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Latinas Use of Social Media
By Mari D. González
Brazilian market research firm Sophia Mind reports some preliminary differences in social-network sites use between American and U.S. Latinas -women from Latin America including women of Brazilian descent.
Sophia Mind summarizes, “while American women use social networks mostly to connect with friends and family, [Latina women in the U.S., Brazil, Argentina and Mexico] use social nets to find information on products and services” (Malykhina, 2010, ¶ 4). The study notes the lack of culturally relevant content for Latina women in the U.S., and concludes that only 21% U.S. Latinas/Hispanic women feel social networks meet their needs.
Facebook vs. Face-to-Face
It is not uncommon for older generations to hold a differing perception on the use of social-network sites from that of “the young and the digital.”
Many of us assume that social-network communication or the use of social media will eventually displace the need and/or desire for in-person interactions.
Media Associate Professor, S. Craig Watkins asserts differently. He observes that young people use social-network sites as an extension of their face-to-face interactions not as a replacement and that they mostly interact in Facebook with their already-made friends and school peers. For them, social media is what for older generations the phone was.
I shall expand on this topic soon.
Invitation to Participate in a Social Media Study
You are invited to participate in a research study which will ask you about your social-network use and preferences, and the cultural characteristics you perceive in social media. My name is Mari D. González, and I am a student in the Masters in Intercultural Relations Program at the University of the Pacific, School of International Studies. You were selected as a possible participant in this study because of your interest in social-network sites.
This study will compare second-generation Latinos/Hispanics in the U.S or native-born (born in the U.S.) with at least one foreign-born parent (parent born in Latin America: Mexico, Central America and South America) vs. dominant culture (people who predominately identify as U.S.-white and do not identify with a particular U.S. ethnic minority).
You will receive a Peet’s Coffee & Tea gift card of $5.00 as a thank you for your participation. Social-network users who identify with either cultural group are encouraged to participate.
If interested, please go to Social Media Study include your email at the end of survey to contact you and set up a 45 min. phone interview. Please email me at maridgonzalez@yahoo.com for more information.
