The tables above show clear differences in use of the internet – wireless and wireline – among Hispanic respondents to the survey. English-speaking Hispanics are ardent users of wireless access, whether that is on a handheld device or a laptop computer. Overall, English-speaking Hispanics are the heaviest users of wireless onramps to the internet. It is important to note, however, that this survey did not provide a Spanish language option for respondents. This means that respondents whose primary language is Spanish were not participants in the survey.

The lack of a Spanish language option means the Hispanics in the April sample are collectively better off socio-economically than if the sample included respondents who had the option to take the survey in Spanish. The Pew Internet Project conducted a survey in December 2008 that included a Spanish language option, and that survey showed that 28% of Hispanics in that sample had household incomes below $20,000 annually. The April 2009, in contrast, showed that 18% of Hispanic respondents in the sample had household incomes below $20,000 annually. Similarly, 14% of Hispanics in the December 2008 survey were college graduates compared to 26% in the April 2009 survey. Finally, English-speaking Hispanics are generally younger than other Americans; the median age for English-speaking Hispanics is 35 in the April 2009 survey compared with a median age of 44 for the entire sample.

As to broadband penetration, the December 2008 surveyed showed that 37% of Hispanics had broadband at home (compared with an average of 56% at that time) while the April 2009 survey – without the Spanish language option – showed that 68% of English-speaking Hispanics had broadband at home (against the 63% average).

All of this is to say that the results above for Hispanics should be interpreted in the proper context. The English only nature of the April 2009 survey resulted in a sample of Hispanics that collectively has a higher socio-economic status than the December 2008 sample with a Spanish language option. This suggests that the sample of Hispanics in the April 2009 survey is more tech-oriented than if the sample had included Hispanics who availed themselves of the option to take the survey in Spanish.