The Internet as Seen by Metropolitan Non-users

Joanna Leszczyńska, Paweł Mazurek

Digital divide raises the question of non-users' lack of motivation for going online. This is deeply connected to the image of the Internet as seen by non-users. This article presents key findings of research conducted among two groups of non-users. Research methods applied were focus interviews and projection techniques. The study shows that non-users see the internet as a part of their every-day life and have broad knowledge of the online world. They often ask others to help them in gaining information from the internet. Non-users perceive the Internet as a useful tool for finding information but worry about difficulties in use. Projection techniques showed that for the interviewed non-users the Internet is a space of emotional cold, in which human interactions are impersonal.

KEYWORDS

Internet, digital divide, non?users