Pew Study: 24% Don’t Use Internet At Home

According to a new study, almost a quarter of U.S. adults (24%) do not use the Internet from home, and most don't express any interest in doing so.

The study, "Who's Not Online and Why," from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, found that 15% of U.S. adults don't use the Internet at all, while 9% use it somewhere other than at home. Only 7% cited lack of access as the reason for not becoming Internet adopters, suggesting cable ops are on point in emphasizing adoption and education among those who already have access.

The study found a number of reasons for not using the Internet, including that it is "just not relevant to them" (34%). That was followed closely by "not very easy to use" (32%) and , expensive (19%). Only 7% said it was due to lack of access.

Of the offline adults, only 8% said they would like to start using the Internet--including e-mail--while 92% said they aren't interested.

As in past studies, age is a big factor. Those 65 and older make up almost half (49%) of all non-Internet users, while 87% of those 18-29 go online from home. Lack of Internet use is also correlated with education (41% of those without a high school diploma are offline, as are 24% of Hispanics and 24% of those in households making less than $30,000.

Among the findings are that more than one in ten were Internet cord cutters, at least personally. The study found that 14% of offline adults said they used to use the Internet, but have stopped "for some reason."

The findings are based on data from telephone interviews conducted April 17-May 19 by Princeton Survey Research Associates.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.