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

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171–180 of 405 posts

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

#171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You drank after work with the folks you worked with (in west this is a no no for many good reasons) In the West, this is a conventional thing that many people expect.

Yeah, in the UK this is incredibly common. Drinks after work were at least a weekly thing, sometimes even a nightclub.

Yes. And in some places it would be drinks during the workday, if the pub was close enough for a lunchtime pint.

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

#172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You drank after work with the folks you worked with (in west this is a no no for many good reasons) In the West, this is a conventional thing that many people expect.

Yeah, in the UK this is incredibly common. Drinks after work were at least a weekly thing, sometimes even a nightclub.

in Germany this is also extremely common. I really don't know what the commenter means by the west, I'd assume after office drinking is also normal in the US?

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

#173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

You miss the OP's point. They're talking about a specific aspect of culture in the Carribean, where they worked for a while, not about idyllic lifelong vacations. While there, they found that separation from the internet reduced the amount of outrage they felt. Unless you're suggesting that social media outrage is productive and helps people to accomplish something meaningful in their own way, you're not actually add…

I read OP's comment the same way, but also think the counterpoint is valid.

People living in these "slow", offline first places are self selecting, and it's not for everyone.

My parents moved to a tropical island, have been there for decades now, they love it and will never go back. I also grew there but left at the first occasion and more than half of my schoolmates did the same.

IMO living there requires a distance from fast paced, online, strongly information based social discourse. If you don't have that you're in for a bad time.

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

#174
post #61
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…

There is a shocking amount of "non-human" activity. I think there are definitely bots, but also people that are paid to promote one narrative or another (paid with money or social validation). I've trolled through many a twitter/reddit account when I sniff something off about a post. They are often hyper focused on a single topic, pushing a specific point of view. Rarely is this mentioned. Its "hail corporate" vibes…

Marketing is also upping their game and masquerading their promotions as organic activity on social media. This happens to tech topics, too. As an example: about two years ago, for about a month, tech subreddits and HN were full of discussion threads about how awesome CoreOS is, the users patting each other on the back about it being 'a breath of fresh air', usually with very little technical details on how and why. Then it suddenly receded and one rarely hears about it today anymore. In retrospect, I'm certain it was a coordinated marketing campaign, but at the time it was indistinguishable from genuine Redditors discovering a new passion.

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

#176

It's surprising how many people here equate "the Internet" with "social media". It's like having access to 1,000,000 x the Library of Alexandria every day and only being interested in keeping up with what people are talking about in the lobby

Exactly, that's how it is. The library has never been a happening spot. The happening kids, if forced to the library by an authority figure, would just spend the time whispering, gossiping, and playing around with their friends.

I bet you were one of those nerds who actually USED the library. :D I was too.

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

#177

I can imagine not using it much after I retire. Honestly it doesn't offer a whole lot IMO. I'll likely keep email and use maps/navigation though, as they are useful.

Hades, my internet usage jumped to 250 GB a month since covid. (My Comcast account allows 1200 GB) I am a FIRE'd former college professor and now have endless access to academic zoominars and professional conferences. I'll be somewhat disappointed when much of that returns to lower capacity in-person in 2022.

During COVID, my usage pattern is directly correlated to the weather. When it's raining, there are very few alternatives to sitting on the computer.

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

#178
post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Financial Times is my main news source. It seems to be the only one that I've found which doesn't have sensationalist stories/click baity headlines

Financial journalism really outperforms most media sources in terms of picking important stories and telling them in an unbiased way. Maybe their wealthier audience means that they're not racing to the bottom for clicks. Maybe the people in charge know to run a business that gives people what they want without alienating half of potential customers. Maybe something else entirely. Whatever it is, it's working, and I h…

Agreed. Even Reuters News is high quality in comparison to CNN and Fox News.

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

#179
post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Getting rid of “newstainment” and 24-hour news programs significantly improved the quality and breadth of the news I consume. By just reading a quality daily newspaper and a couple of newsmagazines, I’m better informed than when I was a news junkie with cable news on in the background and news websites refreshing on my phone. “Breaking news” is broken. Print media, especially weekly newsmagazines, have the luxury of…

Which print media do you recommend?

not OP but I've had a long running subscription to The Economist since the early 90ies. One of my favorite sections usually glossed over by everyone I know (but I'm weird) is the quality from "Letters to the Editor" that are incredibly well selected and often hilarious when checked with the original piece that they are referring to. The Letters are not my causa primera for reading it, but if something so mundane is done with so much attention to detail, the rest should also be up to my expectation (and it usually is).

Secondly there is also their Tech section which compared to politics / economics / finance ..., I can as an insider judge its quality. It stands out among the rest IMO. I also like the FT for similar reasons.

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

#180
post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, in the UK this is incredibly common. Drinks after work were at least a weekly thing, sometimes even a nightclub.

in Germany this is also extremely common. I really don't know what the commenter means by the west, I'd assume after office drinking is also normal in the US?

It's less common, because most people have to drive home from work in the US.
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