The BBC News Magazine have a bewildering article on The internet’s conscientious objectors, that suggests that as many as 17 million people in Britain are not using the internet.
“Non-users are “becoming less and less likely to want to be engaging with technology such as the internet,” says Ellen Helsper, who has been a leading researcher with the Oxford Internet Institute. There is a rise in the number of people saying they are just not interested in being online, “it’s not that relevant to my life, I don’t see how I would fit it in”.“
What I find fascinating are some of the ideas expressed by the internet refuseniks:
““My wife won’t send e-mail” one man says. “She likes the personal touch [so] doesn’t know what’s happening to that letter of yours [if it is sent electronically].”“
““If you hit the wrong key,” says her neighbour, “what about privacy?”“
““Computers are like a Rubik’s cube,” a former teacher says. “Once you start to make a mess, and you don’t know what you’re doing, all you do is make a bigger mess.”“
Aside from the relief that the former teacher gave up their old job, I find it incredible that so many people can be so resistant to the idea of the internet.
I suspect, however, that there have always been groups of people resistant to change. I’m sure a sizeable number of people were opposed to the idea of television and even radio, and probably saw it as the beginning of the end of the family unit and society as a whole. Perhaps they were right? And I’m equally sure that there were people dead against the concept of the wheel; it was probably considered too round, and took all the character out of travelling.
Perhaps the only thing that’s changed is our ability to identify the micro-minority and make them newsworthy. Or perhaps the Digital Divide is wider than I realised.
