Ten U. Florida students sat scattered on an RTS bus Tuesday. While each had his or her differences in appearance, they had one thing in common: They were looking at their smartphones.
UF criminology and law sophomore Edwin Velazquez, 19, was one of the UF students heading home from class glancing at his Sprint HTC EVO smartphone with headphones in his ears.
Velazquez is one of the about 50 percent of U.S. adults who have mobile access to the Internet through a smartphone or tablet, according to the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism survey released Monday.
“I like listening to music when I use my phone on the bus,” he said. “And I’m definitely reading up on the election debate and the topics that will most likely be presented at the debate.”
The survey found that tablet and smartphone ownership has increased among adults. About 22 percent of U.S. adults now own a tablet, and 44 percent of U.S. adults own a smartphone.
“The simple fact that technology is booming forces most Americans to catch up with new trends,” Velazquez said.
Other students said they feel the same way.
“I always see people on their smartphones,” said Sheila Scolaro, a 20-year-old UF plant science junior. “They’re mostly on Facebook, texting or checking their emails.”
After owning an iPhone 4 for a year and an iPad for two years, Scolaro said she can’t imagine life without them.
She said she likes to check her email on her phone and to see her planner electronically. However, she prefers to look at the news on her laptop.
While the Pew survey said that almost two-thirds of the smartphone and tablet owners use their devices to read the news, it also found that 41 percent of mobile users prefer to view the news from their computers.
UF health science major Juliet Eirikis, 19, doesn’t own a smartphone or a tablet.
She said she won’t pay for the unnecessary data plans that come with smartphones.
“Last time I purchased a phone, I noticed how few choices there were for nonsmartphones,” she said. “I think that’s what the consumer wants, and that’s what the industry is pushing toward.”