The Blog

Two surveys of broadband adoption were released last week, and they both tell us we have a long way to go in closing the digital divide.

The FCC’s excellent survey, Broadband Adoption and Use in America, conducted at the end of 2009, shows that 35% of Americans do not use broadband at home.  Of that group:

“➤ Gender: 57 percent of non-adopters are women versus 49 percent of home broadband adopters.
➤ People with disabilities: 39 percent of non-adopters have a disability, compared with 15 percent of adopters.
➤ College graduates: Just 11 percent of non-adopters have college degrees versus 37 percent of broadband users.
➤ Age: 32 percent of non-adopters are age 65 or older versus 9 percent of adopters.
➤ Nearly two-thirds (65%) of non-adopters who are senior citizens are women.
➤ Income: 43 percent of non-adopters live in households with annual incomes of $20,000 or less, compared with 17 percent of home broadband users.
➤ Rural: 24 percent of non-adopters live in rural areas versus 13 percent of broadband adopters.”

56% of non-users cited at least three reasons why they weren’t adopters.  Here are some of the top reasons:

Monthly cost is too expensive  47%
I am not comfortable using a computer  46%
I am worried about all the bad things that can happen if I use the Internet  45%
The activation and installation fee to get service is too much  42%
I cannot afford a computer  40%
There is nothing on the Internet I want to see or use  35%
The Internet is just a waste of time  33%
I can access the Internet all I need to at work  14%
It’s not available where I live  13%

In general, the three most important reasons for non-adoption were related to cost (36%), “digital literacy” or comfort using computers and the Internet (22%), and relevance (19%).

Lower percentages of African-Americans – particularly older African-Americans – use high-speed access at home compared to all Americans (59% v. 66%).  Just 49% percent of Hispanics have adopted broadband, again with older Hispanics at lower adoption rates. Cost is the big reason for both of these groups.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies also released a report this past week.  Called National Minority Broadband Adoption:  Comparative Trends in Adoption, Aceptance and Use, the report also noted lower adoption numbers for low-income, older, and less-educated African-Americans and Hispanics.

Higher-income minorities are the fastest-growing groups of broadband adopters.

As compared to whites, minorities are more likely to use the Internet at community anchor institutions (libraries and schools) and more likely to use it to search for jobs.

According to the Joint Center, “For non-adopting minority respondents, a general lack of interest, followed by lack of accessibility and then high cost, are the primary barriers to acceptance and use.”

For all groups, comfort with computers and networks seems to grow with time online.  Lack of interest may be based on lack of knowledge – and relevance may only be demonstrated by use.

Both of these reports demonstrate that there are deep and continuing demographic/cost reasons why adoption numbers remain stubbornly low in this country.