bridge the Digital Divide. The report was based on phone interviews of a sample of 800 youth ages 12 to 17 and their parents.

Summary of findings