• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, December 24, 2013

Hispanic children over-index in a number of media consumption measures, including reading and watching TV.
 
On average, the children of U.S. Hispanic families read (or are read to) for one hour and eight minutes per day, or 14 minutes more than non-Hispanic white children, at 54 minutes per day. Hispanic kids watch an average two hours and seven minutes of TV a day, or 29 minutes more than non-Hispanic white counterparts, with an average one hour 38 minutes per day.
 
The findings are per a new study conducted by Northwestern University and the National Center for Families Learning, which also examined a variety of digital media behaviors and device ownership among U.S. Hispanic families across a range of incomes.

Overall, 99% of Hispanic families report having a TV. However, there is considerable variation in TV usage patterns between high- and low-income Hispanic families. Low-income families are more likely to report having a TV in a child’s room (53%, versus 28% for high-income Hispanic families) and having a TV on all the time (50% versus 29%). By contrast, time spent reading did not vary between high- and low-income families.
 
Turning to mobile devices, 72% of Hispanic families with children age eight or less own a smartphone, comparable to non-Hispanic white families, but they are less likely to own a tablet computer (33% of Hispanic families, compared to 46% for non-Hispanic white families).

High-income Hispanic families are more likely to own a smartphone than low-income Hispanic families (77% versus 54%).
 
Among Hispanic families that own smartphones or computers, the children use them more, on average, than children in non-Hispanic white families. Hispanic kids spend 34 minutes per day on tablet computers, compared to 23 minutes per day for children in non-Hispanic white families; 35 minutes per day on computers, compared to 22 minutes per day for kids in non-Hispanic white families; and 26 minutes per day on smartphones, compared to just 10 for non-Hispanic white peers.

"Girl watching TV" photo from Shutterstock.

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