15% of Americans do not use the Internet

Despite government and social service programs designed to increase Internet adoption, 15% of U.S. adults do not use the Internet. That percentage has not changed since 2013, according to Pew.

While an equal proportion of men and women do not use the Internet, the research found that there are differences between races. While Asian-Americans are the most likely to use the Internet with only 5% not doing so, 20% of blacks are not online compared to 14% of whites and 18% of Hispanic-Americans.

Pew harks back to its 2013 research to highlight key reasons that some Americans do not use the Internet. Some (34%) simply had no interest in doing so or believed it was not relevant to their lives. For others (32%) non-Internet use was based on it being too difficult to use, of which 8% said they were too old to learn. For 19%, cost was a barrier to Internet use.

Pew’s 2014 research highlights other reasons why some Americans do not head online. Age plays a role, with 39% of those age 65 and over not using the Internet, compared to just 3% of 18-29-year-olds.

Household income was also a reason for not being online. Those in households with an income of $30,000 or less per annum were about 8x more likely than the most affluent to not use the Internet.

Furthermore, those Americans living in rural areas were also less likely that urban and suburban dwellers to never use the Internet.

However, Pew research from earlier this year (June 2015) found that 84% of Americans are online and, for some groups such as affluent households, those with high levels of education and young adults, Internet penetration is at full saturation levels.