"Almost a quarter" of Europeans net bothered.

[Technical Ben]

"Almost a quarter of Europeans can't be bothered with the internet"
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/10/13/eu_net_figures/
One of the main reasons could be due to the bad service offered by many ISPs. However I put my money on most people just not needing it. It's a luxury and a particular taste. Similar to how some people still don't need a mobile.

[Simon]

I am struggling to think of more than one person I know, who hasn't got a mobile.

[john]

One possible reason may be that some Euopean countries have a significant percetage of their populations living in rural areas which don't have a suitable line and that their telecomms cannot justify the cost or have prioritized the urban areas first. Those who have never had it may not fully realise its usefulness.

Whilst I could do without a mobile phone (the £10 top up on the PAYG one I do have usually lasts me more than a year) I would find it difficult to do without the Internet.

[Gary]

I have some friends who live in the Czech Republic in Prague, Brno and Sumperk and they have no need for the internet but they do need mobiles. It seems that life without the internet is alive and well for many, and I must admit if I lived in the heart of some true beauty in a place like Banff which I was awestruck by when I visited I could do without both I think. Banff has a real sense of community, a strong one at that, and the net for me would drag me back to a world I had just moved away from. The net offers great things for many of us but in some places those things are still provided by real people, and paper books not electronic ink and great small local shops. The reality of where you live and the friends you have in places like that is enough for most. Well I can dream 

[Simon]

Sounds idyllic, Gary, but I don't think I could go without my monthly fix of Blurays. 

[Rik]

To me, the internet has been a vital part of my life, and services like Compuserve and Fido before it, for 25 years. I can't imagine not using it, it makes so many things possible, or easier. My uncle, otoh, has never had 'net or mobile and misses neither. When I'm up in Scotland on holiday, I don't miss access, it's rather nice to be free of the ties. OTOH, if I wasn't on holiday, I'd be pining. I guess the simplest answer is you don't miss what you've never had.

[Simon]

... and once you've had it, it's harder to do without. 

[Rik]

Too right.

[Simon]

Leave it! 

[Rik]

 

[Gary]

Sounds idyllic, Gary, but I don't think I could go without my monthly fix of Blurays. 

I think I could, I would prefer to be actually doing something than watching a film if I had the choice, I love my Mac my gadgets etc but they are partly escapist devices partly needed, if I had a purpose in a community and played an active part I would spend so much less time trying to be part of ones online and if the infrastructure was in place to help each other out more often I would not need to use the pc for for help and support so much for things like prescriptions etc.

[cavillas]

Could be that a majority of Internet connectivity in europe is via Tisacli networks. 

[Technical Ben]

I have some friends who live in the Czech Republic in Prague, Brno and Sumperk and they have no need for the internet but they do need mobiles. It seems that life without the internet is alive and well for many, and I must admit if I lived in the heart of some true beauty in a place like Banff which I was awestruck by when I visited I could do without both I think. Banff has a real sense of community, a strong one at that, and the net for me would drag me back to a world I had just moved away from. The net offers great things for many of us but in some places those things are still provided by real people, and paper books not electronic ink and great small local shops. The reality of where you live and the friends you have in places like that is enough for most. Well I can dream 

Same here. I'll take a netbook to doodle or type on, but as soon as I get a ticket to Brazil*, I'll forget about the net.


*How long will that take, I'm saving 1 penny a week...

[Rik]

No more than five lifetimes, Ben.