The UK's ethnic minority groups are leading the charge when it comes to the digital revolution, with high levels of mobile, multi-channel and web penetration.
But despite their general happiness to embrace these mediums, they remain concerned about the content available, according to new research published by Ofcom.
Between 88 and 95 per cent of adults from Indian, Pakistani, Black Caribbean and Black African groups are keen to take advantage of the benefits of mobile phones, compared with the UK average of 85 per cent.
When it comes to living with multiple device access households (those with both digital TV, mobiles and the web), Indian, Pakistani and Black African adults are also much more advanced than the rest of the UK, with 62-65 per cent beating the average of just over half (53 per cent).
These groups, when studied by Ofcom, generally showed more confidence when it comes to embracing specific digital services and functions, such as interactive TV. Although that confidence appears to wane when it comes to specifics.
"But, despite almost all adults from ethnic minority groups showing interest in internet functions, they are less confident about general use of the internet. For example, they are less likely to say they are confident finding information online (69 - 83 per cent compared to 91 per cent of the UK population as a whole) and creating content (59 - 62 per cent compared with 66 per cent of the UK population as a whole).
"All four ethnic minority groups are also less likely than the UK population as a whole to shop or bank online (19-29 per cent compared to 41 per cent)," claims Ofcom in a statement issued about the research.
The findings are part of a wider research initiative designed to look at the state of media literacy in the UK.
-
Veracode bolsters leadership team for next growth chapterNews The application security vendor has named Anthony Barkley as chief strategy officer and Diana Bushard as general counsel
-
UK government hails AI coding gains as developers report huge time savingsNews Developers participating in a trial of AI coding tools from Google, Microsoft, and GitHub reported big time savings, with 58% saying they now couldn't work without them.
-
Mobile phone operators hike up access chargesNews The price increase affects calls to 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers
-
Ofcom: UK tops world mobile data usage chartNews Survey reveals UK citizens use more mobile data than anyone else.
-
Is the humble phone call dying?In-depth New figures suggest that, for the first time, voice calls are in decline. Is this the start of a long road downhill? Simon Brew takes a look.
-
Ofcom survey sheds light on popularity of mobile devicesNews The number of UK households using tablets and smartphones has risen sharply over last 12 months, research shows.
-
Landline to mobile costs set for cutsNews The Competition Commission sides with BT and 3 in bringing costs down further and sooner.
-
ICO claims 'significant progress' in war on spam textsNews The watchdog thinks it is close to catching those guilty of spam texting in the UK, after raiding an office in the north of England.
-
Ofcom claims victory against silent callersNews Fewer people complain of silent or abandoned calls after Ofcom flexes its muscles.
-
Is the UK really ‘addicted’ to smartphones?News Most adults don't own a smartphone and less than half who do say they aren't 'highly addicted' to them, yet Ofcom claims the UK is hooked on the devices.
