Line
How Fast Americans Took Up New Technology
Share of U.S. adults (households for computers) using or owning each, %
3 of 4 series are above their level a year earlier·2 of 3 are at a five-year high
Plays the chart through its history. Pauses are where the data set a record or moved most.
Computers and the internet from NTIA (Census CPS supplement); smartphones and ChatGPT from Pew Research Center. Each line measures something different, so compare shapes, not levels. Pew changed its ChatGPT question in its latest wave.
Adoption curves for four technologies on one calendar. ChatGPT use is the newest line; compare its slope with the smartphone and the internet over their early years.
What this chart reads
- Adults Using ChatGPT · U.S. (Pew)as “Use ChatGPT”latest 2026-02-23
- Households With a Computer · U.S. (1994–2012)as “Household computer”behindlatest 2012-10-01
- Adults Using the Internet · U.S.as “Use the internet”latest 2023-11-01
- Adults Owning a Smartphone · U.S. (Pew)as “Own a smartphone”behindlatest 2025-06-18
Sources
Adults Using ChatGPT · U.S. (Pew). Source: Pew Research Center. Citation: "Americans and AI 2026: Chatbots, Smart Devices and Views on Impact." Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C. (June 17, 2026) https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/PI_2026.06.17_Americans-and-AI_REPORT.pdf Earlier waves are Pew's published trend in that report's topline.
Households With a Computer · U.S. (1994–2012). Source: NTIA Internet Use Survey Data Explorer (variable computerAtHome, universe: householders), from Census Bureau Current Population Survey supplements. U.S. Government work. https://www.ntia.gov/data/explorer
Adults Using the Internet · U.S.. Source: NTIA Internet Use Survey Data Explorer (variable internetUser, universe: adults), from Census Bureau Current Population Survey supplements. U.S. Government work. https://www.ntia.gov/data/explorer
Adults Owning a Smartphone · U.S. (Pew). Source: Pew Research Center, Mobile Fact Sheet (surveys of U.S. adults, 2011–2025). Values are Pew's published figures, dated by survey. Citation: "Mobile Fact Sheet." Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/
Charts are drawn from Palanor's signal library and recomputed from source data on every view. Transformations (changes, indexing, year-on-year rates) are Palanor's.