African-American and Hispanic Internet Users Are Especially Receptive

Internet users were more likely to take action the younger they were, and African-Americans and Hispanics were more likely to take action than whites.

The Dwindling Digital Divide

The African-American online population is growing, in more ways than one.
The “digital divide,” a phrase describing the gulf between Internet “haves” and “have nots,” is still evident, but shrinking.eMarketer estimates that nearly one-half of the African-American population—over 19 million people—uses the Internet at least once a month, and in four years, 56% will be online.
Trends in African-American Internet usage generally mirror those of the US Internet population as a whole. “Younger black Internet users are most comfortable with all forms of digital communication: visiting social networks, downloading and streaming music and videos, blogging and playing games,” says Lisa E. Phillips, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, African-Americans Online.” “Black boomers are online in high numbers, but mostly for e-mail and news. Black seniors ages 61 and older are least likely to go online and are more likely to read magazines and newspapers, as well as watch news on television.”

African American Internet Use Climbs

The internet gap is closing according to this published report by eMarketer. The percentage of African-Americans who use the Internet increased to 64% as of December 2008, up from 56% in December 2007, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. In comparison, Internet users represented 74% of the total US population in December 2008, dipping slightly from 75% in December 2007.
The proportion of African-Americans who use the Internet increased by 22 percentage points from December 2000 to December 2008, compared with 21 percentage points for the total US population.