The shares of U.S. adults who say they use the internet, use social media, own a smartphone or own a tablet computer are all nearly identical to the shares who said so in 2016. The share who say they have broadband internet service at home currently stands at 65% – nearly identical to the 67% who said this in a survey conducted in summer 2015. And when it comes to desktop or laptop ownership, there has actually been a small dip in the overall numbers over the last two years – from 78% in 2016 to 73% today.
A contributing factor behind this slowing growth is that parts of the population have reached near-saturation levels of adoption of some technologies. Put simply, in some instances there just aren't many non-users left. For example, nine-in-ten or more adults younger than 50 say they go online or own a smartphone. And a similar share of those in higher-income households have laptops or desktops.
The poor, the rural, the elderly, and those who couldn't care less are the hold-outs.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by SomeGuy on Monday October 01 2018, @08:59PM (11 children)
So everybody that wants one has one. Now what, wise guys?
It seems like advertising is kicking up, putting more pressure on those that choose not to own a mobile device or use social media. Still creating iPhone zombies that religiously prosecute the non-owners.
I consider myself technically savvy, but I can not honestly think of a real NEED for myself to have a smart phone. Some people have real valid needs for one. Some people just like throwing money at any toy, and that is fine too. Once I have a real, valid, need that warrants the short and long term costs, I'll happily get one.
In the mean time, perhaps some people will figure out they don't really need smart phones, cell phones, or "social" media.
BUT DON'T FORGET TO DOWNLOAD OUR NEWS AND WEATHER APP/SPYWARE* SO YOU CAN SEE OUR "NEWS" ABOUT WHAT CELEBRITIES POST ON TWEETER(TM)! AND LIKE US ON FUCKBOOK(TM)!
(*obvious purchase of latest smart phone required)
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Monday October 01 2018, @09:19PM (2 children)
Laughing at your post - sometimes the really obvious is just invisible to the brain trusts.
Did they bother to correlate desktop/laptop ownership to console ownership, and then to smartphone ownership? Maybe some people have one device, and they don't see any reason to get another device to perform many of the same tasks? A lot of millenials see little reason to own a desktop, when they have their smartphones that can do *almost* everything they would use a desktop/laptop for. A lot of older people find that their old hardware satisfies all their needs - why get a litle bitty computer? Mobility isn't that important to them.
And, no mention is made of shared devices. If one person in a family owns a device, and another person owns another device, you can presume that both persons have "access" to both devices - along with all their close kin.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 02 2018, @03:10AM (1 child)
" A lot of older people find that their old hardware satisfies all their needs - why get a litle bitty computer? Mobility isn't that important to them."
I'm "older" and need mobile phone, email and SMS. But thanks for being so gracious to tell me what I really need, you condescending twit.
OTOH I don't give a shit about Fuckbook, Shitter or Instasuck.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday October 02 2018, @02:35PM
Maybe you should turn your hearing aid up? "a lot of older people" does not mean "all old people". The only thing that applies to all old people is, they wish they hadn't aged so damned quickly.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 01 2018, @09:28PM
2FA is the main thing I would hurt without, but I actually mostly use an old/inactive phone for that. Also, I eventually broke down and got lyft when it was impossible to get a cab one night and I was freezing. And the internet connected camera makes it convenient to send crypto around via QR codes.
(Score: 2) by RandomFactor on Monday October 01 2018, @09:52PM
The company that survives: looks at trends find the next thing and the thing after that and reinvent yourself. Leverage your strengths to make the new you happen.
The company that fails: dig in, attack competitors, milk your customer base mercilessly until their loyalty is made of inertia not steel.
Just sayin...
В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday October 01 2018, @10:37PM (5 children)
Oh, there's also a bunch of randos who occasionally identify themselves as "soylentils", which is a group so diverse you never know what's going to be chatted about, almost all the crazies are there, it's great! Technically, I could survive without that channel, but I wouldn't want to.
So yeah, "social media" is a non-thing for me, but I can't agree on the smartphone usefulness.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Tuesday October 02 2018, @02:03AM (4 children)
You are here. You post, you respond. You've submitted stories.
Welcome to social media.
You just don't buy into the mainstream. Because you're smart.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by VLM on Tuesday October 02 2018, @11:43AM (3 children)
There seems to be a bit of definition drift going on such that social media in the modern sense means another corporate advertising outlet.
