The F.C.C. today released results from a comprehensive survey today that show roughly a third of Americans -- some 93 million people -- do not currently have broadband access to the Internet at home. The study found three major reasons that people don't have broadband Internet access at home: cost, digital literacy, and relevance:

22 percent of non-adopters cite factors pointing to lack of digital literacy as the main reason they are not online. These include people who are not comfortable with computers or, for non-internet users, are “worried about all the bad things that can happen if I use the Internet.” As people who cite digital literacy as barrier tend to be older (the median age is 62), concerns about the safety of the online environment is understandable.

19 percent of non-adopters do not have broadband because they question its relevance to their lives. They do not believe digital content is sufficiently compelling to justify getting it. Specifically, these non-adopters say the Internet is a “waste of time,” do not think there is anything worth seeing online and (for dial-up users) say they are content with their current service. Dial-up users make up a disproportionate share of those citing lack of relevance as a barrier.

As for cost, the study found that just over half of those who don't have broadband access at home would be willing to pay $25, with the other half either not sure what they'd pay or not willing to pay anything. Of those who don't have broadband, what the survey calls "non-adopters," 80 percent currently have cable or digital satellite television.

That's a sign both of a shocking passivity and a wide, troubling misunderstanding about the uses of the Internet. Sixty-five percent of non-adopters "strongly agree there is too much pornography and offensive material on the Internet," and 46 percent believe it's "too dangerous for children."

Well, fine, Avenue Q already proved that the Internet is for porn:

(That is not a link to porn, but if you're wary or at work, here are lyrics instead).

Porn aside, the Internet is used for so many other things that it's frightening to see the number of voluntarily unconnected people who believe that non-connection is a safety net.

The study breaks non-adopters down into four groups: Digitally Distant (10 percent), Digital Hopefuls (7 percent), Digitally Uncomfortable (8 percent), and Near Converts (10 percent). What all four groups have in common is a lack of comprehensive digital literacy. They may have computers or have experience with high-speed Internet access through work or at a friend's house, but few of them feel confident in their abilities to use -- or even to find use from -- the Internet.

That's an enormous hurdle to overcome. It means that 35 percent of Americans (and I really think this number is higher) need not just physical cables and financial assistance to get online, they also need some serious education in the ways and means of the Internet.

This, my friends, sounds like a jobs program in and of itself. Broadband service may be on par with phone service, and the Obama administration and Congress both seem to be focused on getting the wires in the ground. Unlike telephones, though, computers will take a lot of training, and not all of that training can -- or should -- happen individually.

It seems like Obama's plan to offer more funding to community colleges could nicely dovetail with his approach to expanding broadband access (and, in the spirit of full disclosure, I'm not just saying this because I work for a community college). Community colleges manage to draw two of the major populations that this study shows are currently digitally disconnected: older Americans and lower-income Americans. Providing extra funding to hire more Internet fluent teachers, and to provide students with low- or no-cost classes on simply navigating the great information highway, would probably do more to offer access than any amount of fiber-optic cable.

I'm not just talking about a weekend seminar in "how to avoid Nigerian Princes." I'm talking about classes that aim at digital literacy, that teach users not just how to find information but also how to discern where the content comes from. Imagine arming the population with enough information to avoid scams. Imagine more Americans beginning to understand why Wikipedia is a great leaping-off point for finding information, but not a conclusive research source. Imagine teaching people that, with the Internet, they are able -- that they are empowered -- to ask questions and find their own answers.

Who doesn't need that class?

People will seek out Internet access only once they're convinced it's relevant and safe. If they're also able to afford it at home, all the better. I hope what comes out of this report is an emphasis both on the physical aspects -- the cabling needed in rural America, for instance -- but also on the other, less tangible, barriers to access.