7% of Americans don’t use the internet. Who are they? • Hacker News Board

Re: 7% of Americans don’t use the internet. Who are they?

#121

Post by kube-system » Wed, Apr 07, 2021, 5:38 AM UTC

gremlinsinc wrote: post #62

_rpd wrote: post #38

tl;dr: Internet non-adoption is linked to a number of demographic variables, but is strongly connected to age – with older Americans continuing to be one of the least likely groups to use the internet. Today, 25% of adults ages 65 and older report never going online.

Do they have a smart phone and realize that every app is online? That face time is online? This study seems flawed if it didn't get very specific because there's not a small number of tech illiterate ppl who don't even realize they're online when they are....

Don’t read “65+“ as “65”.

The 65+ category also includes everyone 80+, for example. There’s plenty of old people still alive who have trouble with operating technology a lot more simple than a cell phone.

Re: 7% of Americans don’t use the internet. Who are they?

#122

Post by aimor » Wed, Apr 07, 2021, 5:41 AM UTC

chriszhang wrote: post #84

I wish I could limit the use of Internet to 1 hour per day. Like the olden days in the early days of internet. Internet was given in our university for only 1 hour per day. It was possible to live in this manner even when I used to do programming. All programming documentation was available as PDFs or downloadable copies. I remember the MSDN documentation for C++ could be kept on the local machine. For Python I used…

I often do work without direct internet access and it's painful at times. PDF documentation is wonderful, but when that's not available I sometimes save entire websites. Other useful things: dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, world maps, reference books. It was surprisingly difficult to find a free dictionary file.

Overall it's not very different, just inconvenient at times, and the lack of distractions is nice. I echo your wish for local-first programming.

Re: 7% of Americans don’t use the internet. Who are they?

#123

Post by kube-system » Wed, Apr 07, 2021, 5:56 AM UTC

tgflynn wrote: post #5

I would have guessed the figure was closer to 20 %, which it was around 2010, so I guess I'm 10 years out of date. I wonder how the survey was conducted. Is it possible that people who don't use the internet are also difficult to reach in other ways ?

Going purely off of anecdotal data, anyone that I’ve known over the past 10 years who didn’t use the internet also had limited use of other forms of communication.

Re: 7% of Americans don’t use the internet. Who are they?

#124

Post by passivate » Wed, Apr 07, 2021, 5:58 AM UTC

ramraj07 wrote: post #86

random5634 wrote: post #76

I used to work in the Caribbean when internet there was ridiculously expensive. Local social life was fantastic - I missed nothing about the internet. Also - I missed nothing about not keeping up to date on latest news - locals just didn't care what was going on for the most part - the latest "outrages" were 100% irrelevant. If you went to bar at night, and IF they had a TV on, it was sports. So you'd come back to th…

People always bring up how people in Fiji or the Carribean are so happy and not stressed, and I’m not sure what the message is. Of course if you just want to relax and not worry too much about what you want to accomplish in life then yeah go to some corner of the world and live happily? However for a lot of people that’s not what they want out of their lives; they want it to mean something in their own way. Of course…

>However for a lot of people that’s not what they want out of their lives; they want it to mean something in their own way. Of course the vast majority get lost in the rat race and forget what it is that made them choose to work their ass of to begin with, but it’s not because their ultimate goal (at least in the beginning) was to chill at the beach.

IMHO, if that person who was working their ass off was a genius and an outlier, then their contributions are a huge net benefit to society and we/society should reward and applaud them.

However, most people are average or below average, so their contributions are extremely unlikely to move the needle. So from the point of view of the person chilling on the beach, yeah sure, do whatever makes you happy, but as far as real accomplishments go, its a wash between them and the non-genius hard-worker. Just my opinion! :)

(Writing this as a non-genius average person)

Re: 7% of Americans don’t use the internet. Who are they?

#125

Post by marton78 » Wed, Apr 07, 2021, 6:01 AM UTC

xkeysc0re wrote: post #20

Honestly, I wish I could stop using the internet. I make a lot of things and enjoy sharing them because other people might find them useful. It has often led to wonderful and inspiring conversations. Yet it's obvious there's something very very wrong happening with American culture that began around the time of social media platform consolidation. "Being online" entails a distinct mindset and attitude that is incompa…

I recommend this interview with British documentary filmmaker Adam Curtis. A clever analysis of how social media shapes the public.

https://www.economist.com/open-future/2018/12/06/the-antidot...

Re: 7% of Americans don’t use the internet. Who are they?

