Saying No Thanks To The Internet

from the dropouts dept

The latest research from the Pew Internet and American Life Project says that there are plenty of Americans who aren't online, and prefer it that way. Surprisingly, 17% of "unwired Americans" are "dropouts". They used to have an internet connection, but no longer do - either because their computer broke or they had problems with their ISP. Many of these folks don't mind staying offline. Another surprising finding is that, despite the talk of a "digital divide" among income classes, many of the "unwired" are middle class suburbanites who just feel that they have better things to do with their time and money than get online. They often live with someone else, though, who does have internet access in case it's suddenly needed. There are still, however, digital divide issues that prevent lower income people from accessing the internet. They still expect internet usage to grow as people become more comfortable with computers and access gets cheaper and easier to use.