Hispanic men and women often have different preferences for the activities they pursue on the Internet. These gender differences are also found in the overall Internet population. Compared to Hispanic women who use the Internet, Hispanic men are more likely to go online looking for news, financial information, sports scores, and product information.

For instance, 65% of online Hispanic men have gone online at some point to get news, whereas 56% of Hispanic women have done so. When it comes to researching products, the gap is even greater: 81% of Hispanic male Internet users have sought product information, while 63% of Hispanic women have done the same. Hispanic men are also much more likely than women to have used a multimedia clip online and to have surfed for information about their hobbies.

On the other hand, Hispanic women are more likely than Hispanic male Internet users to log on for information that might enhance their job situation, living accommodations, or health. Like women from other groups, Hispanic women are interested in getting health information online – about 59% of Hispanic women have done so, compared to 42% of Hispanic men. On the less-serious side of life, Hispanic women are more likely to have played a game online (41%, compared to 34% for Hispanic men) and to have used instant messaging (55% for women, compared to 46% for men).

When compared to other groups, Hispanic men have some favorite activities online. For instance, Hispanic men are more likely to have downloaded music from the Web than white men (38% to 25%), and are twice as likely to have done so on a typical day (9% to 4%). Online Hispanic men are also slightly more likely than white men to have searched the Web for information related to schoolwork or for job training (58% to 50%).

Hispanic women also display some differences from women of other races when it comes to their activities online. For instance, Hispanic women have not embraced email on a daily basis as much as other women. About 38% of Hispanic women send or receive an email on a typical day, which is less than the 50% daily rate of email use by white women. Hispanic women are more likely to have gotten sports information online than other women. A third (33%) of online Hispanic women have ever done so, compared to 22% of white women and 28% of black women.

Hispanic women with Internet access are more likely than online white women to have used the Internet for work-related or school-related research. About 65% of Hispanic women have used the Net to obtain information for school or their job, which is about the same as black women (67%), but is higher than the percentage of white women (52%) who have done so. Hispanic women also use the Web in greater proportions than white women to look for a job or a new place to live.

On the other hand, Hispanic women have not embraced the Net for spiritual and religious guidance as other women have, especially African-American women. While about 18% of Hispanic women have sought such information online, 39% of African American women have done so; 23% of white women have done the same.