Black students are more likely to use Twitter than Whites, according to the results of a survey by researchers at Northwestern University of incoming college students attending the University of Illinois at Chicago.

37 percent of Black students reported using Twitter in 2010, compared to 21 percent of White students.

“Students with higher Internet skills were more likely to start using Twitter and so were African Americans, who we found report more interest in celebrity and entertainment news than their peers of other races,” said communications professor Eszter Hargittai, the study's lead author. “Students of all races with an interest in celebrity and entertainment news were more likely to become Twitter users whereas someone with an interest in science and research was less likely to become a Twitter user.”

The researchers had also surveyed the group in 2009 and they found an increase in Twitter usage. However, regular usage of the social network was less than 20 percent of the college students surveyed in 2010.

“This is a reality check,” professor Hargittai said. “While Twitter certainly can be very exciting and can offer a lot of opportunities, we found that the majority of students are not using it."

The study was published online by New Media & Society, May 2011.