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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?

#331

Post by justapassenger »

pradn wrote: post #315
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…

I was walking around my neighborhood and saw that someone posted a printed sign making a snarky remark about the Matt Gaetz news. I could not believe someone would care enough about a random politician's demise. Please get off Twitter.

Not to get political, but Matt is anything but random. He’s one of the rising stars of his party. Without much actual track record of actually getting stuff done and direct power, but very popular among certain group of voters.

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

#332

Post by akiselev »

Sebb767 wrote: post #22
boring_twenties wrote: post #2

I've been using the Internet since 1992-3. Lately I'm feeling more and more like these 7% have the right idea.

I don't think you can generalize the internet to be bad. That's like saying processed food is bad: Yes, we would not have the obesity problems we have now without them, but neither would we have been able to build our civilization as is or be able to be as well nourished as we are. The direction the net is currently going looks a bit worrying, I definitely agree. But I would not want to miss all the awesome advantage…

Processed food became a problem at the same point that the internet did: when we sacrificed everything at the altar of almighty profit.

Two hundred years ago, we processed food to survive the winter, now we do it to make a few extra bucks from each ton of corn and wheat.

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

#333

Post by dukeyukey »

DanBC wrote: post #171
dukeyukey wrote: post #167

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.

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

Definitely. In one of my previous companies, we'd sometimes do sprint retros in a nearby pub, drinks on the company tab.

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

#334

Post by agumonkey »

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…

I had a hunch that this was a reality.. so much of our modern life is wasted on utter nonsense .. we oughta cut the internet router figuratively and spend our time on fun or useful local things.

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

#335

Post by agumonkey »

busterarm wrote: post #327
lmm wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Here's the guy telling everyone they're using heroin wrong and the fact that it destroys their life is their problem. No, guy. The concensus is growing around social media being really fucking toxic.

He has a point, partially.. I used to use twitter, but naturally curating it with only funny or smart thinkers and creators. My view was mostly impressive tech, art or coding (one dude made fluid simulation in gl shaders). It was peaceful.

Thing is, you're still close to the toxic web you regularly step into it .. and that's why i'm banned from twitter now.

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

#336

Post by mywittyname »

StanislavPetrov wrote: post #324
Johnny555 wrote: post #75

My brother is one of them -- hard core blue collar worker, eschews a lot of modern technology, still carries a flip phone, and doesn't even use SMS. If I want to talk to him, I need to make a voice call, like a caveman. He doesn't have his cell phone turned on most of the time so his landline is the best way to reach him -- he even has a home answering machine. Not voicemail from his carrier, but an actual answering…

I'd be willing to bet your brother is happier and more mentally stable than the vast majority of Americans.

I bet the opposite.

He probably drives around listening to rage-inducing talk radio hosts all day. Then gets to jobs sites where he vents his rage with all the other guys.

This stuff existed long before facebook.

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

#337

Post by pradn »

minikites wrote: post #326
pradn wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was walking around my neighborhood and saw that someone posted a printed sign making a snarky remark about the Matt Gaetz news. I could not believe someone would care enough about a random politician's demise. Please get off Twitter.

You don't think it's important to participate in our democratic government? Why shouldn't we hold powerful people accountable for their actions?

It's one thing to voice your opinion online or through a protest or writing letters, and another to get a print shop to print your snarky comment and then post it on your window. Note that this was in response to litigation against him, not calling for his ouster. Politics are important, but this seems like a bit much.

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

#338

Post by baseballdork »

cwhiz wrote: post #266
ClumsyPilot wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think its any more likely for an illiterate person to pass through the immigration system than it is for same person to get AWS certification.

Most of the immigrants in the US are not authorized to be here.

I don't think that that is the case. This[0] seems to suggest that the overwhelming majority of immigrants are here legally.

[0]https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/12/how-pew-res...

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

#339

Post by mywittyname »

selcuka wrote: post #139
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…

Internet is not only email or social media though. I am curious if she doesn't like using any online resources for her studies, or for personal curiosity either.

That probably is included as part of "given the choice."

Like, given the choice, she'd probably go to a library or something to get study materials for her profession. But since that's (probably) impossible she makes due with the internet.

Personal curiosity can still be fulfilled offline.

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

#340

Post by karaterobot »

slg wrote: post #113
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…

Life is certainly less stressful if you ignore all the terrible things... unless a terrible thing happens to you and everyone ignores you.

This is a false dichotomy. You don't have to either ignore all terrible things, or spend all your time paying attention to them.
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