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2/3 of Americans Without Broadband Don't Want It
Ant writes in with news that won't be welcomed by the incoming US administration as it tries to expand the availability of broadband Internet service. A recent report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project indicates, as noted by Ars Technica, that two-thirds of Americans without broadband don't want it. "...when we look at the overall reasons why Americans don't have broadband, availability isn't the biggest barrier. Neither is price. Those two, combined, only account for one-third of Americans without broadband. Two-thirds simply don't want it. The bigger issue is a lack of perceived value."
Well obviously they wouldn't object to getting it for free, but that doesn't mean that they would be willing to pay anything for it. To anyone who reads slashdot, it must be difficult to imagine not wanting broadband. Maybe it's mostly old people? They'll be gone eventually, and then that statistic will change.
You're an asshole. Go fuck yourself - it's what you do best.
Unsubstantiated opinions that don't even pass a basic logical smell test qualify as insightful?
I see that particular moderation still means "I agree" more than anything else.
We must give them gawd as soon as possible even if they claim they don't want it. It's for their own good!"
Replace "gawd" with "broadband" and you have a politician and/or slashdotter.
Or with "heroin" and you have a pusher.
Or with "Marx and Lenin" and you have a "neighborhood organizer".
(See Leslie Fish' song _Trinity_ "... but who will come and save you from your Lord?")
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
Two thirds of Americans also believe the universe is less than 6,000 years old. Doesn't make them particularly wise for believing it, nor does it make their choice to reject science in favor of mythology a particularly educated one.
I love the way headlines like "2/3 of Americans without Broadband Don't Want It" are bandied about as if to excuse the local communications monopolies from bothering to provide service to areas which have been asking for it, and waiting decades for it.
If a similar poll took into account the IQ and/or level of education of those polled, I think we would find correlation to support the possibility that lack of interest in broadband is not a well-informed decision, and that most people who reject broadband either can't afford it, or are simply the last vestiges of the dead former paradigm.
You're not going to find any research suggesting that broadband is on its way out, in favor of dialup, just as it is unlikely you will find research in favor of gaslight vs. electric light, or the camel vs. the automobile as personal transport. Anyone claiming otherwise is full of shit and making excuses for a deeper agenda.