Pew: Digital Divide for Latinos Narrowing

The digital divide between Latinos and whites is shrinking, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

Since 2009, according to Pew, Latinos who say they use the Internet has grown by 20 percentage points, from 64% to 84%, while for whites the increase was from 80% to 89%, or fewer than 10 percentage points.

The biggest increase has come from Spanish-dominant Hispanics--almost doubled from 36% to 74%--and Hispanic immigrants, whose use has jumped from 51% to 78% since 2009.

There is no divide over what is the dominant Internet access tool: a mobile device.

The survey found that 80% of Latino adults access the 'net from a mobile device. That figure is 77% for blacks and 76% for whites.

The study was based on phone interviews with a representative sample of 1,500 Latino respondents 18-plus Oct. 21 - Nov. 30, 2015. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.3 points.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.