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Digital Divide
In a recently released report by Pew Hispanic called “Latinos and Digital Technology, 2010,” they take a look at Latinos´access to and usage of a variety of digital technologies.
While it is true that in comparison to the overall population in the U.S., Latinos and African Americans as well as other minority groups lag in access to and usage of the internet, if you dig down into the report, there is insight as to which areas the gap is closing. Internet usage, broadband access and cell phone ownership are all mentioned in the complete report. Some key points mentioned that relate to Internet usage and Hispanics include:
• From 2009 to 2010, the amount of Latinos, ages 18 – 29, who were online jumped from 75% to 85%, and those with cell phones rose from 81% to 90%.
• More than eight out of ten (81%) native-born Latinos are online, compared with 54% of foreign-born Latinos; these rates of internet usage were unchanged from 2009.
• English-dominant Hispanics and bilingual Hispanics have relatively high rates of internet use, which statistically did not change from 2009 to 2010. In 2010, some 81% of the English dominant were online, as were 74% of bilingual Hispanics. In contrast, less than half (47%) of Spanish-dominant Hispanics were online in 2010. This is significantly lower than the rate of internet use among English-dominant or bilingual Hispanics, but it also represents a significant increase from 2009, when only 36% of Spanish-dominant Hispanics were online.
• Also, household income is positively linked with having a home broadband connection. One-third (33%) of Latinos with a household income under $30,000 have home broadband access. Among Latinos in households with incomes of $30,000 to $49,999, over half (56%) have broadband access. And 82% of Latinos in households with incomes of at least $50,000 had home broadband access in 2010.
There are of course many factors that impact each group, including nativity, language, education and income, and it is interesting to see how each factor has been taken into consideration in this study; and when these factors were controlled for the differences in internet use, home broadband access and cell phone use between Hispanics and whites, the gap disappears.
For more information, we recommend reviewing the complete report: “Latinos and Digital Technology, 2010.”
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