Some not joining the 'digital society'

WASHINGTON, April 13 (UPI) -- Despite the growth of the "digital society," one in five U.S. adults is not online, usually for lack of interest or financial reasons, a poll indicated.

The poll by the Pew Internet Project, conducted with more than 2,000 phone calls in English and Spanish, found certain segments of the U.S. population are not inclined to go online, Cnet.com reported Friday.

The top reasons given were lack of interest, no computer, expense or the difficulty of getting online.

"Senior citizens, those who prefer to take our interviews in Spanish rather than English, adults with less than a high school education and those living in households earning less than $30,000 per year are the least likely adults to have Internet access," the Pew report said.

More Internet-capable mobile devices are giving people online access, with a younger demographic much more likely to use wireless methods with a laptop or cellphone, including 88 percent of people ages 18 to 29, the survey found.

Mobile devices are not only leading more people to get online, they are spending more time online, Pew found.

"These mobile users go online not just to find information but to share what they find and even create new content much more than they did before," the report said.