As the public increasingly relies on the Internet and mobile technologies amid the coronavirus outbreak, Pew Research Centre has released new analysis examining the prevalence of Internet usage globally, and how demographics such as age, income, and education affect people’s relationship with these technologies.
Among the key findings in the survey are:
• More than half of people report using the Internet at least occasionally or owning a smartphone in 32 out of 34 countries polled
• Younger people are more likely than older people to say they use the Internet, and the divide between these two age groups is generally greater in emerging economies
• People with a higher level of education and incomes are more likely to use the Internet or report owning a smartphone
• There is a strong relationship between smartphone ownership and a country’s per capita GDP, with people in wealthier countries reporting owning a smartphone in higher shares than those in less wealthy nations
• A majority in most countries say they use some form of social media (Facebook, Twitter, or other country-specific forms of social media), but this falls below general Internet use in 30 out of 34 countries.
