According to a new study, almost a quarter
of U.S. adults (24%) do not
use the Internet from home, and most don't express any interest in doing so.
The study,
"Who's Not Online and Why," from the Pew Research Center's Internet
& American Life Project, found that 15% of U.S. adults don't use the
Internet at all, while 9% use it somewhere other than at home. Only 7% cited
lack of access as the reason for not becoming Internet adopters, suggesting
cable ops are on point in emphasizing adoption and education among those who
already have access.
The study found a
number of reasons for not using the Internet, including that it is "just
not relevant to them" (34%). That was followed closely by "not very
easy to use" (32%) and , expensive (19%). Only 7% said it was due to lack
of access.
Of the offline
adults, only 8% said they would like to start using the Internet--including
e-mail--while 92% said they aren't interested.
As in past studies,
age is a big factor. Those 65 and older make up almost half (49%) of all
non-Internet users, while 87% of those 18-29 go online from home. Lack of
Internet use is also correlated with education (41% of those without a high
school diploma are offline, as are 24% of Hispanics and 24% of those in
households making less than $30,000.
Among the findings are
more than one in ten were Internet cord cutters, at least personally. The study
found that 14% of offline adults said they used to use the Internet, but have
stopped "for some reason."
The findings are
based on data from telephone interviews conducted April 17-May 19 by Princeton Survey Research
Associates.
