Technology use and interest among low-income parents of young children: Differences by age group and ethnicity

Objective: To examine demographic differences in frequency of use of technologies and interest in receiving nutrition information via technology by low-income parents and caregivers. Design: Descriptive, cross-sectional study. Setting: Head Start and state-funded child care programs. Participants: A total of 806 parents and caregivers from low-income families. Variables Measured: A 20-item survey assessed frequency of use and interest in technologies (dependent variables) and collected participant age and ethnicity (independent variables). Analysis: Multivariate ANOVA analysis investigated whether age, ethnicity, and their interactions were related to frequency of use and interest in technology types. Results: Daily rates of usage for Internet, text messaging, and cell phone use were over 60%. However, Twitter and blogs were accessed daily by < 13% of respondents. The omnibus 2-way interaction of ethnicity and age was nonsignificant. However, main  ffects for ethnicity (Wilks’ l ¼ .85; F ¼ 3.13; P < .001) and age (Wilks’ l ¼ .89; F ¼ 2.29; P < .001) were observed. Conclusions and Implications: Facebook, e-mail, texting, and smartphone applications may be innovative modalities to engage with low-income parents and caregivers aged # 45. However, some strategies may be ineffective for reaching Hispanic families as they reported less use of the Internet, Facebook, and e-mail as well as less interest in e-mail.