New data from Pew Research reveals that although Internet use is a norm for the majority of the people residing in the United States, as much as 15% of adults living in the country don’t use the facility at all. This 15% consists mostly of senior citizens. However, the study showed that education, ethnicity, location and income also play big roles.
The number of adults not using the Internet has become much lower than what it was in 2000. A survey conducted at that time revealed that 48% adults in the country had never gone online, which is more than three times of what it is now. However, according to data put forward by Pew Research, the number has remained almost the same since the past three years.
In the past 15 years i.e. since the time Pew has started conducting these surveys, the Internet has become one of the most dominant forces for the majority of us. We not only use it for working and staying in touch, but also use it for playing games, and conducting researches.
Many people taking part in other surveys have said that if required they will be giving up cars, television and even sex before giving up the Internet. This gives birth to the question: who are the ones who never go online.
As mentioned above, a large share of people who don’t go online are senior citizens. According to numbers presented by Pew, 39% of adults aged 65 years or more said that they don’t use the Internet. This percentage is strikingly high when compared to the percentage of adults aged between 18 and 29 years; only 3% people in that age group don’t get online.
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Factors such as education and household income also play vital roles. Adults with annual household income below $30,000 were found to be eight times less likely to be familiar with the online world than their wealthier counterparts. The survey found that a third of the adults who didn’t have a high school diploma also don’t go online.
The other two factors playing important roles are ethnicity and location. Individuals living in rural areas are two times more likely to not use the Internet than those living in suburban or urban locales. The Pew Research showed that around 18% Hispanics and 20% African Americans don’t use the Internet.
