What's the difference?

They looked similar to this.
http://www.egriz.com/grizboard/viewtopic.php?t=45804
One day at the library a lady and her children came to the Reference Desk for help. Their clothing and hairstyles made it obvious they belonged to a small religious congregation whose women dress distinctively and wear their hair in an older style. The mother explained to me that they had recently converted to a new religion and were not allowed to use the Internet, but that they needed some information from their old email account and would I please help them.

I wasn't really keen to access other people's private information, but I figured I could pull it up because this was a unique situation. However, it turned out she couldn't remember her password so there was nothing I could do. This was the first of many times she and her daughters would ask one of us to look up things on the Internet for them. I could never figure out why they could not use the Internet, but they could watch me find the information (even tell me exactly where to find it) and have me print it out for them. I couldn't help wondering, What's the difference?

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