Latinos do not use the Internet as often as their non-Hispanic counterparts, according to a study by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Pew Internet Project.
Differences in levels of education and English proficiency could explain much of the disparity, the report concludes. Fifty-six percent of Latinos in the U.S. use the Internet, compared with 71 percent of non-Hispanic whites, and 60 percent of non-Hispanic blacks. But 78 percent of Latinos who live in homes where English is the dominant language, and 70 percent of those who completed high school use the Internet. Furthermore, Latinos are less likely to have an Internet connection in their homes than their non-Hispanic white counterparts—79 percent compared with 92 percent.
The report was based on the merging of two surveys: the 2006 National Survey of Latinos and the 2006 Hispanic Religion Survey, both conducted on behalf of Pew Research Center projects.
The combined sample included 6,016 Latino adults of Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central American, and South American heritage.
“Latinos Online” is posted by the Pew Hispanic Center.
