Wealthy and well-educated Americans dominate online civic activities, just as they have long dominated traditional civic involvement, according to a study released on Tuesday by Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project. [...]

"It's an open question . . . as to what happens when these people grow up" as far as their income and education levels, Smith said. "It's very hard to measure the socioeconomic level of someone who is 25 years old and only been in the workforce a year or two or who is in college and hasn't even worked before."

Federal officials currently are expanding citizen outreach efforts to target mobile device users. The study found that only 15 percent of cell phone owners who were engaged in political activities used their phones last summer for such activities.

Smith said that number likely will grow. "I think cell phones in 2008 are a little bit where online videos were in 2006," he said. When the project conducts a similar study in 2012, "I think cell phones could quite possibly be the next thing."

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