Latinos Prove To Be Early Adapters

By: Eddy Aguilar Saba According to the Pew Research Center, Latinos are proving to be some of the biggest users of technology in the nation.  They have far surpassed usage of other groups in America for smartphone ownership, going online from a smartphone device and using social networking sites.  Furthermore, it seems that that they are also some of the earliest adapters.  This is partially driven by the fact that much of the Latino population is young.  Nielsen refers to these findings and calls Latinos, “one of today’s most engaged and dynamic populations in the digital space.”  Today, 72 percent of Latino internet users say they are on social media sites as compared to 58 percent of all U.S. internet users according to the Pew Research Center. What are the implications for the Latino community?  Latinos have been able to capitalize on this technological edge and use social media as a platform to affect change.  Social media was used to bolster Latino voter registration during the presidential election, it was used to promote immigration reform and it was used to advise students on how to secure temporary legal status from President Obama’s deferred action program.  According to a recent article, the virtual “iMarch” on Washington last month to promote immigration reform was one of the largest social media advocacy efforts in history.  This reveals a glimpse into the future where savvy Latino activists will have the power to generate momentum through social media and have the ability to leverage this power to affect positive change for the community.