TORONTO – New Canadians – South Asian and Chinese immigrants in particular – are connected to the Internet in above-average numbers, according to a new study by Toronto-based market research firm Solutions Research Group (SRG).
SRG research reveals 88% of South Asian and Chinese households in Canada have a PC, which is above the Canadian general population average of 83%.
In terms of Internet usage, 89% of Mandarin-speaking recent immigrants from Mainland China reported using the Internet on a weekly basis, with 2.6 hours per day dedicated to online use vs. only 1.6 hours of TV viewing and less than 1 hour of radio listening per day.
Among South Asian Canadians in the 15 to 29 age group, 89% said they used the Internet on a weekly basis. Reported weekly Internet usage among South Asians in the 30 to 49 age range dropped to 71%.
According to SRG, new Canadians are the segment to watch in terms of media consumption trends in Canada. Well-educated immigrants from China and various South Asian countries are using the Internet in record numbers because of their dual need to keep in touch with family and friends back home and to adapt to a new environment, SRG says.
Chinese Canadians indicated Google is their top search destination, while Yahoo! is their preference for instant messaging. YouTube and Facebook were listed among Chinese Canadians’ top 10 sites, as were three major Chinese sites.
Similarly, South Asian Canadians cited Google, Yahoo!, Hotmail, MSN, Facebook and YouTube among their top portal choices. South Asian sites and BBC sites were also popular.
SRG’s study also looked at media consumption in other areas, including radio, TV and print media. Among Cantonese speakers, Fairchild Radio was the top radio station in Toronto and Vancouver, while English-language news stations captured the top spot among Mandarin-speaking Chinese (680 News in Toronto and News 1130 in Vancouver).
Fairchild TV was number one in Toronto among Cantonese speakers, while Citytv, Fairchild, CBC, and Omni 1 and Omni 2 were in the top spots for Mandarin speakers.
Sing Tao was the leading Chinese-language paper in both Toronto and Vancouver, and the Toronto Star and Vancouver Sun were the leading English-language dailies in Toronto and Vancouver, respectively.
Among South Asian Canadians in Vancouver, the recently launched Red-FM was cited by 43% of South Asians as their top radio destination on a weekly basis. For Toronto’s South Asian community, 680 News is the leading station, while 101.3 CMR (Canadian Multicultural Radio) is in the number two spot.
In terms of TV, Alpha Punjabi was the leading TV brand in Vancouver, followed by ATN, Global and VisionTV. In Toronto, Citytv and ATN were tied for the top spot among South Asians.
The Toronto Star was the leading newspaper in the Greater Toronto Area among South Asians. In Vancouver, The Province took the top spot. Ajit was the leading South Asian newspaper in both markets.
