By David Hoover (Latin Link)
One of the common myths about U.S. Hispanics is that they divide up digitally. Many believe that Spanish-dominant Hispanics are not online and don’t know their way around the Internet very well.
Wrong.
A new study released by Ipsos MediaCT—the LMX Hispanic study—complements other research that shows Spanish-dominant U.S. Hispanics are sophisticated Internet users that favor several key online activities.
Major multitasking>>>Hispanics are on a variety of different sites, with several screens open, multitasking while online. This makes them more likely than the general market to extend their average 24-hour day into a 31-hour day through media multitasking. In fact, 62% of Hispanics report going online while watching TV.
Heavy socializing>>>Spanish-dominant Hispanics are on social media a lot, using it to stay in touch with family and friends in home countries. The Ipsos survey found that 79% of Spanish-dominant U.S. Hispanics were on social networks—the same amount as English-dominant Hispanics and 1% more than bilingual Hispanics. Other studies have found a similar result—a recent survey found that 26.8% of Hispanic Internet users spend 6 hours or more a day on social media sites.
Lots of video watching>>>The Ipsos survey found that digital Hispanics share 50% more online videos than the total online population in the U.S. In addition, half of Hispanic video viewers use 2 screens to watch videos and 8% percent use 3 screens. This means that this 50% of viewers watch videos on TV and computers, while the 8% watches videos on TV, online and via smartphones. Both Pew and Nielsen have published studies that also indicate that Hispanics are heavy viewers of online videos—more than African Americans or white non-Hispanics.
