Why are more people not online?

7 November 2001 News

No need, no interest, no money keep billions away.

In the developed world, in our 'digital' age, the Internet is literally in your face. Opportunities to go online are everywhere, and an estimated 400 hundred million people use the World Wide Web daily. Yet, according to international research firm Ipsos-Reid, billions of people have neither heard of the Internet nor have any intention of going online anytime soon. Even in 'First World' countries, about one-third of people who could use the Internet choose not to. In fact, it estimates that, of the world's 6 billion citizens, only about 6% are online. Why?

Brian Cruikshank at Ipsos-Reid believes the answer is twofold. He says, "In the developed world, a substantial number of people who could very easily go online have decided not to. They see no compelling reason to be on the Web. The hype and the promise of the Internet clearly has not impressed them - not yet, at least. For others the cost of accessing the Internet competes with the cost for basic necessities and access availability is very limited outside of urban areas."

The most frequently mentioned reasons for staying offline were 'have no need for the Internet' (40%), 'no computer' (33%), 'no interest' (25%), 'do not know how to use it' (16%), 'cost' (12%), or 'no time' (10%). In lesser developed poorer countries, cost and access were unsurprisingly cited as barriers more often than in major industrialised countries. In urban South Africa and urban India, Ipsos-Reid found that only one-quarter of the population has access to the Internet, and fewer than 10% of people report being recent users.

"Far from being dead, the Internet has a large growth potential everywhere, but progress is destined to be slower than previously envisioned." Cruikshank adds, "To expand the reach of the Web in developing countries, public venues -libraries, schools, offices and Internet cafés - will have to play a more crucial role."

www.ipsos-reid.com

Further reading:

SACEEC celebrates standout industrial innovation on the KITE 2025 show floor
News
Exhibitor innovation took the spotlight at the KITE 2025 as the South African Capital Equipment Export Council announced the winners of its prestigious New Product & Innovation Awards.

Read more...

---

SA team for International Olympiad in Informatics
News
The Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa has named the team that will represent South Africa at this year’s International Olympiad in Informatics.

Read more...

---

Anritsu and Bluetest to support OTA measurement
News
Anritsu Company and Sweden-based Bluetest AB have jointly developed an Over-The-Air measurement solution to evaluate the performance of 5G IoT devices compliant with the RedCap specification.

Read more...

---

The current sentiment of the global electronics manufacturing supply chain
News
In its latest report, the Global Electronics Association provides an analysis of the current sentiment and conditions in the global electronics manufacturing supply chain as of June 2025.

Read more...

---

Global semiconductor sales increase in May
News
The Semiconductor Industry Association recently announced global semiconductor sales were $59,0 billion during the month of May 2025, an increase of 19,8%.

Read more...

---

New president for Avnet EMEA
News
Avnet has announced that Avnet Silica’s president, Gilles Beltran, will step into the role of president of Avnet EMEA.

Read more...

---

DARPA sets new record for wireless power beaming
News
In tests performed in New Mexico, the Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay program team recorded over 800 W of power delivered for about 30 seconds with a laser beam crossing 8,6 kilometres.

Read more...

---

Nordic Semiconductor acquires Memfault
RF Design News
With this acquisition, Nordic has launched its first complete chip-to-cloud platform for lifecycle management of connected products.

Read more...

---

Trina storage demonstrates high efficiency and long-term reliability
News
Independent testing confirms 95,2% DC efficiency and 98% capacity retention after one year of operation.

Read more...

---

From the editor's desk: AI – a double-edged sword
Technews Publishing News
As with any powerful tool, AI presents challenges, some of which, if not carefully managed, threaten to undo the potential that it can offer.

Read more...

---