Dive Brief:

• Often characterized as slow adopters of technology, contractors are relying more heavily on the Internet and social media, an Equipment World survey revealed.

• Over the past four years, the use of smartphones has risen among construction contractors by 14%—to 66% of survey respondents. The use of Internet-enabled phones by the general population is slightly higher, at 70%.

• Contractors in the survey said they use their phones for email (83%); texting (89%); Web browsing (79%); apps (50%); videos (47%); and social media (14%).

Dive Insight:

Just 45% of the contractors said they use social media—and not necessarily with their phones—but 94% said they’re on Facebook. In addition, the trades said they rely heavily on the Internet for researching equipment.