Latinos are turning to the internet to get their political news, according to a survey by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative (FAU BEPI) in the College of Business, which revealed the following:

• More than four out of five younger Latinos are using social media as their source for news.
• Latinos with a college degree are more likely to use the internet for their news source (52 percent compared to just 32 percent of Hispanics overall). 
• More than 68 percent of the highest earning respondents in the survey ($75,000 and above) check online for political news at least once per day. 
• Younger Latinos (18-34) are most likely (84 percent) to use social media for their news. In contrast, 48 percent of those 55 and above do not use social media for any of their news.

“Social media will have a huge impact on elections since it is an opportunity to be in touch with large number of voters quickly, constantly and at a low cost,” said Monica Escaleras, director of BEPI. 

“Anyone that wants to reach Hispanics, especially the younger generation, needs to recognize the growing role that the internet and social media are playing,” added Kevin Wagner, associate professor of political science at FAU.