Can You Believe It? One Fifth of U.S. Households Have Never Used Email!

2008-05-13T19:59:49Z

Because we are so, so connected, we think everybody else is too ... But a new survey finds a substantial number of households have not crossed the "Digital Divide."

According to National Technology Scan, a forthcoming study from Parks Associates (an annual phone survey of U.S. households) found 20 million households are without Internet access, representing approximately 18% of all U.S. households.

According to Parks Associates, nearly one out of three household heads has never used a computer to create a document, underscoring the significant digital divide between the connected majority and the homes in the unconnected minority that rarely, if ever, use a computer.

Age and education are factors in this divide -- 50% of those who have never used e-mail are over 65, and 56 percent had no schooling beyond high school.

National Technology Scan found just 7% seven percent of the 20 million “disconnected” homes plan to subscribe to an Internet service within the next 12 months. Still, the study reports a steady decline in the number of disconnected households when compared to findings from previous years. National Technology Scan reported at year-end 2006 that 29% of all U.S. households (31 million homes) did not have Internet access, citing low perceived value of the Internet.

Comments for Can You Believe It? One Fifth of U.S. Households Have Never Used Email!

Can You Believe It? One Fifth of U.S. Households Have Never Used Email!