Another alternative way I've seen it described is a bunch of people on a weblog discussing carpentry is merely a carpentry discussion board, or an imageboard for Chinese comics is a political discussion group, but social media specifically requires small talk that would be modded "off topic" along the lines of "how bout that weather" or "my multinational megacorporation owned sportsball team beat the other multinational megacorporation owned sportsball team therefore I am the superior NPC"
Example, I log into facebook every couple months and here's what my friends family former coworkers are talking about: one sportsball team beat another sportsball team, a far right wing coworker of mine posted a hilarious meme that she probably stole from /pol/ where I first saw it, somebodies kid went to high school homecoming, a funny meme was posted (not political, actually kinda LOL), a coworker took a kid to a minor sportsball game and the kid was disruptive but in the end everyone had fun, my coworker posted yet another /pol/ meme, a coworker posted something along the lines of I love the fall season, a different female right wing coworker posted a different /pol/ meme (shit does every chick on /pol/ work with me?), a "dog lady" or "fur baby" or whatever female coworker posted a pix of her dog admittedly a pretty nice dog and pretty nice pix.
Social media is pretty light fluffy small talk seasoned with censored political propaganda, its pretty lightweight stuff. You get more intelligent engaging and interesting conversation on the chinese cartoon imageboard /diy/ (do it yourself) in one day than in a year on FB.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Tuesday October 02 2018, @03:35PM (2 children)
I'd say a lot of definition drift. Google's definition is, "websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking." (Which parrots https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/social_media [oxforddictionaries.com] ) Merriam Webster differentiates a bit further, ": forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos)"
I wouldn't have thought to have classified it by tone or weight of content. Then again, being social to me isn't just or primarily about "Hey, how's the weather today?" either, but rather how one relates to others (or lack thereof).
I'm not saying that's necessarily a popular view. If I felt that.... I'd probably be talking about it on Facebook instead. ;)
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday October 02 2018, @09:06PM (1 child)
Hmm that definition is painfully inclusive to the point of both of us using a punch card FORTRAN library in 1970 would make us social media buddies. Any time two human communicate via electronic means is social media.
Something I got to think about over the last few hours is modern social media is the equivalent of a fraternal social order/club from a century ago, whereas the fine wood working weblog/imageboard/weblog is the equivalent of the woodworkers club meeting from just a couple decades ago.
Or its a social media if there is no specified activity; if there is a specified activity (such as woodworking) then its not generic social media its a woodworking blog. G+ might be empty but its social media, eevblog is a EE vlog dude and his community, not social media.
I would imagine SN is in between as there should only be on topic articles and inside an article there should only be on topic comments, mostly.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Tuesday October 02 2018, @09:41PM
You're right that we can certainly distinguish shades of grey as to what is and isn't social media. Nobody denies Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace (anyone still use that?) are clearly within the bound. Does dedicated blogging qualify. What of Blogger and LiveJournal..... and then what of the Journals here at SN? (Which are clearly interactive between members... But not the primary focus of the site, either.) YouTube?
Yet there is a dedicated focus - one that is pretty wide ranging in terms of interesting news. (Your woodworking). It differs from the "I can create whatever I want and all will see it" model in that submissions are moderated to stay within the lines. (And then we go offtopic and get downmodded for it). Yet is this just a news outlet and nothing more? That doesn't seem quite right either - without the ability for we in the peanut gallery to chime in and debate/argue/kick it around it isn't the same thing. Like you said, an in between. SoylentNews is people - yet News. "Social News?"
Is there a far side of the spectrum where we say, "that's not social media at all...." One bound is "no opportunity for feedback" - a lot of news sites ditched the ability to comment on their stories, for example. There's no "social" at those media sites. I suppose by default if you're doing "social" online you're using a form of media to do so, unless there's a different definition for media.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 01 2018, @09:02PM (4 children)
No more exponential growth! Sell, sell, sell!!!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 01 2018, @09:45PM
You messed it up. The joke goes: "What will be the next big tech after cell phones? Sell phones? Sell ? SELL? SELL. SELL!"
http://i.imgur.com/gk1JhpJ.jpg [imgur.com]
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 01 2018, @11:39PM (1 child)
Market Saturation. Oh, what that? Ok, make current devices obsolete, like say push/force Windows 10, force OEMs to use the now proven insecure UEFI, keep up the Social Media division of society and the dumbification in edumacation... and the new sheeple will flock to Alexa, Cortana and Siri. Total control, achieved.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by VLM on Tuesday October 02 2018, @11:46AM
It was probably designed that way by the NSA for obvious reasons.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 02 2018, @01:41PM
Oh yes, the mindset of journalism do seem to reflect that of a stock broker.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by PartTimeZombie on Monday October 01 2018, @09:10PM (1 child)
I suppose we have got to the point where the things people want to do are done online and a tablet or smartphone is an easy way to access the things people want online.
