UMD journalism senior doesn't use Safari and instead scrolls through Twitter before class

In America, 10 percent of the population is only able to access the internet at home through smartphones.

With so many Americans smartphone-dependent, they use their phones for important tasks, such as looking up health and job information.

More than half of smartphone users use their phones to do online banking (57 percent) and almost half of users look up real estate listings and places to live on those devices.

They also read the news on their phones.

When Ryan Baillargoen has time to kill before class, he scrolls through Twitter searching for interesting stories.

The senior journalism major at Maryland isn't unique. 

With so many Americans dependent on their smartphone, Twitter is important to news organizations.

Baillargeon prefers Twitter to web browsers, such as Safari.

Baillargoen sometimes finds stories through the Washington Post or New York Times app, too.

Even five years ago, smartphones weren’t as important.

In spring 2011, 35 percent of Americans had a smartphone. Now, 64 percent of Americans have a smartphone.

Many of them get their news through Twitter, like Baillargoen.