Looking back at millennials mobile transitions: differentiated patterns of mobile phone use among a diverse group of young adults

Millennials make up for the largest generational cohort and are known to have grown up with mobile phones. This research focuses on the period when millennials had formed a habit of using various features on their mobile phones when they were transitioning from youth to adulthood. Drawing on a unique data set representing a diverse group of young adults, this paper looks at the prevalence and predictors of cell phone usage for a varied set of advanced mobile phone functionalities. Results suggest that African Americans adopt most of the phone's features at higher rates than others. We also find that mobile devices seem to supplement traditional access to the Internet rather than replacing it challenging assumptions about its equalizing potential. This chapter concludes with the implications of this study for digital inequality scholarship and directions for future research.