20 percent not caught in the Net

Every once in a while, I write a column about how much catching up I still have to do, technologywise, with my peers.

My husband and I can at least say we’re dealing with 21st-century technology. We own twin iphones, albeit the two-models-ago version. Although our home computer is 6 years old and has its quirks, we do have recently updated high-speed Internet. And through our Internet service we now have wireless access on our iphones, which we hope will guard against any more of those “you’ve gone over your available data use, you gotta pay another $15” accidents we’ve suffered on several occasions.

Hubby, also a writer, depends on his computer and mobile phone to work and to stay informed. I depend on the home computer, mobile phone and my office computer for the same. After some initial resistance and despite the ever-present threat from hackers, we both have e-mail Linkedin accounts and I have Facebook and Twitter accounts. And yep, there’s a lot of online news-hunting, research, bill-paying, shopping and socializing going on.

So it was a little jolting to see the recent story by Amy Gahran, who writes about mobile technology for Cnn.com, saying that, according to a Pew Research Center report, one in five adults in the United States still doesn’t use the Internet. At all. Nada.

“Why? Mostly they’re just not interested — not in the Web, email, Youtube, Facebook or anything else that happens online,” Gahran writes.

Of these 20 percent — to whom I’ll refer as the Great Unplugged — 48 percent say the Internet has no relevance in their lives. “They don’t want to use the Internet and don’t need to use it to get the information they want or conduct the communication they want,” according to the story and the report. Other reasons: They don’t have a computer or computers are too “expensive, too difficult, or a waste of time.” Only 10 percent said they’d be interested in trying the Net or e-mail out in the future. As one might imagine, most of the “unplugged” are elderly, less educated, poor.

But just what are the Great Unplugged missing? As much as those of us who are plugged in have personally been enriched and educated and have enjoyed the usefulness of the Internet, you have to wonder sometimes — to misquote an old ditty — whether being down on the farm and having never seen Paree is so bad.

With technology has come not just occasional threats from hackers, but new extra bills for the Internet — for spyware protection, antivirus protection, smart phone

technology that gets you on the Internet via mobile phone, monthly memberships to online services (including that service that promises to clean up any negative info about you on the Internet) and yeah, those Angry Birds game applications.

The Great Unplugged are also missing out on depressing themselves with even more bad news, perusing the inevitable written fights that arise among those who post comments to these stories, accidentally sending embarrassing e-mails and texts, trashing their own online reputations by what they post on social media and, ahem, spending money they don’t have at Macys.com. They’re missing out on various legal and moral rabbit holes into which they can tumble online, some more sinister and sick than others. And last but not least, they’re missing out on extra ways to keep up with the Kardashians! Ah, but ignorance can be bliss.

Despite the ills and bills, I doubt that any of us who have seen the Paree of the Internet could be kept down on a Netfree farm even if we had the choice. Perhaps we should impose on ourselves a duty to invite any Great Unpluggers we know to come over, sit at our computer and just try the Internet. And, if they like it, we can show them ways (such as smart-phone Internet only) they can inexpensively, but permanently, join our ranks. If they don’t like being plugged in, well, we can’t knock them for eschewing Paree for the peace, quiet, simplicity and clean air of the farm.

As a matter of fact, we — as the experts sometimes urge — could stand an occasional visit to the farm ourselves for a nice technovacation as well as to preserve our own sanity.