Amid the discussion of universal broadband access, those without broadband get all of the attention. But what about the 17 percent of Americans who regardless of cost or access simply don’t want to go online? Or the 1.7 percent who think dial-up is just fine? As hard as it is for the technically literate to imagine, roughly 25 percent of Americans don’t use the web.
The Pew Internet and American Life Survey asked people who either don’t have broadband or don’t have web access in their homes at all why they aren’t surfing the Internet at blazing fast speeds. The responses show that getting citizens online will have to involve more than laying fiber or even subsidizing subscriptions — they need to be convinced going online is worth it. That translates into millions of citizens who are getting left behind, most likely the oldest and poorest among us. How can the tech community reach them — not just with cable, but with compelling content?
