Media, Technology, and Reading in Hispanic Families

This report explores reading and electronic media use in Hispanic households with young children. Researchers examined how age, gender, primary language and social economic status relate to media use, as well as how media practices in Hispanic families compare with other ethnic groups. Key findings demonstrate that access to electronic media devices is significantly dependent upon parents' ethnicity and income, and that Hispanic children read for 14 minutes longer than non-Hispanic White children per day and tend to spend more time using mobile devices and computers each day. In addition, Hispanic parents see more of a positive than a negative effect on children's literacy from television, computers and mobile devices, although video games are viewed as negatively impacting their children. Most participants also are convinced that computer and digital literacy are essential skills for their children and do not believe their children are lagging behind their peers in digital skills.