The Reasons Why 15% of American Adults Are Offline

Given the degree to which most of our lifes are entangled with the internet, it seems difficult that there are still people who live entirely without it. According to research conducted by the Pew Research Center 15 percent of American adults are offline. Not surprisingly, the share of offline adults varies within different demographics. While only two percent of those aged 18-29 don't use the internet, 44 percent of Americans 65 and older are offline. The same holds true for the level of education: people with a higher degree are much less likely to be without internet access than others.

So what are the reasons for people not to use the internet? According to Pew's research it all boils down to three categories of reasons: Relevance, usability and lack of access. 34 percent of those who are offline claim that they are not interested in the internet, that they don't need it or that it is a plain waste of time. 33 percent think it's too difficult to use or consider themselves too old or physically unfit to learn using the web. Only 26 percent claim not to use the internet because they don't have a computer or can't afford internet access.