The Pew Internet and American Life Project provides wonderful insights into trends in broadband adoption and attitudes for our neighbours south of the border.
The 2010 Report [pdf, 2.2MB] was released last week and the headline from Engadget observed that “Pew study finds majority of Americans don’t want government to prioritize affordable broadband.”
we have to imagine researchers might have seen this coming. Those with broadband don’t need it, those without it don’t want it.
It is a telling statistic – that should concern those who are looking to build enthusiasm for national or regional digital strategies.
The US is seeing a drop-off in adoption rates now that residential broadband penetration has reached two-thirds of American adults. But policy makers need to understand what is causing the lack of support for increasing adoption to the remaining third of the population.
Digital literacy remains a concern.
A fifth of American adults (21%) do not use the internet. Many non-users think online content is not relevant to their lives and they are not confident they could use computers and navigate the web on their own.
What information can be extrapolated for Canada? Is broadband access too much of a focus, when education and skills training appear to be holding back even more users?
Can we explore similar research being conducted in Canada?
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