Sometimes we take the internet for granted. This convenient tool that has completely changed the world is pretty much everywhere, right? Not exactly. A huge percentage of the country continues to be offline. We only have to wonder why anyone would choose to stay off the web. Is that even a choice people make?
Pew Research Group and Mashable have put together a chart that displays statistics about offline adults. The graph mostly shows the reasons why people are not using the internet and you will be surprised to know only 7% of the population don’t have access to the internet.
The graph shows percentages in different years. It seems 34% of offline adults don’t use the internet because they simply don’t find it relevant. They just don’t have a need for it, which may sound a bit crazy to those of us who have become dependent on it.
19% believe the internet is too expensive (which it can be). Here is a worrisome number, though – it seems 32% of those users stay offline because of usability. In short: they find the internet hard to use.
Interesting stats to see. We see multiple companies and operating systems trying to make the experience simpler. Projects like Google fiber are also making the internet much cheaper and we can clearly see in the stats that the world wide web is becoming more accessible.
Chrome is a great browser for internet newbies. It’s simple and fast, as well as full of features, but not scrambled.
I recently spoke to a painter who says he would like to learn how to use the internet so he can get more information about his religious studies. Truth is, the internet is a very powerful tool we can all use to our advantage. Even if you don’t NEED it, it is a tool that can help you grow in all aspects of life.
Let’s hope these numbers keep improving. But really, how many people do you know that never use the internet? I can count my offline acquaintances with one hand. And all of them would like to learn how to use it.
