Mobile News Consumption Rising, Along With Smartphone Ownership

Elizabeth Ashworth, an assistant dean at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, says she's following referrals from her social media sites to find out what's happening.

Ashworth is part of a trend highlighted in the Pew Research Center's report on U.S. smartphone use in 2015. It notes that 64 percent of U.S. adults own a smartphone -- up from 35 percent in 2011. And 68 percent of these smartphone owners use their phones to at least occasionally follow breaking news.