By Gretchen Livingston Latinos are less likely than whites to
access the internet, have a home broadband connection or own a
cell phone, according to survey findings from the Pew Hispanic
Center, a project of the Pew Research Center. Latinos lag behind
blacks in home broadband access but have similar rates of
internet and cell phone use. While about two-thirds of Latino
(65%) and black (66%) adults went online in 2010, more than
three-fourths (77%) of white adults did so. In terms of
broadband use at home, there is a large gap between Latinos
(45%) and whites (65%), and the rate among blacks (52%) is
somewhat higher than that of Latinos. Fully 85% of whites owned
a cell phone in 2010, compared with 76% of Latinos and 79% of
blacks. Hispanics, on average, have lower levels of education
and earn less than whites. Controlling for these factors, the
differences in internet use, home broadband access and cell
phone use between Hispanics and whites disappear. In other
words, Hispanics and whites who have similar so