May 1, 2003 | Read Time: 1 minute
While the cost of computer equipment and Internet access continues to prevent many people from going online, it is not the only reason why people remain offline, according to a new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
The study found that almost one-quarter of Americans have no direct or indirect experience with the Internet. But it also found that of the 80 million American adults who don’t use the Internet, 20 percent live with someone who uses the Internet from home and 17 percent were once Internet users.
“It is too simple to talk about a digital divide based exclusively on problems with access when it is now clear that access issues change from month to month for lots of Americans,” says Amanda Lenhart, the report’s author. “A surprisingly large number don’t want to be connected, even though they have tasted what online life is like or live with the Internet literally in the next room.”
About a third of nonusers say that cost is a major barrier to going online, and 27 percent say that very few or none of the people they know go online. Other reasons given for staying offline include the complexity of the Internet, lack of time, and concerns about online pornography and credit-card theft.
The report, “The Ever-Shifting Internet Population: A New Look at Internet Access and the Digital Divide,” is based on a telephone survey of 3,553 adults from March to May 2002.
To get there: Go to http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=88.
