[140am]

according to the article "break it down by race and class, and suddenly the numbers look very bleak"..

- 15% of US adults (~37m people) don't use the internet = 20% of black Americans = 25% of Americans who make less than $30,000 a year = 25% of adults who live in rural areas = 30% of Americans who've never finished high school

[kevin_thibedeau]

How many of those are retired seniors (pre-boomers) who have no real need to use the internet?

[TheGRS]

The article notes that older americans are among the fastest adopters today.

If you've looked at Facebook recently, you'd see why, its the best way to stay connected with extended family members and see pictures of grandchildren.

[onion2k]

0

The internet is a tool that's the preferred method of communication among a growing number of people. Everyone who doesn't have access to it (by lack of technology, lack of education, etc) will slowly become more and more isolated from the rest of society as long as they can't access it. Even if someone chooses to never actually use the internet it is still important that they can if ever they change their mind.

Plus, a large number of old people say they don't need or want access because they don't know what they can use it for, or they're scared of looking stupid because they're not yet learned the technology required. That isn't the same as actually having no reason to use it. Most (like, 99.9999%) of people do have some reason to use it.

[dragonwriter]

FTFA: And it's not merely a matter of waiting for old fuddy-duddies who don't "get it" to die off: As the data show, older people have been among the quickest to adopt the Internet among the disconnected population.

[kevin_thibedeau]

That is conflating adoption rate with the total active users. It's unsurprising that a demographic group that is late to adopt new technology would become the fastest growing one once growth everywhere else has stopped. That doesn't prove that the remaining holdouts aren't largely represented by older people who don't need to use the internet.

[venomsnake]

It is good that retired people don't have the time to learn anything new or the need to connect with people.

[neverartful]

Just because someone decides not to learn the Internet doesn't mean that they're not learning a bunch of other things. Like reading printed books, magazines, being part of clubs, etc. It also doesn't mean that they don't have a need to connect with people. They probably do it over the telephone or in person (or even through handwritten letters).

The older generations went through many decades living without the internet. Do you really think that the internet is necessary (or even desirable) for them to live productive and happy lives?

[venomsnake]

> The older generations went through many decades living without the internet. Do you really think that the internet is necessary (or even desirable) for them to live productive and happy lives?

I think that access to the internet is human right.

[140am]

"older people have been among the _quickest to adopt_ the Internet among the disconnected population" ..means the opposite..

[venomsnake]

Forgot that HN rolls 3 on sarcasm ...