Hispanics are less connected to the Internet than whites andblacks, using Web sites less frequently and expressing morediscomfort with computers and technology in the workplace, accordingto a new survey.
That could set back the nation's fastest-growing ethnic group,experts say, as more employment, educational and health-careopportunities migrate online.
According to a new Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation-Harvard University poll, 72 percent of Hispanics say they use theInternet, lower than the percentages of whites and AfricanAmericans. Fully 57 percent of Hispanics say they don't have enoughknowledge about computers and technology to be competitive in thecurrent job environment.
That compares with 46 percent of whites and 45 percent of blackswho feel the same level of insecurity about their technologicalskills.
"I haven't been on the Internet in literally months and months,"said Ben Zilberberg, a 59-year-old Latino in Miami. "I'm beginningto feel like a fossil. But I keep saying, 'One day, one day I'lllearn how to use it.' "
The relatively low rates of Internet usage among Hispanics ispartly explained by underlying demographic characteristics,including income and language. Hispanics in families earning $40,000or more each year are as likely to be online as are whites andAfrican Americans with similar household incomes. Lower-incomeHispanics are less apt to use the Internet.
Among Hispanics who were interviewed in English, 88 percent saidthey use the Internet or e-mail at least occasionally. That figurefalls to barely more than half - 53 percent - among those who choseto take the poll in Spanish.
More Hispanics can only get online through cell phones, whilewhites and blacks more frequently have a choice between a fixedwireline connection and a computer at home, said GretchenLivingston, a senior researcher at the Pew Research Center.
"What underlies the lag seems to relate to economic factors," shesaid.
That is the case for Otilia Arredondo, 58, a retiree inSweetwater, Tex. Arredondo, who worked as a cashier and bank tellerbut is now on a fixed income, looked into getting broadband at homelast year, but bundling the cost with her cable television wouldhave driven her bill past $100 a month.
"It's a little too expensive yet," Arredondo said. "I would liketo have it, but with everything else as expensive as it is, you'vegot to make choices. To me, the Internet is more like an extravagantlittle thing right now."
The poll showed relative parity across racial lines in theadoption of wireless devices to access the Internet. But analystssay that does not make up for remaining gaps in the use of desktopcomputers, which tend to provide a greater range of functions thansmartphones.
"Mobile use is great for quick information hits and nuggets ofinformation along the way, but it doesn't lend itself to jobsuccess," said John Horrigan, vice president of research at the high-tech trade group TechNet.
He and other experts say blacks and Hispanics - particularlyyounger ones - are early adopters of wireless technology that cantake advantage of WiFi hotspots in urban areas.
But the different ways groups are getting onto the Web are alsoshowing up in the kinds of activity done online.
Among Internet users, whites lead Hispanics in getting newsonline and in making banking transactions on the Internet. About 75percent of white Internet users said they access health informationonline, as do 70 percent of African Americans and 62 percent ofHispanics.
In the near future, the difference between wireless and fixed-line connections to the Internet may be less bright. President Obamahas proposed an $18 billion plan to blanket the country with high-speed mobile Internet connections in the next five years. He saidthe plan would create a new economic infrastructure for the nationto better compete with other high-tech powerhouses around the globe.
The trends may be changing across generational lines. AmongHispanics age 18 to 34, 87 percent are online, compared with 37percent for those ages 60 and up. Among blacks and whites, more thanhalf of those age 60 or older are online. Nearly all young blacksand whites access the Internet.
Raul Brown, a 23-year-old Hispanic who studied computerprogramming, grew up with a computer in his home and is online 10 to12 hours a day. He uses the Internet to look for work, keep in touchwith friends and keep updated on the news.
"My computer skills and flexibility online helped me get my lastjob," Brown said.
The Post-Kaiser-Harvard telephone poll was conducted Jan. 27 toFeb. 9 among a random national sample of 1,959 adults. The margin ofsampling error for the sample of 826 whites is plus or minus 4percentage points. It is 6 points for the Hispanic and AfricanAmerican samples.
kangc@washpost.com thompsonk@washpost.com Polling manager PeytonM. Craighill contributed to this report.
No comments:
Post a Comment