New research from UK telecoms regulator Ofcom has revealed that consumers from ethnic minority groups are more likely to be using communications technology than the average British person.
People from ethnic minority groups are more likely to have home broadband and a mobile phone, according to the report, although they are less likely to watch TV and listen to the radio.
More than half of the Mixed Ethnic (57%), Asian Pakistani (58%), Asian Bangladeshi (57%), Black African (56%) and Asian Indian (54%) groups said they couldn’t get by without their mobile phones, compared with 43% of the overall British population. Ethnic minority groups also tended to spend more money per month on their mobile phones.
Overall, people from ethnic minority groups said they loved gadgets more than the British population as a whole (37% compared to 30%) and were more likely to say it’s important that their homes have the latest technology (32% compared to 20%).
Three years of data from 2009 to 2012 was used for the report, with all survey respondents classifying themselves as being part of an ethnic group (apart from ‘White British’ or ‘White Irish’.)
[Ofcom Ethnic Minority Groups and Communication Services report]