What would it take for you to want to delete yourself from the internet? As users grow more aware of the privacy and cybersecurity threats, some are starting to understand that a smaller online presence is a good thing. In fact, we’ve got the stats to prove it when it comes to American users.
A new research survey by NordVPN has revealed interesting stats about US internet users (about 90% of the population). More than half of Americans (55%) would delete themselves from the internet if they could. 47% said they don’t trust the internet, 46% said they have no reason to have their name on the internet, and 42% said they fear that eventually someone is going to hack them. Some went further still – 18% said they wish there wasn’t an internet and 8% said they don’t use the internet.
Most of us love the internet, Americans included. So what is causing Americans to respond this way about the prospect of deleting themselves from the internet? Let’s take a closer look at the survey results.
In a survey of 1,002 U.S. consumers, we found that over half of Americans would want their personal financial information deleted from the internet. Other information people want deleted from the internet include:
However, there was also a flip-side. Not only did we ask respondents what data they’d like to have available online, we also asked what types of data they’d like to find about others.
What this question helps us all understand is how certain types of data can be targeted by curious friends or colleagues – perhaps not a security risk, but certainly a privacy one.
It was also interesting to see just how much privacy and security are worth for Americans. Out of all of the respondents who said they’d pay for online anonymity, 31% said they’d pay up to $100, 12% would pay between $101 – $500, 8% would pay between $500 – $1,000, and 3% would pay more than $1000 to be anonymous online.
What this data tells us is that people are beginning to understand just how important online privacy and security are. If you are too, here are just a few beginner steps to staying safe and private online: