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

pewresearch.org

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

#221

Post by rvba »

tovej wrote: post #195
tafox wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see life slowing down, maybe after some natural or man-made disaster wipes out half the population and most modern infrastructure, but until then, I only see things getting faster. HFT is the perfect example of the benefits of being fast, literally by trading faster, not necessarily better, billions in profit are made. In other fields, first-movers often have a massive advantage, AWS for example. Just look at…

I'm sorry, Europe has missed out on the last three generations of technology? I live in Europe and have visited the US. My impression has been the opposite. When I was visiting (5 years ago): - The trains didn't work - People printed out google maps instructions instead of using a network connection because data connections were bad/expensive - I had to sign my name to pay with a card at gas stations. I couldn't use…

Using physical checks/cheques to pay for rent what means that you need to physically go to a bank, or send it via post. It takes days if not weeks to clear

Lack of same day/instant money transfers between bank accounts so everyone uses paypal which is not a real bank and it can block your money for 180 days for their "investigations"

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

#222

Post by alnorth »

lmm wrote: post #216
dhosek wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My outrage quotient has dropped significantly in the two and a half months since I deleted facebook and twitter. Just removing those two things from my life has made a measurable improvement in my quality of life.

Did you try just... not following the outrage parts? Not getting outraged? If you want to spend more time connecting with people you care about, getting rid of facebook feels like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

The problem is that whoever you follow (whether they're friends, family or just interesting people) they ARE following the outrage parts.

And of course there's the "trending" sidebars, and ads and other stuff that gets injected into your timeline without you asking for it.

So things bleed in no matter how careful you are. The platforms are designed to drag you in and outrage you. Trying to avoid that is a constant battle - and you're going to give in to it from time to time.

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

#223

Post by incompatible »

sonthonax wrote: post #135

I think a lot of people just don’t like the internet that much. My girlfriend certainly wouldn’t use the internet given the choice, she’s in her mid 20s, with a postgrad degree from a top uni, but really only checks her email once every two days. It’s not just exclusive to old people. There is a cadre of young people who think that the internet is just stupid noise. You obviously just don’t hear from them much. I’m n…

The Internet is just a network for connecting computers together. If somebody sees only stupid things on the Internet, maybe they should access different computers.

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

#224

Post by bloak »

I don't know what definition of "use the internet" Pew Research used, but I suggest that a useful thing to ask would be whether people can easily access a typical web site, or at least one that has been designed to be accessible. That's probably what the authorities are most interested in: it tells them roughly how many people can pay their taxes, fill in the census or book a vaccine appointment online, and it tells them how many people can buy things online.

If you define "use the internet" in that way then there are indeed millions of people who use Facebook but do not "use the internet".

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

#225

Post by JackFr »

DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #179
SamoyedFurFluff wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 d…

The obituary was always a worthwhile read as well. It might not have been the most prominent person who died that week, but always fascinating.

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

#227

Post by tovej »

dagw wrote: post #212
tovej wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry, Europe has missed out on the last three generations of technology? I live in Europe and have visited the US. My impression has been the opposite. When I was visiting (5 years ago): - The trains didn't work - People printed out google maps instructions instead of using a network connection because data connections were bad/expensive - I had to sign my name to pay with a card at gas stations. I couldn't use…

After all, Germany makes all the cars that end up in the US. I just pulled up a list of the top 25 selling cars in the US and there are 0 German brands on that list. Plus most of the 'German' cars sold in the US are also made in the US.

I take it back, I was too hyperbolic.

The export is substantial though:

https://www.acea.be/publications/article/eu-us-automobile-tr...

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

#229

Post by AmericanChopper »

kilroy123 wrote: post #185
wxnx wrote: post #73

A significant portion of the US is illiterate [1]. One might assume that being illiterate affects internet usage. Not quite as romantic as neo-Luddism, or even making a conscious choice not to expose oneself to potentially problematic patterns of communication. [1] https://nces.ed.gov/datapoints/2019179.asp

How is it so high? Are these people immigrants from developing nations or something?

It's most likely a factor. It's also not too obvious whether those numbers are high compared to any other country, because it's one of those things that every country has its' own unique standards and methodology for measuring. For instance you might think that North Korea is the gold standard of literacy, at 100%, or you might think that they likely have some serious issues with the methodology they use for measuring that.

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

#230

Post by ClumsyPilot »

tafox wrote: post #161
sammalloy wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the OP is also indirectly touching upon the benefits of the slow movement, which has serious (and positive) implications for technology and how we use it. People in big cities and urban environments might find the transition to this kind of thinking jarring and difficult. I've found it takes on average about two years to adjust to it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_movement_(culture)

I don't see life slowing down, maybe after some natural or man-made disaster wipes out half the population and most modern infrastructure, but until then, I only see things getting faster. HFT is the perfect example of the benefits of being fast, literally by trading faster, not necessarily better, billions in profit are made. In other fields, first-movers often have a massive advantage, AWS for example. Just look at…

"HFT is the perfect example of the benefits of being fast, literally by trading faster, not necessarily better, billions in profit are made."

Casinos make billions in profits too, but just like HFT they contribute nothing to the productive economy and are a blood-sucking leech.

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