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One in 5 US households has never used e-mail 5/13 PRNewswire 1/5 of all US heads-of-household have never used e-mail, according to National Technology Scan, a study from Parks Associates. This phone survey of US households found 20m households are without Internet access, 18% of all US households. ‘1 out of 3 household heads has never used a computer to create a document,’ said John Barrett, Parks Associates. ‘These data underscore the significant digital divide between the connected majority & the unconnected minority that rarely, if ever, uses a computer.’ Age & education are factors in this divide. ½ of those who have never used e-mail are over 65, & 56% had no schooling beyond high school. National Technology Scan found just 7% of the 20m ‘disconnected’ homes plan to get an Internet subscription within the next 12 months. Still, the study reports a steady decline in the number of disconnected households when comparing findings with previous years. National Technology Scan reported at year-end 2006 that 29% of all US households (31m homes) did not have Internet access, citing low perceived value. ‘Internet connections have slowly increased in US households, but getting the disconnected minority online will continue to be difficult,’ Barrett said. ‘Age & economics are important factors, but the heart of the challenge is deeper. Many people just don’t see a reason to use computers.’