• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, April 13, 2012

The alleged “digital divide” notwithstanding, U.S. Hispanics are enthusiastic users of social media, according to a new survey of 650 online Hispanic adults by uSamp -- but they’re also more cautious about the information they share online, the same survey found.

There’s no question the online Hispanics surveyed by uSamp hold an edge in social media adoption: 90% of respondents are on Facebook, compared to 81% of the general online population. Meanwhile 57% of Hispanics use YouTube, compared to 46% of non-Hispanics. Interestingly 47% of online Hispanics say they use Google+ compared to just 18% for the general online population.

But as noted, Hispanics are also more cautious about sharing personal information via social media: just 65% of those surveyed said they are willing to share their names, compared with 87.1% of non-Hispanics, and only 43% of Hispanics said they are prepared to post their relationship status, compared with 74% of the general population.

While 53% of non-Hispanics said they would be willing to reveal their political affiliations on social media, the proportion is less than a third for Hispanics. Similarly, while half of non-Hispanics are willing to reveal their date of birth, only 36% of Hispanics said they would share this information.

The uSamp Hispanic research panel consists of more than 100,000 Hispanic adults living in the U.S., recruited via online, mobile and social media, as well as a national campaign in traditional media. The company claims the panel is representative of the U.S. Hispanic population, which now numbers over 50 million, or 16% of the total U.S. population.

Although the uSamp survey suggests obvious privacy concerns, online Hispanics are often willing to share their opinions about brands, products, and services. As noted in a previous post, last month brought the launches of two other online-based Hispanic survey platforms with a marketing focus. Tu Cuentas (which translates as “You Count,” but also “You Tell”), includes user-generated product reviews, moderated discussion forums and community polls of registered members, as well as Web cam interviews with individual members, allowing advertisers to uncover information about shopping behavior, brand preference, advertising likeability and product attributes.

Another online community, VozLatinum, has already attracted more than 80 corporate clients, including The Clorox Company, ConAgra Foods, Hallmark, and Nestle USA. Companies can conduct custom and targeted research activities in English and Spanish, including discussion forums, ad testing for both video and print, package testing, and attitudinal and behavioral research.