Skip to main content

Smartphone video calling has tripled since 2011, says Pew Center

Smartphone video calling has tripled since 2011, says Pew Center

Facetime over LTE
Facetime over LTE

Video calls on cellphones are rapidly growing in popularity in the US. According to a new poll from the Pew Center, the number of adults making video calls has tripled over the last three years, rising from seven percent to 21 percent. Currently, about 91 percent of US adults have cellphones — about 56 percent own smartphones. While the surprising jump in video calling is notable, it's not a total surprise when looking at the rest of Pew's research on what Americans do with their cellphones.

Much less popular: the check-in The new Pew survey notes that 60 percent of Americans use their phone to connect to the internet, 52 percent send or receive email, 50 percent download apps, 49 percent get directions, and 48 percent listen to music. When compared to all these other things people do with their phones, it's clear that video calling has plenty of room to grow, despite healthy adoption rates so far. But while video calling isn't yet as popular as email, it's far more en vogue than location check-ins, which Pew says only eight percent of phone users currently do.