Almost one-fifth of U.S. population disconnected

Email and Internet access are both important in the daily lives of many of us, but a new report from Parks Associates reveals that many U.S. citizens don’t even have Internet access.

by Helen Leggatt

parks%20assoc%20logo.jpg Around 18% of the U.S. population, 20 million, do not have an Internet connection, something most of us would now find hard to live without.

Furthermore, 21% of the U.S. population has never used email, the same percentage has never created a document on a computer before and 20% percent again have never looked up a website online.

The Parks Associates data revealed that age and education play a big part in whether the Internet is a part of an individual’s daily life. Half of those that have never used email are over the age of 65 and 56% had no education beyond high school.

“Internet connections have slowly increased in U.S. households, but getting the disconnected minority online will continue to be difficult,” said John Barrett, director research at Park Associates.

“Age and economics are important factors, but the heart of the challenge is deeper. Many people just don’t see a reason to use computers and do not associate technology with the needs and demands of their daily lives.”