In my experience, what most people want is an easy life, and they have no interest in how web things work, the just want to touch an icon on their phone and have it work.
It looks like the years of massive growth are over. Businesses sometimes assume growth will go on forever, but in the real world, there is a limit.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 02 2018, @01:46PM
Can I maybe get some of it back offline, please? Also they seem to have forgotten that the universal interface is e-mail and not webforms.
(Score: 3, Funny) by suburbanitemediocrity on Monday October 01 2018, @09:10PM (6 children)
The real reason
are holding out is that they are waiting for 10Gbs.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday October 01 2018, @09:21PM (4 children)
Well - rural, definitely. Elderly? Probably not so much. The poor? Maybe. And, those who couldn't care less are holding out for nothing - they just don't give a damn!
(Score: 2) by suburbanitemediocrity on Monday October 01 2018, @09:30PM (3 children)
I would think the elderly would be the ones most interested in 10Gbps.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Monday October 01 2018, @09:48PM (1 child)
Not in my experience. A lot of the people older than me have very little interest in the internet. Those who are interested are pretty undemanding. They've never experienced true broadband, so the lame connections they have seem to be adequate. Older people who really want faster connections are probably mostly interested in video. A recent article told us that Netflix still makes a profit on snail-mailed CD/DVD. Those who are "streaming" understand that they have to download a couple hours in advance, to watch the entire movie without buffering. That's still a huge imporovement over what we grew up with - check the TV Guide to see if any local stations are broadcasting anything we wanted to see. (In my case, that happened less and less as I matured, until I just quit television.)
My wife and I are both fairly tech savvy - and we don't even feel a real need for Gbps. We would be very happy to get anything better than 2Mbps. Anything between 10 and 100 meg would be awesome: she could watch her movies, and I could do update/upgrade without interfering. Or, I could play an online game while she's watching movies. Or - the possibilities are endless of course. Gbps may be essential for a business, or an educational facility, but we're never going to see it way out here, and our relatives won't miss what they don't know about.
(Score: 2) by archfeld on Monday October 01 2018, @10:35PM
I'd jump on expanded service, but it hasn't got any better just more expensive. Every round of takeovers they jack the claims of speed and bandwidth, fail to deliver and just charge more. Were are not getting closer to better bandwidth but further away at greater cost.
For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge
(Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday October 02 2018, @11:48AM
My MiL REALLY likes her kindle because now every book is "large print format".
However that doesn't require 10Gbps as she can't read as fast as I can read and type.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 02 2018, @01:43PM
How else could you watch Ultraporn!
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Monday October 01 2018, @09:21PM
Think of the children [bestproducts.com].
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 3, Informative) by GreatOutdoors on Monday October 01 2018, @11:16PM (1 child)
The rural are forced into their position (lack of internet) by the internet providers. I live in a suburb of Oklahoma City, and an looking for a place further out in the country to move to, but I have to be very careful where I choose as most areas any more than a mile away from the most populated neighborhoods will have little to no access to decent internet. I have friends who live inside Oklahoma City limits which still cannot get anything faster than 1.5m DSL from a land based provider. Their only other option is to go to satellite which is very expensive. The providers also have no interest in expanding or allowing other companies to fill the void, so they contract with the cities to guarantee their monopoly. We are only just now getting some wireless based services, but it is still very limited. I would readily pay a slightly higher fee for good internet access if I had any options.
Yes, I did make a logical argument there. You should post a logical response.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday October 02 2018, @11:51AM
A former boss of mine switched from satellite to a mobile phone hotspot because it was lower latency, cheaper, and faster. I don't have any details and its very locally dependent on tower locations. It was a significant improvement in quality of life for him and his family.
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 02 2018, @10:50AM (1 child)
You mean, like famine victims are starving themselves to death?
(Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Tuesday October 02 2018, @12:57PM
In case you have not experienced it for yourself, the advertising and the pressure from iPhone consumertard zombies is immense. People are really, literally, expected to own a smart phone even if they can't put food on the table for their children, or pay the rent. This is why stupid smart phones are such a hot target for thieves. Periodically there are stories on the news around here where people have shot each other over iPhones. It's pure madness.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 02 2018, @01:33PM
But keep on humping and the climax will follow!
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 02 2018, @02:05PM
We have the solution right here: breed more niggers to buy and use all of this niggerific garbage!