Bernie Sanders needs to add this sad statistic to his spiel about how America isn't doing well. It fits in perfectly between "We have more people in jail than any other country on Earth" and "Only major country that doesn't guarantee right to health care".
11% of Americans don’t use the internet
201–210 of 295 posts
Re: 11% of Americans don’t use the internet
#202Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is just one of many reasons why public libraries are so important. It's a major part of the mandate for modern libraries and librarians to offer a place where people with low incomes, low educational attainment, low tech literacy, and even plain old low literacy can get some help navigating occasional requirements like an online job application or trying to enroll in some kind of assistance program.
More than libraries, I wish there would be really affordable computers. We’ve already proven it’s technically possible, with Raspberry Pis and cheap Android phones. Now I wish we would stop cramming bloat and shit (like useless JavaScript and ads) into our websites and operating systems so those low-end machines actually remain usable and productive. Internet access should also be a right - not high speed 100+Mbps, b…
Yup. This is yet another forgotten aspect of software bloat - as it continues, it makes dirt-cheap computing unfeasible, because by the time you get e.g. something like Raspberry Pi, it's already too weak to run software/websites you'll encounter daily.
I get that world isn't fair and poor people keep getting the short end of the stick, but in this case - software bloat - it's really mostly just aggregate of individual choices. So for cryin' out loud, be a little more lean with frameworks and libraries you use. Treat it as if it was charity contribution, if you have to, because in a sense, it is.
Re: 11% of Americans don’t use the internet
#203I wonder will the internet have matured (jumped the shark with excess commercialism, JS, ads etc) to the extent TV has that people start cord cutting the net. Anecdotally the novelty is starting to wear thin with more than a few people I know who barely use anything beyond a chat service and a little shopping (probably at Amazon).
I'm tempted to unplug when I retire in a bit more than a decade. After working in tech for 20+ years, the idea is appealing. I doubt it will be very easy to function in an ever-connected society however.
I used to work with a very hands-on CEO who called me multiple times a day.
I learned to take vacations in places without cell coverage. Honestly some of my favorite vacations over the past few years.
I love my CEO, but when I take a week off I really want to be away from it all. It’s not a vacation if I’m being called to do a support call or some such.
Re: 11% of Americans don’t use the internet
#204My Grandfather is one of those 11%. However I suspect he's a bit different from the others. Up until the late 90s he was programming Fortran and COBOL. He started during the Korean War or just after I believe. Towards the end he was mostly doing contract work as one of the few people who could still work on them. But after he retired technology stopped for him. The latest innovation he'll use is a DVD player. The onl…
I think your grandfather and I are kindred spirits. When I retire, I don't plan to ever use a computer again if I don't have to. There's nothing on the internet that can compete with the fulfillment available from my wife, my dog, and my actual real life friends.
I'll keep the computer but I'm planning to disconnect from the internet once I retire.
Re: 11% of Americans don’t use the internet
#205It’s reasonable to assume that 11% of the adult US population is still illiterate [1]. I know this is not unique to the US, and that these people may very well be as happy as anyone else. Still, if we sometimes point out that HN is a bit of a bubble, well there’s a big bubble I can’t wrap my mind around well into the 21st century! I would certainly be surprised if an illiterate person made heavy use of the Internet (…
I think functionality illiterate people can still use smart phones. Certainly not to their full capabilities though.
Re: 11% of Americans don’t use the internet
#206Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is just one of many reasons why public libraries are so important. It's a major part of the mandate for modern libraries and librarians to offer a place where people with low incomes, low educational attainment, low tech literacy, and even plain old low literacy can get some help navigating occasional requirements like an online job application or trying to enroll in some kind of assistance program.
More than libraries, I wish there would be really affordable computers. We’ve already proven it’s technically possible, with Raspberry Pis and cheap Android phones. Now I wish we would stop cramming bloat and shit (like useless JavaScript and ads) into our websites and operating systems so those low-end machines actually remain usable and productive. Internet access should also be a right - not high speed 100+Mbps, b…
Used thinkpads on ebay.
Re: 11% of Americans don’t use the internet
#207Earlier quoted context omitted.
What is interesting is that it seems to have more to do with age than intellectual capacity. I know very smart 60yo+ doctors with a lifetime of scientific achievements, who understands concepts way more complicated than the IP protocol or a browser, and who just refuse to learn it. They might learn just how to use it but have no curiosity on how it works.
I know very smart 60yo+ doctors with a lifetime of scientific achievements, who understands concepts way more complicated than the IP protocol or a browser, and who just refuse to learn it. I know a woman who until recently worked as a secretary to one of the presidents of a large regional bank. The first thing she did each morning was to print out the president's e-mails, and bring them to him on paper. He would the…
You accidentally hit the core of the coffee problem. Woman in your story is secretary and coffee and baby sitting boss is her job description. Bank (industry) professionals are not expected to make coffee nor write boss mails. The women who complain about the coffee requirement are complaining that they are treated as secretaries and expected to do secretarial work, despite being industry professionals.
It is also dominance game - there is that thug-of-war among professionals over autonomy, leadership, ideas, credit, blame and what not. A person that should have no authority to order her around is ordering her around in front of third parties, which makes him look more like a boss and her more like secretary. Both request and complaint are office politics. Not coincidentally, secretaries (unlike industry professionals) are supposed to act rather submissive and manage boss emotions rather then propose ideas, argue or fight for them.
Re: 11% of Americans don’t use the internet
#208Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know very smart 60yo+ doctors with a lifetime of scientific achievements, who understands concepts way more complicated than the IP protocol or a browser, and who just refuse to learn it. I know a woman who until recently worked as a secretary to one of the presidents of a large regional bank. The first thing she did each morning was to print out the president's e-mails, and bring them to him on paper. He would the…
You read my mind with that last sentence. As I read your anecdote, I was marveling at how much relief she probably created by circumventing the email/slack/txt/messenger treadmill the rest of us are forced to run on during a workday.
I think having an assistant would be a relief even if I read my own email.
Re: 11% of Americans don’t use the internet
#209Earlier quoted context omitted.
What is interesting is that it seems to have more to do with age than intellectual capacity. I know very smart 60yo+ doctors with a lifetime of scientific achievements, who understands concepts way more complicated than the IP protocol or a browser, and who just refuse to learn it. They might learn just how to use it but have no curiosity on how it works.
I know very smart 60yo+ doctors with a lifetime of scientific achievements, who understands concepts way more complicated than the IP protocol or a browser, and who just refuse to learn it. I know a woman who until recently worked as a secretary to one of the presidents of a large regional bank. The first thing she did each morning was to print out the president's e-mails, and bring them to him on paper. He would the…
- She knows how to take fast, accurate dictation with steno. They don't teach that anywhere anymore.
Of course they do, usually it's directed at court jobs, but anyone can take a steno course.
Re: 11% of Americans don’t use the internet
#210Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know very smart 60yo+ doctors with a lifetime of scientific achievements, who understands concepts way more complicated than the IP protocol or a browser, and who just refuse to learn it. I know a woman who until recently worked as a secretary to one of the presidents of a large regional bank. The first thing she did each morning was to print out the president's e-mails, and bring them to him on paper. He would the…
What’s wrong with having a bookbag? Here in Finland, practically everyone carries one. From young kids to grown adult men and women. I even saw an old person with one the other day. One can’t carry as much nor is it practical to use briefcases.
They said it themselves. Its about _looking_ a part. If they wanted practicality it would be business casual and a backpack but its not about that. Monkey suit and briefcase shows you're willing to jump through the hoops, toe the line and wear the uniform.