Mobile devices and social networks are fundamentally changing how Americans interact with information and organizations. 82% of Americans now use the internet, with most accessing it wirelessly through mobile devices. Apps and social media embed information into people's lives, making it immediate, participatory and personal. Mobile phones in particular have changed information into something portable and accessible anytime. As a result, organizations are exploring new mobile and social tools to engage supporters and solicit donations.

1. Mobile Philanthropy
How mobile/social tools are
changing the way Americans give
to and interact with organizations
Aaron Smith
Senior Research Specialist
Pew Internet Project
Thrive Arts Conference
June 13, 2012

2. • Part of the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan “fact tank” based
in Washington, DC
• PRC’s mission is to provide high quality, objective data to thought
leaders and policymakers
• Data for this talk is from nationally representative telephone
surveys of U.S. adults (on landlines and cell phones)
• Presentation slides and all data are available at pewinternet.org

3. The Internet:
Then and Now

4. Internet Use in the U.S. in 2000
Slow, stationary connections
46% of US adults used the internet built around a desktop
computer
5% had home broadband connections
53% owned a cell phone
0% connected to internet wirelessly
0% used social network sites
_________________________
Information flowed mainly one way
Information consumption was a
stationary activity

5. The Internet in 2012
Mobile devices have
82% of US adults use the internet fundamentally changed the
relationship between
2/3 have broadband at home information, time and space
88% have a cell phone; 46% are Information is now
smartphone users portable, participatory, and
personal
19% have a tablet computer
19% have an e-reader
2/3 are wireless internet users
65% of online adults use SNS

6. The Very Nature of Information Has Changed
Information Information
was… is…
Scarce All around us
Expensive Cheap or free
Shaped and controlled Shaped and controlled by
by elites consumers and networks
Designed for one-way, Designed for sharing,
mass consumption participation and feedback
Slow moving Immediate
External to our worlds Embedded in our worlds

7. Information is Woven Into Our Lives
Mobile is the needle, Social Networks are the thread
Mobile… Social Networks…
Moves information Surround us with
with us information through our
many connections
Makes information
accessible ANYTIME Bring us information
and ANYWHERE from multiple, varied
sources
Puts information at
our fingertips Provide instant feedback,
meaning and context
Magnifies the demand
for timely information Allow us to shape and
create information
Makes information
ourselves and amplify
location-sensitive
others’ messages

8. GADGETS

9. Adult gadget ownership over time (2006-2012)
% of American adults age 18+ who own each device
Source: Pew Internet surveys, 2006-2012

10. Gadget ownership snapshot for adults age 18+
% of American adults age 18+ who own each device
Subset
of cell
phones
Source: The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project surveys.

11. Mobile is the Needle: 88% of US Adults Have a Cell Phone
% in each age group who have a cell phone
46% of US adults now
own SMARTPHONES,
up from 35% in
Spring 2011
Highest rates among:
18-24 year-olds (67%)
25-34 year-olds (71%)
Half of cell owners use
their phone to go online,
and nearly one in three
use the internet mostly
on their cell phone
instead of a laptop or
Teen data July 2011 Adult data Feb 2012
desktop computer

12. Smartphone ownership by age & income/education
% of adults within each group who own a smartphone (for example, 58% of 18-29 year olds with a household income of less
than $30,000 per year are smartphone owners)
18-29 30-49 50-64 65+
(n=336) (n=601) (n=639) (n=626)
All adults 66% 59% 34% 13%
Annual Household Income
Less than $30,000 58 42 16 5
$30,000 or more 72 69 44 27
Educational Attainment
High school grad or less 63 43 22 8
Some college or college graduate 70 71 44 20
Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project January 20-February 19, 2012 tracking survey. N=2,253 adults age 18 and older,
including 901 interviews conducted on respondent’s cell phone. Interviews conducted in both English and Spanish.

13. Overall, if you had to use one single word to describe how you feel about
your cell phone, what would that one word be?

14. Mobile is the Needle
That Weaves Information Throughout Our World
% of US adult cell owners who use their phones to…

15. Cell Phone Activities by Race/Ethnicity
% of adult cell phone owners age 18+ within each group who do the following activities with their cell phone
White, non- Black, non-
Hispanic Hispanic Hispanic
(n=1343) (n=232) (n=196)
Send or receive text messages 70 76 83*
Take a picture 71 70 79*
Access the internet 39 56* 51*
Send a photo or video to someone 52 58 61*
Send or receive email 34 46* 43*
Download an app 28 36* 36*
Play a game 31 43* 40*
Play music 27 45* 47*
Record a video 30 41* 42*
Access a social networking site 25 39* 35*
Watch a video 21 33* 39*
Post a photo or video online 18 30* 28*
Check bank balance or do online banking 15 27* 25*
*indicates statistically significant differences compared with whites.
Source: The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, April 26 – May 22, 2011 Spring Tracking Survey. n=2,277 adults ages 18
and older, including 755 cell phone interviews. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish.

16. How Phones Function In Our Lives
% of US adult cell owners who had done each of the following in the 30 days prior to the survey…

17. Using Phones for Real-Time Information
% of cell owners in each age group who have performed these real-time activities in the previous 30 days
60%
45
Coordinate a gathering 27
23
49%
39
Solve an unexpected problem 26
15
Decide whether or not to visit a 43%
37
business, such as restaurant 18
12 18-29
Look up something to settle an 45%
31
15
argument 4
30-49
33%
29
Look up sports score 14 50-64
5
31%
Get up-to-the minute traffic or public 23 65+
transit info 11
4
21%
21
Get help in an emergency situation 18
16
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Mobile Survey, March 15-April 3, 2012.

