Blacks, Hispanics Follow More Public Figures on Social Media

Connecting with politicians, celebrities and athletes is a low priority for most social media users, but it's significantly more common among black and Hispanic users than among whites, according to a new study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Twitter users are also more likely to say following public figures is a major or minor reason they go to social media compared with people on Facebook and other social media sites, the study reported. About 10 percent of black social media users and 11 percent of Hispanic users say reading comments from public figures is a major reason they use social media compared with just 3 percent of white users, according to the report. About 31 percent of black and 26 percent of Hispanic users say this is a minor reason they're on social media, compared with 16 percent of white users. The survey did not distinguish between public figures in government, entertainment and sports.