A Matter of Choice or Obstruction

There are several reasons why non-users do not use the Internet and, in many cases, indicate no expectation to begin using in the near future. For some, with the means and opportunity to use, remaining offline is a matter of choice. These non-users simply prefer traditional resources to the electronic equivalent. For others, however, remaining offline is not a matter of choice but the result of significant barriers.

To decode who remains offline as a result of choice and who is offline due to obstruction it is important to first recognize that non-users are far from homogeneous. Views of non-users vary in many respects in relation to their previous experience with the Internet and reported expectations to begin using or to use the Internet more regularly in the future.

Expectations Regarding Internet Usage

A consistent one in five Canadians report they do not expect to start using the Internet in the next year [Figure 3].

• 2 per cent of Canadians report they “definitely” expect to start using the Internet in the next year, down 2-percentage points from 2001.
• 4 per cent report they may begin using the Internet in the next year, also down 2-percentage points from late 2001.
• One in five Canadians (19 per cent) report they do not expect to start using the Internet, a segment that is virtually unchanged in size from 2001.

Expectation to use the Internet is closely related to previous online experience.

• 43 per cent of non-users with previous online experience expect to start using the Internet (18 per cent “definitely”, 25 per cent “maybe”).
• By contrast, 17 per cent of non-users who have never used the Internet expect to start using (5 per cent “definitely”, 12 per cent “maybe”).