Hispanic Enterprise - December 2007/January 2008 - (Page 12) BRIEFCASE DYNAMIC TRENDS By Marissa Rodriguez HISPANICS EMBRACE THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY WIRED UP nternet providers, personal computer companies and wireless device companies investing in the Latino market are right on the pulse of what could be the next consumer boom. A new study reveals that the long-held misconception that Hispanics don’t use the Internet and not tech-savvy is dead wrong. The study, “The State of Hispanic Consumers and Technology: 2007,” compiled and analyzed more than 17,500 survey responses gathered over nearly two years to determine not only how much time Latinos spend online, but what they do online, whether they prefer English or Spanish, what gadgets and devices they buy and their overall attitudes about technology and Internet usage. The result is a comprehensive report on Hispanics’ relationship to personal technology and the Internet. The conclusions? Hispanics, of course, do use the Internet, perhaps more than previously believed, but their usage habits and attitudes differ from nonHispanic users. Even among themselves, Hispanics’ habits and attitudes vary widely and are far more dynamic than perhaps was expected. Survey responses tended to be divided by such factors as whether the respondents preferred to speak English or Spanish, their level of acculturation and income level. Language preference was the largest variable. Comprising 51 percent of all online Hispanics, the report shows that Spanish speakers, like their Englishspeaking counterparts, prefer to spend time online networking and conducting 12 I research. However, Spanish speakers best English-speaking Hispanics in a number of social and entertainmentrelated online activities. They are more likely to use instant messaging (IM), listen to Internet radio, watch Internet video, download video and music, use chat rooms and discussion boards, publish their own web sites and read or maintain blogs. Hispanics, according to the survey, are also fans of gadgets, but again to varying degrees. Although the use of wireless devices has grown overall among Hispanics, only Englishdominant Hispanics have surpassed English-dominant non-Hispanics when it comes to owning video games, MP3 players and laptop computers. Spanishlanguage Hispanics still lag behind nonHispanic buyers. The report reiterates that as prices fall, Spanish-dominant Hispanics are expected to purchase more. December/January 2008 HISPANIC ENTERPRISE
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