Special Report: Hispanics Desire Authenticity In and Connection To Their Media
Hispanolistic
Contemporary media has dispelled its conglomerate Anglo-American perspective thanks to the current rise of diversity in media. As integration of proportionate representation and inclusivity within media continues to rise, it’s important to analyze the effect and connection it has on various communities. Now more than ever, Latinos have the opportunity to properly represent and dissipate media-constructed stereotypes and clichés, and recent findings show the effect of this and its everlasting change for the Hispanic community.
The Nielsen Company, a private global and analytics company, reported their findings regarding the media consumption of Hispanics as a part of their Diverse Intelligence Series of 2023. The study surveyed the habits and opinions of Hispanics over 18 years-old regarding live TV, streaming, representation, and diversity within media they consume.
They found growing discrepancies regarding younger generations’ preference for connected TV – television connected to the internet (i.e. Roku, Streaming, Fire Sticks, etc.) – over live television, reporting an average 12.5% drop in engagement among viewers in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the general population. While older generations maintain their preference for live TV over streaming, the general public dropped 2.7% in engagement to an overall 69.9%, while older Hispanics dropped 2.3% to an overall 64.1%. Cable and live TV has lost its grip on the youth and is gradually losing its stronghold over older generations, increasing the worries of networks and advertisers in their war against expanding streaming giants.
percentage of time spent with live tv and time-shifted tv 2022-2023
Conversely, connected TV is the highest it’s ever been among Hispanics. Compared to the general public in the first quarter of 2023, there is a juxtaposing 11.8% increase in engagement. While usage among the 18-34 age range stayed equivalent to the general public, it’s actually older generations spearheading this new growth. Those aged 50-64 increased their usage by 5% in the span of a year, resulting in a 5.5% difference when compared to the general population. Nielsen reported that “only 42% of Hispanic TV homes were traditional cable homes, down from 49% a year earlier,” while reporting a 20% increase in homes that access TV through a broadband connection, up to a total of 27%.
Part of this disconnect may largely be due to lack of Hispanic connection in media, specifically within programming airing on traditional TV. The lack of representation on screen is enough of a deterrent for most to stick to Spanish-language programming. Yet, Nielsen found a significant decrease in cable viewership among Hispanics regarding Spanish-language news and programming. This divide is likely the result of insufficient representation within traditional media, with Hispanics more easily finding representation on streaming platforms. The ability to choose a show with equal representation plays a significant role in the Hispanic communities’ consumption of media, often finding traditional TV lacking in representation across various genres.
Nielsen’s dissection of the news finds younger generations more trusting of Spanish-language programming, with more than two-thirds of Hispanics proclaiming local TV as a reliable source of information. The higher trust for Spanish language programming emphasizes the clear authenticity and representation that Hispanics want to see.
Regarding news, Hispanics residing in the United States overwhelmingly distrust news from social media, despite 67.8% stating they get their news online. There is a clear divide within the community concerning trust for news sourced online versus on TV. While 69% of participants agreed that local TV is a reliable source, 67.8% reported getting their news online while 40.8% exclusively get their news from TV. Inversely, Hispanics born outside the U.S. are more trusting of news, with an overwhelming support for local and international news. They are 31% more likely than the general population to exclusively get their news from TV and less likely to have digital news sources.
Despite the countless hours of entertainment produced every year, it is incredibly hard for Hispanics to find programming that properly represents them, with a majority believing that accurate Hispanic representation declined in 2022. With accurate representation requires an accurate depiction of the ideals and general philosophies of the Hispanic community, however, there seems to be a discrepancy between values and morals reflected in TV and films. Younger generations see themselves portrayed a lot more than older generations, with 62% of Millennials (ages 27-42) and 56% of Gen Z (ages 18-26) seeing their values represented. Older generations overwhelmingly disagree, with 29% of Boomers (ages 59-77) and 23% of Hispanics over 78 reporting that they see their values represented in media.
Interestingly, there is also a class divide in these reports. A little over one-third of Hispanics and around 40% of those with higher education consider their values properly represented in media. Lower income Hispanics see their values reflected in media while less than half of higher income Hispanics believe their values are properly represented.
The connection between the manufacturer and the consumer is built on a foundation of trust that requires active participation and communication with a given community. Brand messaging about family is done to death, but what about those that are active parts of the community? Well, Nielsen found that more than “83% of Hispanic respondents said they would think more favorably of a brand if they felt it was playing a positive role in the community,” with over 81% stating they would likely become a customer if they felt a brand has a positive impact in the community.
Despite the Hispanic communities’ desire for a deep connection with the media they consume, they are incredibly adaptable with the type of media. Nielsen’s data explicitly dispels the notion that Hispanics only watch Spanish-language programming; a majority are more open to the idea of programming in a different language than Non-Hispanics. Around 40% of Hispanics believe that language is very important while 70% of Non-Hispanics stated the importance of familial language. Often, programming attempts to cater to the Spanish demographic by incorporating Spanish into shows where it doesn’t belong. This data proves that language isn’t the only thing Hispanics care for, rather, it’s about messaging and how it blends into the cultural zeitgeist of the Spanish community.
Importance of Watching shows in a preferred language
Outside of television, Hispanics largely dominate the audio media field, including radio and podcasts. Hispanics are 13% more likely to listen to podcasts than other demographics. Nielsen also found that radio’s reach among people between the ages of 18 and 49 is staggeringly high at 94%, in contrast to 90% among the general population. This growth spiked over the past two years with Spanish radio, talk shows, and podcasts continuously increasing as it becomes more accessible to all ages.
As more Hispanics receive opportunities to present their lived experiences creatively through media, more Hispanics tune in to see what will come next. As the media landscape shapes around its consumers, Hispanics actively engage in the disillusionment of their stereotypes. They’ve shown a desire for passionate and thoughtful representation that accurately depicts their struggle while proving their flexibility in medium and language. Positive communal influence can greatly increase Hispanics’ consumption of media, further fostering connections to the images on screen and seamlessly breaking away from stereotypes.