African Americans, Facebook, and Twitter

African Americans and Social Sites

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, minorities are not only gaining access to the Web, but are doing it without necessarily having to access a desktop or a laptop. When it comes to social media, minorities are not only using it at a higher rate, but we also have a different perspective on how we engage with the technology.

Compared with white cell phone owners, blacks and Latinos are significantly more likely to use their mobile devices to text message, use social networking sites, use the internet, record and watch videos, make a charitable donation via text message, use email, play games, listen to music, use instant messaging, and post multimedia content.

Seven out of ten African Americans use social networking sites in comparison to six out of ten whites with a quarter of blacks online using Twitter. So what exactly are we doing online?

Youth are using some form of technology at an early age. It is our responsibility to teach them how to use this technology not only for socializing and entertainment, but also as a business tool. The same device used to post the happenings in the hood, updates about their social lives, and gossip, can also be used to put in applications for jobs, research colleges etc. It can also be used to inform each other of employers hiring and other opportunities to further each other economically.

It was refreshing to read this comment,  “But as an African American man, I am also staked highly in what goes on in the Black community. So this was very compelling to me to see that young Black people weren’t just using these sites to meet for dates and keep up on the goings on in Black entertainers’ lives. But also as a tool to further consciousness, grow business ventures, and bounce ideas”  from William Huston, H2 Communications, one of the few African American social media management companies in the United States. I personally hope this is a concept that will become widespread among African Americans.