Latino Internet Usage Not a Low as You May Think

Another word on Latinos and the Internet.

We’ve talked about this before, and I bring it up again because I don’t want you to get caught up in the new information that’s begun to flow out there.

In essence, the newest report published by CNN.com states that “Internet use is more prevalent in white and Asian-American households than with people from other racial groups. Sixty-eight percent of white homes have high-speed internet; meanwhile, 48 percent of Hispanic homes and 49 percent of African-American homes have that access.”

It’s the old picture of the digital divide: only 48 percent of Latino homes have broadband. The trouble is that the old story has updated numbers, the 48 percent sans broadband is true.

But what the report fails to say is that broadband does not equal Internet access. In fact, Latinos are accessing the Internet in growing numbers, but they’re doing it on their mobile devices.

The Pew Hispanic Center reported in July of this year that “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.”

So young Latinos use cell phones more than home computers. And if you add to that the fact that “cell phone” includes a growing usage of smart phones, with Internet access, you end up with a very different picture.

And it’s bound to grow. In fact, sooner than we think. This Christmas shopping season, which because of recession pressures has all but already started, the supply of smart phones is expectedto rise while the cost of the Internet capable mobile devices is expected to fall.

The result? This mobile Internet growth thing is just getting started. So if you want to reach the Latino market over the WWW (and I don’t mean World Wide Wrestling), go mobile.

That reminds me, we need to have a NewsTaco meeting to make sure we’re mobile accessible.