• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, October 7, 2010

According to BIGresearch, 86.2% of Americans regularly surf the Internet in a given week, but differ greatly among ethnic segments. Compared to Caucasians, minority groups are more likely to surf the Internet and visit social networking sites in their leisure time; read, post to and maintain blogs; view news, videos and TV shows online; and send text messages. And, minority groups are more likely than Caucasians to regularly use Twitter.

Regular Facebook usage has doubled since December 2008 for all ethnic segments except Asians, who were early adopters.

Facebook ranks among the top social media sites regularly visited by:

• 55.7% of Asians
•  54.2% of Hispanics
•  47.7% of African Americans
• 43,0% of Caucasians

·      Source: BIGresearch, September 2010           

Among social sites, YouTube places second for Hispanics, African Americans and Caucasians, but is #1 for 56% of Asians (56.0%).

Hulu is also popular among 17.5% of Asians, followed by:

• 15.1% of Hispanics
• 11.3 of African Americans
•  8.0% of Caucasians

·      Source: BIGresearch, September 2010           

When minority groups aren't tweeting or sharing videos they are shopping. For minority consumers, shopping is the #1 online activity for fun. They are more likely than Caucasians to regularly purchase products online and research products online before buying them in person. 34.5% of Asians are most likely to regularly purchase products, followed by:

• 34.1% of African Americans
• 32.2 % of Hispanics
• 29.5% of Caucasians

·      Source: BIGresearch, September 2010           

51.2% of Hispanics are most likely to conduct preliminary product research online, followed by:

• 49.7% of Asians
• 46.6% of African Americans
• 40.2% of Caucasians

·      Source: BIGresearch, September 2010           

African Americans and Hispanics are downloading music or checking movie schedules for online entertainment beyond shopping, while Asians are instant messaging and playing video games. Caucasians are more likely to be found checking the weather or the score of the most recent football game.

Downloading music and videos is a top priority for minorities online, but differences exist when it comes to top downloading sites. Although iTunes.com is the most popular site, more Asians are using YouTube.com, and they also choose Google.com over LimeWire.com.

Top 3 Downloading Music and Video Sites (% of Users)
Users	iTunes	YouTube	Google	LimeWire
Hispanics	23.2%	14.1%		6.6%
Asians	21.8	18.6	4.4
African Americans	18.1	11.1		5.6
Caucasians	17.8	9.8		3.2
Source: BIGresearch, September 2010

With so many activities to engage in online, says the report, Internet users have found ways to stay connected anywhere, and minority groups have the leading edge in new mobile technology. The African American segment has the highest percentage of regular Blackberry users, but Asians are most likely to search the Internet on a Blackberry (15.3%). Asians are also most likely to search the Internet on Droids (9.7%), iPads (11.2%) and iPhones (20.0%) while Hispanics have the highest percentage regularly using cell phones to go online (23.6%).

For a full complimentary report from BIGresearch, please go here.