Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Why are so many Americans still not online?

People cite many reasons why they do not use broadband. However, the five most common broadband adoption barriers are: cost, access, skills, relevance and perception. (See BroadbandUSA’s Removing Roadblocks to Broadband Adoption.) Many demographic groups have historically lagged in using the Internet. These include senior citizens, minorities and Americans with lower levels of educational attainment. For more information, see the blog “Digitally Unconnected in the U.S.: Who’s Not Online and Why?”