Latinos use the Internet. By Susannah Fox and Gretchen Livingston More than one-in-two Latinos (56%) goes online, a lower rate than among non-Hispanic whites (71%) and non-Hispanic blacks (60%). Several socio-economic characteristics that are often intertwined, including low levels of education and limited English ability, largely explain the gap in Internet use between Hispanics and non-Hispanics. Among the key findings: 78% of Latinos who are English-dominant and 76% of bilingual Latinos use the internet, compared with 32% of Spanish-dominant Hispanic adults. 76% of U.S.-born Latinos go online, compared with 43% of those born outside the U.S. Some of this is related to language, but the analysis shows that being born outside of the 50 states is an independent factor that is associated with a decreased likelihood of going online. 89% of Latinos who have a college degree, 70% of Latinos who completed high school, and 31% of Latinos who did not complete high school go online. Mexicans, the largest national origin group in the U.S. Latino population, are among the least likely to go online: 52% of Latinos of Mexican descent uses the internet. Even when age, income, language, generation, or nativity is held constant, being Mexican is associated with a decreased likelihood of going online. Some Latinos who do not use the Internet are connecting to the communication revolution in a different way Š via cell phone. Fully 59% of Latino adults have a cell phone and 49% of Latino cell phone users send and receive text messages on their phone. Looking at the numbers in a different way, 56% of Latino adults go online, 18% of Latino adults have a cell phone but do not go online and 26% of Latino adults have neither a cell phone nor an Internet connection. |