A new Pew study finds that 1/5 of Americans still don’t use the Internet. Grandma, they said you could only vote once!
The study found that 21% of Americans don’t use the Interwebz, and of those who do, 5% still use a dial-up connection. Ah, that’s one screeching noise I don’t miss (and your mom yelling, “get off AOL, I need to make a call!”)
According to Gizmodo:
“Well, 34% of those non-users actually live in a house with internet access. Other than that, 48% think the web holds information irrelevant to their lives, 60% said they were uncomfortable with computers in general, and 90% just plain don’t care to be online. And, not shockingly, over two thirds (69%) of those who don’t use the internet are over the age of 65, while others may live in rural areas, have a low income, or lack a high school education.”
TRUE STORY: My grandparents just got Internet last month and learned how to use a computer for the first time, and my 85-year-old grandfather is already selling furniture on Craigslist and using Flickr. They are awesome.
Do you know anyone who doesn’t use the Internet at all, Lovelies? Older relatives, maybe? I can’t imagine, like, buying plane tickets or finding driving directions or finding out ANY INFORMATION whatsoever without it anymore…
guest
How were debates such as what year a movie came out etc ever settled without internet? I have it on my phone and I cant imagine not having it.
orchid / 205 posts
My mom doesn’t like too, she only uses it for work
orchid / 108 posts
Well, it didn’t always exist. Obviously our dependence is because we’ve had it. If we didn’t, we probably would have had to learn how to get from point A to point B without it by now.
I believe these statistics. I think that computers/internet are a generational dependence. I do question the people who don’t think the information on the internet is relevant to them, though.
I sometimes think I’d get more done without the internet because it’s so much of a distraction, and I almost consider not letting myself using it for that reason. Then I remember that it’s useful for the activities it’s distracting me from, and that I use it to communicate because it’s easier. It’s pathetic, really.
guest
My 90 year old great-grandmother.
However, I’m not American.
orchid / 178 posts
I know several families that don’t have internet at all, and several who still use dial up! I can’t imagine having dial up.
guest
your grandpa can use flickr? lucky. mine got internet a few years ago and he still has to call me for instructions when he wants to send an email.
daisy / 742 posts
2000-1010? Typo!
My grandparents don’t know how to use the internet, let alone navigate any programs on a computer. Neither of them own a computer. They don’t need one though – it’s better for them to live how they do than to become addicted to the internet (*points at self*),
daffodil / 1569 posts
@aznbunny604@xanga - lol! maybe they were going back in time
guest
My dad doesn’t. He makes me check his email and look at trucks for him on kijiji.
guest
My dad was 70 and he was always on Craigslist and other random sites searching up info. He was pretty tech savvy and kept up to date with all the latest gadgets. I don’t think I’m like that. I still like my old school cell phone. No keyboard, no video messaging, just call and text. I don’t even use its camera. lol. So when stuff gets updated in the future, I’ll still be living in the past asking the younger generations to help me with everything. haha
guest
Ah the old-school internet dial up.
daffodil / 1975 posts
Yep. My mother refuses to have the internet in the house and, the computer I gave her, goes completely unused. She just doesn’t see the point. Anyone she wants to talk to, she can call. Anything she wants to research, they have books on it.
I actually love going without the internet when I can.
guest
We have many families in my town that still have never even used the internet.
orchid / 176 posts
The computer is a good jumping point for research, and there’s a lot to be said for the more creative social networking sites (that’s a thumbs-up for Xanga and a “fuck you, whore!” for Facebook), but I do kind of wish I were in the 21%. Ah, simpler times…
guest
My parents don’t use the internet. My grandfather doesn’t even know what it is.
guest
Dial Up was so 10 years ago….
guest
My parents are slowly starting to be able to use the internet. My mom even had my sister make her a Facebook a month ago.
Other older relatives of mine just don’t understand how the internet works.
guest
Dude, are you counting the homeless people? And the severely under-endowed?
guest
I think there are quite a few people who don’t use the internet because they are more self-sufficient than we are. I’m kind of spoiled. I can read a map, but do I want to? No, because MapQuest is so much easier on the eyes! Although I did go to the airport to buy a plane ticket once… Pretty cool experience!