Report: U.S. Hispanics avoiding Internet

WASHINGTON, March 14 (UPI) -- U.S. Hispanics are falling behind other cultural groups in Internet use due to varying degrees of English proficiency and education, a report found.

The Pew Hispanic Center and the Pew Internet Project said their study found that nearly 56 percent of U.S. Hispanics use the Internet, a figure substantially behind non-Hispanic groups in the nation.

In comparison, 60 percent of the U.S. blacks surveyed said they go online regularly, and 71 percent of white respondents reported engaging in regular online behavior.

The study found that when taking into account respondents' ability to speak English, Hispanic figures for Internet use jumped to 76 percent for bilingual residents and 78 for English-dominant Latinos.

Similar findings were determined when the study looked at educational levels in the Hispanic community.

Internet use skyrocketed to 70 percent for Hispanics who completed high school and 89 percent for Hispanics who finished college, but fell to 31 percent among those without high school or college diplomas.