Refusenets Still Resist The Lure Of The Web

Since the turn of the millennium, internet usage has continued to grow making the medium more attractive to marketers and retailers (see INSIGHTanalysis: The Internet Approaches Maturity). However, enthusiasm is by no means universal and Pew Internet & American Life has identified three types of people who do not access the web. These are ‘Net Evaders’, ‘Net Dropouts’ and the ‘Truly Disconnected’.

‘Net evaders’ make up 20% of non-internet users and are classified as people who live with someone who uses the internet but have no interest themselves. Some of these non-users do however get other members of their family to use email and online searches on their behalf.

A further 17% of non-users are classed as ‘Net Dropouts’ in that they were once web denizens but have lapsed as a result of technical problems with their computer or ISP. Their number has increased since April 2000 when 13% of non-users fell into this category. Internet access has become increasingly fluid with between a quarter and half of current users claiming to have dropped offline for an extended period at some point in their online life.

Some 24% of Americans are ‘Truly Disconnected’ in that they have no direct or indirect experience with the internet. These citizens are the cause of most concern among internet planners in that they lack the resources or have no compunction to go online.

Of the 42% of people who do not use the internet, just over half (56%) say that they do not think they will ever go online. The positive spin for marketers is the fact that these people tend to be from the poorer, older segment of the population and are more likely to be white, female, retired and living in rural areas.

Approximately one in three non-users stated that the cost of computers and internet access was prohibitive and a similar number claimed that time constraints and the complexity of the technology were major reasons for their stance. Over 40% expressed concerns over online pornography, credit card theft and fraud.

Demographic analysis The survey reinforced the perception that there are age, economic, cultural and education divides when it comes to internet penetration. The results show that the average American internet user is young, white, well-educated, affluent and lives within easy reach of a town or city. However of the 40% of non-internet users who plan to go online eventually, a healthy proportion come from the black and Hispanic population.

Pew Internet & American Life also sought to gauge the extent to which disabled people can access the web. The findings make sobering reading in that they show that only 38% of the physically impaired go online, compared to 58% of all Americans. Some 28% of disabled non-users said that their disability made it difficult or impossible for them to utilise the internet.

US Internet Users & Non-Users
	Users (%)	Non-users (%)	All US (%)
Sex
Men	50	46	48
Women	50	54	52
Race/Ethnicity
Whites	77	71	75
Blacks	8	14	11
Hispanics	9	10	10
Age
18-29	29	14	23
30-49	47	32	42
50-64	18	22	20
65+	4	28	15
Household Income
< $30,000	18	41	28
$30k – $50k	23	17	21
$50k – $75k	18	9	14
$75k+	26	6	18
Educational Attainment
Not High School Graduate	5	25	14
High School Graduate	23	41	35
Some College	34	21	25
College & Graduate School Degree	37	11	26
Community Type
Rural	21	31	26
Suburban	52	42	48
Urban	26	26	26
Source: Pew Internet & American Life, April 2003