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Last time I checked, ISP does not equal e-mail domain. If I recall correctly, ISP has a specific meaning: "Internet Service Provider." For example, AOL and Com

Last time I checked, ISP does not equal e-mail domain. If I recall correctly, ISP has a specific meaning: "Internet Service Provider." For example, AOL and Comcast are ISPs, but gmail, hotmail and yahoo are not. Maybe you receive an allocation of e-mail addresses when you sign up for internet service, but that doesn't mean that the domain of the e-mail address represents internet service. I think what we're seeing here is that the higher age of comcast users is an expression of the fact that those are the people who own the homes (have their name on the mortgage and deed of the property) or sign the lease and pay the rent, and thus also are more likely to pay the broadband bills, and are more likely to use the ISP e-mail address, since they're the ones looking at the features their ISP provides as part of the internet package they sign up for. Meanwhile, the kids don't pay the bills, and are probably suspicious about whether their parents can call the ISP and demand the password, to snoop on their mail, and thus tend to avoid the ISP domains.

kijin 13y ago
[Edit] That's a good distinction. I would have preferred a more detailed comparison between freemail users on the one hand, and ISP email users on the other, including all the major ISPs in North America. I wonder how the Comcast clientele compares with those of AT&T, Time Warner and Verizon, as well as Canadian monopolies like Bell and Rogers. The stark difference between the freemail demographic and ISP email users are probably also due to: 1) You should intend to live in the same place for a long time if you use your ISP's email address. Because if you move to a state where your current ISP doesn't have a monopoly, you might not be able to keep that email address. 2) Using an email address at your ISP is decidedly uncool among the young. What good is an email address that can't sign you into Xbox Live or YouTube? Some ISPs have deals with the Big Three, but a lot of the rest still slap SquirrelMail on top of a vanilla POP3/IMAP/SMTP setup and call it a day. 3) Many old people simply don't think of email as anything other than what their ISP set them up with. Webmail is a foreign concept to them. These are the folks who equate "Internet" with the blue "e" icon and "email" with Outlook Express. Using the Internet to read email would sound to them just as nonsensical as using a bicycle to mow the lawn. I'm not sure about the home ownership factor because you can easily subscribe to cable even if you rent. You might not want to get the expensive package with all the channels, but a basic plan that includes "high speed internet" is as essential nowadays as water and electricity (even though it is slowly being replaced by mobile data plans).
shubb 13y ago
Not sure about that. People tend to stick with an email address - after they sign up, it is a lot of effort to change it. They need to re-register for things, etc. I'd say the primary component is, how did they sign up for their first email address. If you used the internet in 1998, you probably used comcast or AOL, and were offered an email address during signup. A lot of young people switch between school or college addresses as their 'work email'. Home use of the net is likely to be via a mobile phone a lot of the time, and they will choose an account with a nice iphone / android ap.

kijin 13y ago

[Edit] That's a good distinction. I would have preferred a more detailed comparison between freemail users on the one hand, and ISP email users on the other, including all the major ISPs in North America. I wonder how the Comcast clientele compares with those of AT&T, Time Warner and Verizon, as well as Canadian monopolies like Bell and Rogers. The stark difference between the freemail demographic and ISP email users are probably also due to: 1) You should intend to live in the same place for a long time if you use your ISP's email address. Because if you move to a state where your current ISP doesn't have a monopoly, you might not be able to keep that email address. 2) Using an email address at your ISP is decidedly uncool among the young. What good is an email address that can't sign you into Xbox Live or YouTube? Some ISPs have deals with the Big Three, but a lot of the rest still slap SquirrelMail on top of a vanilla POP3/IMAP/SMTP setup and call it a day. 3) Many old people simply don't think of email as anything other than what their ISP set them up with. Webmail is a foreign concept to them. These are the folks who equate "Internet" with the blue "e" icon and "email" with Outlook Express. Using the Internet to read email would sound to them just as nonsensical as using a bicycle to mow the lawn. I'm not sure about the home ownership factor because you can easily subscribe to cable even if you rent. You might not want to get the expensive package with all the channels, but a basic plan that includes "high speed internet" is as essential nowadays as water and electricity (even though it is slowly being replaced by mobile data plans).

shubb 13y ago

Not sure about that. People tend to stick with an email address - after they sign up, it is a lot of effort to change it. They need to re-register for things, etc. I'd say the primary component is, how did they sign up for their first email address. If you used the internet in 1998, you probably used comcast or AOL, and were offered an email address during signup. A lot of young people switch between school or college addresses as their 'work email'. Home use of the net is likely to be via a mobile phone a lot of the time, and they will choose an account with a nice iphone / android ap.