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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?

#351

Post by mirrorlake »

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…

This decade is the time to engage in a public discourse about what we want from our devices. Really sit back and think about what makes us happy. Hardware and software design can begin to nudge us toward some healthier, happier ideals. One small example: the incorporation of blue-blocking modes (f.lux, night shift, etc.) for night time usage. Some people love the addition of time limits that ensure they don't use apps too much.

I am optimistic that the best social media sites have yet to be designed--rather than optimizing to squeeze the most engagement, ad dollars, or whatever, I like to imagine algorithms that seek to encourage pro-social behavior, friendliness, happiness, fun, healthy habits. We may discover that Twitter and Facebook are fundamentally incapable of doing these things as well as their future replacement, whatever that may be.

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

#352

Post by shartshooter »

fulafel wrote: post #233
hooande wrote: post #153

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

Yep, shifting the terms reframes the issues. Even library of alexandria sounds a bit biased toward the web and similar things. The fundamental thing is the decentralized packet switched network that lets any node talk to any other node where anyone can build new applications on it. (But sadly a lot of people aren't directly on the internet anymore, and have only indirect access via a IPv4 NAPT gateway).

"People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole"

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

#353

Post by agumonkey »

busterarm wrote: post #350
agumonkey wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

These apps are still _by design_ trying to capture the maximum amount of your attention. That deserves every ounce of hostility that we can muster. And then some. They are parasites. It doesn't matter if you "made it work for you".

Please don't be crazy. I don't like the current web either but it's important to be objective and calm.

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

#354

Post by busterarm »

agumonkey wrote: post #353
busterarm wrote: post #350

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These apps are still _by design_ trying to capture the maximum amount of your attention. That deserves every ounce of hostility that we can muster. And then some. They are parasites. It doesn't matter if you "made it work for you".

Please don't be crazy. I don't like the current web either but it's important to be objective and calm.

First of all, I am calm.

Second of all, there's nothing crazy about what I said. By their own admission they've designed the apps to be addictive.

Would you tell your friends "go ahead, shoot up. have a great time!"? Would you tell your family? What I think is crazy is that we tolerate companies that make products like this.

I guess greed is a powerful force.

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

#355

Post by rhacker »

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.

What if I never had facebook? Does the baby exist? Should I GET facebook now?

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

#356

Post by [deleted] »

busterarm wrote: post #350
agumonkey wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

These apps are still _by design_ trying to capture the maximum amount of your attention. That deserves every ounce of hostility that we can muster. And then some. They are parasites. It doesn't matter if you "made it work for you".

[deleted]

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

#357

Post by rhacker »

agumonkey wrote: post #353
busterarm wrote: post #350

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These apps are still _by design_ trying to capture the maximum amount of your attention. That deserves every ounce of hostility that we can muster. And then some. They are parasites. It doesn't matter if you "made it work for you".

Please don't be crazy. I don't like the current web either but it's important to be objective and calm.

If I stepped out of 1980 and into 2021 and saw facebook and cell phones and people looking down the privacy nightmare. It is totally fucking batshit crazy.

We're all Slowly Boiled Frogs.

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

#358

Post by Dirlewanger »

hooande wrote: post #153

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

Because that's all the majority of the population knows. Their Internet is social media.

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

#359

Post by kube-system »

wxnx wrote: post #309
kube-system wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a lot of people are surprised by statistics like “x% of people don’t [thing every modestly privileged person does]” because it’s easy to forget that society has a lot of fringes if you’re not regularly exposed to them. My first reaction was “7% sounds low”, but again, that’s probably biased by my own experiences.

> My first reaction was “7% sounds low”, but again, that’s probably biased by my own experiences. That was my reaction as well, particularly based on how the question was asked - it was very specifically about the Internet, not mentioning specific services that someone with low technological literacy might not associate with Internet usage (e.g. Google Maps, or Facebook Messenger) [1]. [1] https://www.pewresearch.org…

Even then, I'd consider someone using Google Maps or Facebook Messenger to have moderate technical literacy, decent regular literacy, and a better-than-worst financial situation.

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

#360

Post by debaserab2 »

silverfox17 wrote: post #341
busterarm wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Just don't follow toxic sources, that's all he's advocating. If someone's sharing memes from a crazy political page, either block that page or remove the friend. People say social media like Facebook is toxic for the most part because they only deal with toxic people.

That’s not “not following toxic sources” that’s actively pruning them from your connections.

Why participate in that in the first place when toxicity grows there like a weed?

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