Smartphones May Be Narrowing the Racial Digital Divide

A new report from the Pew Hispanic Center finds that the use of smartphones by African Americans and Hispanics may be narrowing the digital divide. The report found that 65 percent of whites, but only 52 percent of blacks, had broadband Internet access in their homes. But 6 percent of all blacks report that they access the Internet from their smartphones but do not have Internet access at their home. Only one percent of whites have smartphone access to the Internet but do not have broadband connections at home.

The report found that overall, 67 percent of blacks went online in 2010 compared to 77 percent of whites. The data showed that 79 percent of blacks and 85 percent of whites owned a mobile telephone.

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