MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Up to 20 percent of U.S. Hispanic Internet users would rather give up watching television than searching the Internet, according to new research published today by YupiMSN, a Spanish-language network of site and joint venture of TELMEX and Microsoft.
The research is based on a non-scientific, online poll completed by more than 26,000 YupiMSN consumers. The survey was designed to investigate how and why searching the Net has become such an integral part of Spanish-speakers' everyday lives.
Of those polled, the majority (71 percent) of U.S. Hispanic consumers said they are logging on to the Web once a day or more from home. According to the survey, approximately 20 percent of those surveyed would feel "devastated" if they were no longer able to search the Web and would much prefer giving up television.
The Web also has a significant impact on family and friendship, with a 35 percent of respondents claiming that the Internet has enhanced these relationships.
According to the survey, the aspect of consumers' lives most improved by the use of the Internet is "being informed about current events." In most markets, entertainment, news and technology are the most searched-for topics. More than 50 percent of the survey takers had searched the Net to find new hobbies and interests.
Carlos Cardona, CTO and founder of YupiMSN, said, "Searching the Net is now such an integral part of our lives it's not surprising we'd be lost without it or that we tend to get frustrated when we can't find what we're looking for."
