Current Cellphone/Smartphone Penetration Trends Mean Multimodal is Key to Successful Research

A primary goal for researchers is to make sure that they achieve a representative cross-section of any population being surveyed.  These days, there are more channels, or modes, to reach respondents than ever before.  This article will discuss current trends in adoption of cellphone/smartphone devices in the general population in the United States and demonstrate the absolute critical need for an experience multimodal data collection partner to access this population.

General Trends in Cellphone/Smartphone Ownership

When did we as a society “cut the phone cord”?  Well, it varies a bit by age group, but a milestone of sorts was passed nonetheless back in 2017 when the percentage of the U.S. population overall who only used a cellphone (and no landline) passed the 50% mark.  Since then, the percentage of Americans who only use a cellphone has increased further to 68% of Americans who personally had a wireless telephone and lived in a household that did not have a landline (as of December ’21).

Wireless-Only

The importance of a multimodal approach to survey respondents is made even more evident when we look at percentages of cell-only households across various demographic groups.  The Centers for Disease Control conducts an annual National Health Information Survey (NHIS), which along with a multitude of health data, asks about landline and cellphone usage.  As the following statistics drawn from that survey illustrate, if researchers wish to survey certain groups, a multimodal approach including cellphones is virtually the only way to ensure a representative sample.

Wireless-Only by Key Demographic Groups

• More than four in five adults aged 25–29 (87.4%) and aged 30-34 (86.4%) were wireless-only. The percentage of adults who were wireless-only decreased as age increased beyond 35 years: 79.6% for those 35–44; 66.2% for those 45–64; and 43.4% for those 65 and over.

• Hispanic adults (79.1%) were more likely than non-Hispanic White (65.6%), non-Hispanic Black (65.0%), or non-Hispanic Asian (67.2%) adults to be wireless-only.

• Men (69.1%) were more likely than women (66.9%) to be wireless-only.

• Adults with family incomes below the federal poverty threshold (76.2%) were more likely than adults with family incomes of 100% to less than 200% of the federal poverty threshold (71.0%) and adults with higher family incomes (67.3%) to be wireless-only.

• Adults living in the Midwest (69.9%), South (72.5%), and West (69.6%) were more likely than those living in the Northeast (53.6%) to be wireless-only.

• Four in five adults living in rented homes (82.0%) were wireless-only. This percentage is higher than the percentage for adults living in homes owned by a household member (61.5%).

An additional key statistic adds significantly to the 68% wireless-only cohort…the fact that as of the end of 2021, an additional group comprising 16.3% of all adults consider themselves to be “wireless-mostly” users, who still may have a landline, but use it infrequently. This means over 84% of the population are most likely to be reached via a mobile device.

Smartphone Adoption Opens Door to Surveys

Since their introduction over the last decade, mobile phone adoption has increased significantly.  While almost all U.S. adults surveyed currently own a cell phone (97%), some 85% of those same adults say that their mobile device is a smartphone. 

The ease with which smartphones can quickly access online content has provided researchers with a high-speed on ramp to the information superhighway. 

Summary

Given current cellphone and smartphone adoption trends amongst the U.S. population, the overwhelming numbers virtually mandate inclusion of mobile devices in any researchers sampling strategy.  American Directions Research has longstanding expertise in the multimodal approaches needed to not only reach, but maximize the rate of response to this population.  Best practices and techniques related to text invitations, appropriate email practices or application of digital incentives described in other articles in this series speak specifically to how these results are achieved.  Contact American Directions Research Group to learn more about the multimodal approaches that will work best for your next research project.