18. Apps: From Superhighway to Bypass
One in three US adults download apps to a cell phone or tablet computer
Apps provide direct connections to information
% of app downloaders who have downloaded each type of app…
App downloading
is highest among
young adults age 18-29 Based on August 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey

19. Apps, Geolocation and Augmented Reality

20. Tablet and E-reader Use is on the Rise
• 29% of adults own a specialized device for
e-reading (either a tablet or an e-reader)
– 19% of adults own an e-book reader
– 19% of adults own a tablet computer
• E-book reader and tablet ownership are
strongly correlated with income and
education, and these devices are most
popular with adults under age 50
• Women are more likely than men to own e-
readers, and parents are more likely than
non-parents to own tablets

21. SOCIAL NETWORKS =
NETWORKED INDIVIDUALS, NETWORKED INFORMATION

22. Social Networks are the Threads That Connect Us
65% of online adults use
social networking sites
Consistent rates across gender,
race/ethnicity, and income groups

23. Why Adults 18+ Use Social Networks

24. Social Networks and Social Cohesion
For networked individuals, information is embedded
A Pew study finds that
contrary to fears the and ambient
internet isolates
people...
• Facebook users
are more trusting
than other adults
• Facebook users
have more close
relationships
• Facebook users
get more social
support than
other adults

25. Special Focus - Twitter
Twitter use is especially
prominent among…
• African-
Americans
• 18-24 year olds
• Mobile users

26. Case Studies
The
“Text to
Haiti”
Campaign
and Pew
Arts Survey

27. “Mobile Donor” study
• 20% of American adults have made a charitable donation
online, and 9% have done so via text message
• Partnered with mGive Foundation, Knight Foundation
and Berkman Center to get deeper insights into this
group and their experiences with mobile donations
• Telephone survey of 1,003 text donors to Haiti relief
– Many people screened out due to age (under 18) or because their number was
reassigned

28. Generally speaking, the mobile donors we surveyed are
just “regular folks”
Their tech use is > than the national avg
They are young and racially diverse compared
with other types of charitable donors
They aren’t especially engaged with
social/political issues, and don’t follow
national or int’l news especially closely
They participate in social/civic groups at the
same rate as other Americans

29. Mobile phones facilitate “impulse giving”—most text
donors gave within one day of hearing about campaign…
How long Haiti donors waited between hearing about campaign and making their text donation
Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, Berkman Center for Internet & Society and mGive Foundation
September 9, 2011 – October 13, 2011 survey of 863 cell phone owners who texted a donation to Haiti earthquake relief.
Margin of error is +/-3 percentage points based on Haiti text donors who consented to further contacts on their mobile phone.

30. % of adult book readers (age 18+) using this format on an average
…and generally viewDecember 2011
day, as of June 2010 and text donations as a spur-of-the-
moment decision
When you make an online/text donation, is it…
Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, Berkman Center for Internet & Society and mGive Foundation
September 9, 2011 – October 13, 2011 survey of 863 cell phone owners who texted a donation to Haiti earthquake relief. Margin of
error is +/-3 percentage points based on Haiti text donors who consented to further contacts on their mobile phone.

31. % of adult book readers (age 18+) using this format on an average
The Haiti donors we December 2011
day, as of June 2010 and surveyed have not followed the
ongoing reconstruction efforts very closely…
How closely have you been following events in Haiti following the earthquake?
Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, Berkman Center for Internet & Society and mGive Foundation
September 9, 2011 – October 13, 2011 survey of 863 cell phone owners who texted a donation to Haiti earthquake relief. Margin of
error is +/-3 percentage points based on Haiti text donors who consented to further contacts on their mobile phone.

32. % of adult book readers (age 18+) using this format on an average
…but theyas of June 2010 and December 2011
day, encouraged others to donate through their (face-
to-face) friend networks
% within each group who encouraged others to make a text donation to Haiti relief by…
Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, Berkman Center for Internet & Society and mGive Foundation
September 9, 2011 – October 13, 2011 survey of 863 cell phone owners who texted a donation to Haiti earthquake relief. Margin of
error is +/-3 percentage points based on Haiti text donors who consented to further contacts on their mobile phone.

33. % of adult book readers (age 18+) using this format on an average
…and many of June 2010 and Decemberdonate to other more
day, as have continued to 2011 recent
disaster response efforts
% within each group who texted a donation to…
Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, Berkman Center for Internet & Society and mGive Foundation
September 9, 2011 – October 13, 2011 survey of 863 cell phone owners who texted a donation to Haiti earthquake relief. Margin of
error is +/-3 percentage points based on Haiti text donors who consented to further contacts on their mobile phone.

34. “Internet and Arts Organizations” study
• National survey of all arts organizations that received an
NEA grant between 2006-2011
– NEA funding just a mechanism to build respondent pool; NEA
did not sponsor, no questions about NEA’s role
– Goal is to evaluate how arts orgs are using internet, social media
and other digital technologies in outreach, communications,
development, etc.
• 3k orgs contacted, currently ~600 completed surveys
• Survey ongoing through July, report in Fall

35. All data available at:
pewinternet.org
Aaron Smith
Senior Research Specialist
Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project
asmith@pewinternet.org
Twitter:
@pewinternet
@aaron_w_smith