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7.28.2010

The Latino Digital Divide: The Native Born versus The Foreign Born

By Gretchen Livingston, Senior Researcher, Pew Hispanic Center

Report Materials

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Technology use among foreign-born Latinos continues to lag significantly behind that of their U.S.-born counterparts. The nativity differences are especially pronounced when it comes to internet use. While 85% of native-born Latinos ages 16 and older go online, only about half (51%) of foreign-born Latinos do so. When it comes to cell phones, 80% of native-born Latinos use one, compared with 72% of the foreign born.

While rates of technology use among native-born Hispanics are relatively high, technology use for the full population of Hispanics continues to lag behind the use rates of the non-Hispanic population. When it comes to internet use, some 64% of Latinos ages 18 and older go online, compared with 78% of non-Latinos. More than three-fourths (76%) of Latinos use a cell phone, compared with 86% of non-Latinos.

Among youth ages 16 to 25, non-Hispanics are approaching near-universal internet use, but the rate is markedly lower for Hispanics. Some 95% of non-Hispanics ages 16 and 17 go online, as do 96% of those ages 18 to 25. Among Hispanics in both age groups, the internet use rate is 77%. The ethnic gap in cell phone use is less pronounced, though still significant. Some 82% of non-Hispanics ages 16 and 17 use a cell phone, compared with 72% of Hispanics. Among those ages 18 to 25, 94% of non-Hispanics use a cell phone, as compared with eight-in-ten (80%) Hispanics.

This report is based primarily on the 2009 National Survey of Latinos, which was conducted from August 5 through September 16, 2009 among a randomly selected, nationally representative sample of 2,012 Hispanics ages 16 and older. The survey was conducted in both English and Spanish, on cellular as well as landline telephones. For the total sample, the margin of error is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

Other Resources

Fox, Susannah and Gretchen Livingston. "Latinos Online," Pew Internet & American Life Project and Pew Hispanic Center, Washington, D.C. (March 14, 2007).

Lenhart, Amanda, Rich Ling, Scott Campbell and Kristen Purcell. "Teens and Mobile Phones," Pew Internet & American Life Project, Washington, D.C. (April 20, 2010).

Livingston, Gretchen, Kim Parker and Susannah Fox. "Latinos Online 2006-2008: Narrowing the Gap," Pew Hispanic Center, Washington, D.C. (December 22, 2009).

Pew Hispanic Center, "Between Two Worlds: How Young Latinos Come of Age in America," Washington, D.C. (December 11, 2009).

Smith, Aaron. "Mobile Access 2010," Pew Internet & American Life Project, Washington, D.C. (July 7, 2010).