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Comments on news posted 2013-08-26 16:14:11: A new study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project has found that 70% of U.S. adults over the age of eighteen now have a broadband connection at home, while 3% of adults still use dial-up to access the Internet. ..


AlexNYC
join:2001-06-02
Edwards, CO

AlexNYC

Member

Lack of interest in the InternetS

"Many dial-up users cite cost and access as the main reasons they don’t have broadband, but for adults who don’t use the internet at all, a lack of interest is often the main issue."

... Don't worry, this internet thing is a fad anyways and it will pass soon ...
ISurfTooMuch
join:2007-04-23
Tuscaloosa, AL

ISurfTooMuch

Member

I wonder if the same pattern of use/non-use was apparent when the telephone entered widespread use. I'm betting it was. There are always going to be people who have lived without a technology for a long time who see no reason to adopt it.
WhatNow
Premium Member
join:2009-05-06
Charlotte, NC

WhatNow

Premium Member

Parents dropped it

Not sure what the reason was but when my parents moved they packed up their computer and did not want an internet connect at their new place.

I now live in a small town of 15k population I would be lost for something to fill the time without the internet.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

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Re: Lack of interest in the InternetS

Their are plenty of people who CHOOSE to split wood to warm their homes instead of just cranking up the thermostat.
Having found something that works for THEM doesn't make them luddites or technophobes just someone comfortable with their own drumbeat.
NOT following the crowd can be a reasoned and reasonable choice too.

n2jtx
join:2001-01-13
Glen Head, NY

1 recommendation

n2jtx

Member

Not Just Broadband

quote:
"We've consistently found that age, education, and household income are among the strongest factors associated with home broadband adoption,"
Not just broadband but just about everything. If you stay in school, study, get or create a good job and advance yourself you are going to succeed. If you decide to drop out of school at 16, get married and populate the planet, then your chances of getting broadband that "you" pay for are slim. Of course I will probably be tapped to pay for your Internet because it is your right along with food, housing and cell phones.

tschmidt
MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH
·Consolidated Com..
·Republic Wireless
·Hollis Hosting

tschmidt to tshirt

MVM

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Re: Lack of interest in the InternetS

said by tshirt:

There are plenty of people who CHOOSE to split wood to warm their homes instead of just cranking up the thermostat.

I resemble that remark, I'm an old fart, we heat with wood and have broadband - semi-fast 6Mbps ADSL. About a year ago switched to a CLEC for higher speed and lower cost, hard trade-off to beat.

But I think you are correct for some folks the Internet just isn’t all that interesting.

I was surprised broadband penetration has been pretty much stuck at 70ish percent for the last three years. I thought it would be higher by now. It would be interesting to know more about why the 30% do not have high speed access: is everyone in that group uninterested or does lack of availability cost and complexity play a factor?

The other interesting factor to tease out is how happy are folks with their service in terms of speed, reliability and price? Basically what does everyone want and how much are they willing to pay?

/Tom

linicx
Caveat Emptor
Premium Member
join:2002-12-03
United State

linicx

Premium Member

Another study?

Whoopee, Rube Goldberg and Santa Claus all rolled into one! Pew, like Forbes and the other money chasers, has its place. The problem is the data, who compiles it, and who writes about it. Chances are the real story looks something this:

Based on a broadband speed of 4/1, we at Foundation XYX found that 70% of U.S. homes in densely mid to large populated cities have some type of broadband that equals or exceeds this speed. Residents in smaller, less densely populated areas are not always as fortunate.

However, this is not the same as rural where 3% or more families still rely on dial-up access as nothing else is available, or what is available is cost prohibitive. And we also find 15% or more rural American families still struggle with slow broadband speeds of 1.5 or slower. We also found some families have no access to internet, phone, or cell phone from their home, as they fell outside of the Last Mile mandate, and the nearest cell tower antenna is out of reach.

^^^^^^
This my friends is more truth than fiction. I live it.
andre2
join:2005-08-24
Brookline, MA

andre2

Member

survey itself doesn't appear to use 4 Mbps threshold

The survey itself does not appear to use the 4 Mbps threshold Karl referred to. There are 3 questions and the third is
At home, do you connect to the Internet through a dial-up telephone line, or do you have some other type of connection, such as a DSL-enabled phone line, a cable TV modem, a wireless connection, or a fiber optic connection such as FIOS?
(The reason I checked is that I have 3/768 dry loop DSL and I was wondering whether they would classify me as "broadband" or "unconnected".)
John Randall
join:2013-08-26
Montclair, NJ

1 recommendation

John Randall

Member

From Susan Crawford:

Both the Pew study and the FCC label any connection of 4 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps for uploads as fast enough to be counted as “broadband.” That’s absurd.

It’s also dangerous to call everything “broadband” because it allows us to pretend there’s a vibrant marketplace for high-speed Internet access, with satellite duking it out with cable modem access, mobile wireless supplanting the need for a wire at home, and no need for oversight or a change in industrial policy.

Yes, you could say DSL, satellite, and mobile wireless are all “high-speed broadband,” but that’s just like putting your local high-school football team in the same market as the New York Giants. It’s all football, but the two don’t — and can’t — compete.

»www.wired.com/opinion/20 ··· oadband/

WHT
join:2010-03-26
Rosston, TX

1 recommendation

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Re: Lack of interest in the InternetS

said by AlexNYC:

Don't worry, this internet thing is a fad anyways and it will pass soon ...

Citations support that...

Homer Simpson: The internet? Is that thing still around?
Bart Simpson: I know a website that shows monkeys doing it.

Prince: The Internet's completely over
»The Internet Declares Prince Dead [62] comments
iowaboy
Premium Member
join:2004-02-28
Fairfield, IA

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Re: From Susan Crawford:

They must have called people on the east and west coast in cities larger than one million people cause if they called anyone anywhere else they would have gotten a must lower percentages on the surveys.

batterup
I Can Not Tell A Lie.
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Netcong, NJ

batterup

Premium Member

Many don't need or want it.

The "boomers" and older are still numerous. They never had cell phones much less smart phones.

Some famous people cannot use a computer, Regis Philbin, comes to mind. We didn't have a phone in the house until I was about six; there was a pay phone not far and we used that. The first phone in the house was a four party line; how about that for privacy?

I can get by on 10/.9; that gives me one HD stream and all the tripe I can type.
Bengie25
join:2010-04-22
Wisconsin Rapids, WI

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Re: Parents dropped it

The Internet is great for minds that are easily bored. Many people find it strange that I don't like to hang out at bars for 6 hours every night.

Of people that I know who don't use the Internet much, they tend to fall into only a few groups. Have Kids with lots of after school stuff, time consuming hobbies, workaholics, drunks, lazy(no ambition to learn).

The first two are good things.
Technicholas
Premium Member
join:2010-11-11
West Des Moines, IA

Technicholas

Premium Member

get off dialup

Some companys are forcing people off dialup and onto DSL