This group of adults has a fair amount of online experience (8 years) but, in spite of high home broadband adoption, they are infrequent users of the internet. Digital information is not at the center of how they get information, keep in touch with people, or do their jobs.

Although they rely about equally on their landline and cell for phone calls, they don’t find the extra availability afforded by cell phones very alluring. Like Desktop Veterans, they haven’t bothered to exploit other uses of cell phone, save to swap an occasional text message. Unlike Desktop Veterans, Drifting Surfers do not have strong attachments to the internet. Drifting Surfers are much less likely than Desktop Veterans to say ICTs help them learn new things, do their jobs, or keep in touch with others. They would not find it hard to give up their cell phone, and the typical Drifting Surfer found it easier to give up the cell phone in 2007 than 2006.