Young Latinos Adopt a New American Pastime: Text Messaging

Young Hispanics (ages 16 to 25) make extensive use of mobile technology. When asked to consider how they communicate with friends, half of young Hispanics say they send text messages every day, making it the most popular form of communication among this group. Older Hispanics, however, have not joined the text-messaging bandwagon. Only 21% of Hispanics ages 26 and older text with friends daily. Young Hispanics still trail non-Hispanics when it comes to texting; among 16- and 17-year-olds, just under half (49%) of Hispanics text daily, compared with 64% of non-Hispanics. Much of the gap is the result of nativity. Among Latinos ages 16 to 25, 65% of U.S.-born Latinos text daily compared with just 26% of the foreign born. Language also plays a role. While 68% of English-dominant and half (50%) of bilingual young Latinos use text messaging daily for communication, just 19% of Spanish-dominant young Latinos do the same. Read More