10/1/2013
It’s accepted without question that today’s families integrate technology into all aspects of their lives. Kids carry smartphones to coordinate carpool pickups. And parents email their kids’ teachers with homework questions. Yet, this adoption has largely outpaced research that examines unique demographical challenges and opportunities brought forth by technology. And this lack of information is particularly notable among Hispanic families, according to research conducted by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, the National Center for Family Literacy, and the National Council of La Raza. Hispanic families simply don’t have the same access points and behaviors as white or black families.
And this dearth of information is disturbing because Hispanic families are projected to be the majority by 2050. Currently, there are more than 10.4 million Hispanic households, and Hispanics make up 22% of the young people under age 22. Their differently plugged circumstances reverberate across all aspects of their lives. Almost half of Hispanic households (41%), for instance, are “cell phone only” homes, with no landline telephone. Yet, homes typically need a landline to receive 3G or 4G Internet access. And how does access to email on a smartphone, the format Hispanics typically use, compare to checking email via Facebook? These questions remain unanswered.
Although white parents will purchase tech gadgets partly for their own personal usage, Hispanic families adopt these gadgets for their children. For instance, Hispanic parents overwhelmingly view computers and the Internet as important for their children to have in order to do well in school and will forgo other expenses to get Internet service expressly for the purpose of helping their children with schoolwork.
There’s also little research that accurately depicts their day-to-day usage. Most research and recommendations regarding digital technology are aimed at turning Hispanic parents into “imitation white parents” or emphasize the differences, with Hispanic habits being positioned as the lesser or wrong method. For instance, white parents tend to see themselves as “adjunct school teachers” helping supplement their children’s education. Hispanic parents, by contrast, focus more on developing pro-social behaviors and helping their kids make wise decisions without further prodding. It’s the instructor-versus-a-friend approach. Neither tactic is superior, but each carries its own differences.
Hispanic parents, in general, are less savvy when it comes to many new technologies and, as a result, are less likely to be comfortable and familiar with programs that help parents track their children’s media usage. It takes more than a general PSA telling them about the V-chip to get them to use it.
In fact, Hispanic parents are more likely than white or black parents to physically control their children’s online access, rather than rely on technology or online security screens. Hence, Hispanic parents literally disconnect the modem or disable the computer to make it impossible for children to access the Internet if they aren’t there to supervise.
At the same time, Hispanic parents are less restrictive than white or black parents with their children’s television and video game usage.
Meanwhile, children seek primarily English-language media, while their grandparents prefer Spanish-language media, and their parents use a mixture of both. This makes programming for intergenerational media a challenge for programmers and youth marketers especially because it illustrates that one language isn’t dominant in these families’ homes. This has important implications for their education because children may not be receiving a solid basis in any language. They pick up a few words from English-language TV and can speak, but not read, Spanish words, but they lack a comprehensive understanding of either language.
There are also fewer educational materials in Hispanic households. To this end, there are more books, in any language, in white families’ homes than there are in Hispanic families’ homes at kindergarten (80 vs. 45), first (111 vs. 63), and third grades (132 vs. 81). However, it’s important to note that the time spent looking at picture books and reading books does not differ greatly between Spanish-speaking and English-speaking homes.
Hispanic parents are willing to be as involved with their children’s school activities as parents of other races and ethnicities, but it’s often necessary to recruit them through different channels. Hispanic parents are best solicited through school and community programs, instead of through digital channels, such as emails and online postings.
It’s also important when reviewing research on Hispanic and Latino families to realize that ethnicity and race tend to not have as much relevance as generational and residency status, language dominance, social class, and region of the U.S. where families reside.
SOURCES: Joan Ganz Cooney Center, Sesame Workshop, Sarah Vaala, Study author, 1900 Broadway, New York, NY 10023; 212-595-3456; cooney.center@sesameworkshop.org; www.joanganzcooneycenter.org.
National Council of La Raza, Julian Teixeira, 1126 16th St., NW, #600, Washington, DC 20036; 202-776-1812; jteixeira@nclr.org; www.nclr.org.
Pew Internet & American Life Project, Amanda Lenhart, Senior Research Specialist, 1615 L St., #700, Washington, DC 20036; 202-419-4500; data@pewinternet.org; www.pewinternet.org.
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