Life without the Internet – Kommersant

International Day Without the Internet is celebrated annually on the last Sunday of January. The main goal of the holiday is to disconnect from the global network and live at least a day exclusively in the real world. Meanwhile, if you believe conclusions Rosstat, 10.9% of the adult population of Russia goes without the Internet not only for one day, but constantly. According to data for 2022, in the Oryol, Novgorod and Pskov regions, every fifth person does not use the Internet.

The reasons may vary – from safety concerns to high cost and lack of practical skills. The lack of technical capabilities to connect to the network is far from first on this list. Chukotka, Dagestan and, oddly enough, Moscow are among the regions where connection problems were most often mentioned.

It should be added that the share of those who do not use the Internet in the capital is relatively low – 4.8% against the all-Russian 10.9%. So technical obstacles cannot be called a large-scale problem. Unlike the outback, where thousands of villages, villages, towns, hamlets, kishlaks and auls are waiting their turn to connect. The Ministry of Digital Development annually conducts voteto determine the lucky ones who will be connected first. In 2024, the Internet should appear in 1,481 small settlements.

Nevertheless, the most common reason why Russians do not use the Internet is not lack of opportunity, but reluctance. The study showed that two thirds (75%) of all those who do not use the Internet in the Russian Federation simply do not need it. In Adygea, Udmurtia and the Lipetsk region, this reason was given by the overwhelming majority of all those who fell into this category (more than 90%).