Research finds that surprising number of adults don't have regular web access

According to research published today, almost a third of adults don't have access to a computer, and more than a third don't have regular internet access.

The figures, released by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE), are quite surprising in today's ultra-connected age. With mobile broadband and 3G handsets abounding, it's easy to think that everyone's online, but that's just not the case. The survey, which covered nearly 5,000 adults found that not only are we not all getting connected, but so called 'digital inclusion' depends heavily on class and income.

The survey showed that while some 86 per cent of people in the AB socio-economic group (managerial and professional) had regular access to a computer, only 45 per cent of those in the DE group (unskilled manual and unemployed) did; something which NIACE refers to as the "harsh reality" of the digital divide.

Rachel Thomson, a senior programme director at NIACE commented: "All of NIACE's research over recent years points to an absolute connection between the learning poor, the economically poor and the digitally poor. When universal broadband access is already established as a Governmental goal for 2012, these findings show that there is still a long way to go."