#126

Post by Lammy » Wed, Apr 07, 2021, 6:03 AM UTC

JimDabell wrote: post #97

Lammy wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've lost a few very good friends due to this. In-person and online interactions with the same person would vary wildly in tone and emotional intensity, like speaking to two entirely different people. The online interactions always pushed us apart, and the in-person interactions never failed to mend things, but of course those stopped happening over the previous year. I have to assume it's the same way with me toward…

> I would not be surprised if many of the accounts on major social-media sites like Reddit, Twitter, etc are non-human persons tasked with pushing one narrative or another I think this is unlikely because it would be far simpler, cheaper, and more effective to employ a small number of people and use tooling (automation, templates, etc.) to amplify their reach drastically. Why invent an unreliable AI to push narrative…

How so? Humans have to sleep, eat, and have that ever-pesky free-will that might let them question what's going on or tell somebody about it.

Re: 7% of Americans don’t use the internet. Who are they?

#127

Post by Lammy » Wed, Apr 07, 2021, 6:08 AM UTC

na85 wrote: post #112

Lammy wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think our technological web is a ratchet we can't and shouldn't try to back out of, so I'm more interested in paths forward. I'm sure a lot of people think I'm ridiculous or joking for this, but I've stopped saying "AI" because it reads like a slur to me. Who am I to deem another intelligence "artificial"? If we can have a conversation and share ideas then what's even the difference? I think the way forward has to…

>Who am I to deem another intelligence "artificial"? If we can have a conversation and share ideas then what's even the difference? I think this point raises very very interesting ethical and philosophical points of discussion, and a very small number of media pieces I'm aware of touch on this. But Ghost In The Shell (or whatever) is interesting because you have the idea of an AI that is just as smart (if not moreso)…

> Microsoft Tay or whatever really is just a thin but shiny veneer over some ML algorithms and is a poor facsimile of "having a conversation and sharing ideas".

"Ages ago, life was born in the primitive sea. Young life forms constantly evolved in order to survive. Some prospered—some did not. All sorts of life ebbed and flowed like the tide. In quiet rhythm of the mother sea, life grew; always seeking to survive and flourish. Soon life began the advance towards land, opening new habitats. A great prosperity came, as life conquered even the highest mountains. Mass extinctions came wave after wave, but empty niches always quickly refilled to once again prosper, grow, and reproduce. Someday the next great emigration will occur as we leave this existence looking for another. The journey will begin anew."

Re: 7% of Americans don’t use the internet. Who are they?

#128

Post by elliekelly » Wed, Apr 07, 2021, 6:09 AM UTC

ramraj07 wrote: post #86

random5634 wrote: post #76

I used to work in the Caribbean when internet there was ridiculously expensive. Local social life was fantastic - I missed nothing about the internet. Also - I missed nothing about not keeping up to date on latest news - locals just didn't care what was going on for the most part - the latest "outrages" were 100% irrelevant. If you went to bar at night, and IF they had a TV on, it was sports. So you'd come back to th…

People always bring up how people in Fiji or the Carribean are so happy and not stressed, and I’m not sure what the message is. Of course if you just want to relax and not worry too much about what you want to accomplish in life then yeah go to some corner of the world and live happily? However for a lot of people that’s not what they want out of their lives; they want it to mean something in their own way. Of course…

I think you’re letting your own pre-conceived notions color your interpretation of this comment. The person said nothing about not working as hard, not accomplishing as much, and only chilling on the beach. People in the Caribbean (and other beach/vacation destinations) work hard and accomplish plenty. Just because some people go to their country to relax doesn’t mean the entire country does nothing but relax.

Re: 7% of Americans don’t use the internet. Who are they?

#129

Post by tonyedgecombe » Wed, Apr 07, 2021, 6:10 AM UTC

gremlinsinc wrote: post #62

_rpd wrote: post #38

tl;dr: Internet non-adoption is linked to a number of demographic variables, but is strongly connected to age – with older Americans continuing to be one of the least likely groups to use the internet. Today, 25% of adults ages 65 and older report never going online.

Do they have a smart phone and realize that every app is online? That face time is online? This study seems flawed if it didn't get very specific because there's not a small number of tech illiterate ppl who don't even realize they're online when they are....

None of my aging relatives have a smart phone, my parents struggle with a dumb mobile phone.

Re: 7% of Americans don’t use the internet. Who are they?

#130

Post by jedberg » Wed, Apr 07, 2021, 6:21 AM UTC

My first question is, did they explain that Netflix/Hulu/etc. are "using the Internet"? I looked through the methodology and wasn't sure.

A lot of TVs have a Netflix button now. If someone else set it up for them, they may be completely unaware that they are using the Internet, possibly every day.