When smartphones initially rose in popularity, Hispanics in the U.S. were of the first groups to adopt the new technology. As the Hispanic population increases and the rate of Hispanic smartphone ownership increases, it is interesting to note the ways in which Hispanics’ use of this technology is driving this group’s overall digital activity in the country.

Recent surveys show that while U.S. Hispanics are well-equipped when it comes to smart mobile devices, they no longer trump the general population. This aptly reflects a recent statistic, which reports that over half of all mobile phone users use their phone as their primary source of internet.

Recent data also reveals that Hispanics’ use of smartphones has become their primary source of digital activity, in a sense that transcends mere information recovery.

According to a new eMarketer report, “U.S. Hispanics’ Mobile Usage: Relying on Smartphones as Core of Their Digital Lives,” 43% of Hispanics say that their phone connects them to the social world. Additionally, 35.5% say that they maintain friendships and relationships through their devices. Finally, the survey reports that 20% of all Hispanics in the study feel that their phone is an expression of who they are as individuals.

And Hispanics who do not have smartphones are the exception in this scenario. The same survey estimates that by the end of 2015, 79.4% of US Hispanics will be mobile phone users. These numbers match the general population of mobile phone users (80.3%). And among the Hispanics who will use mobile phones by the end of 2015, 71.6% will have smartphones.

In eMarketer’s survey gauging smartphone user penetration in the U.S., their figures represent data from any age group. Considering the U.S. Hispanic population contains a larger amount of children than other groups, this will naturally pull down the total percentage of Hispanics who have smartphones.