Digital divide data summary published
A summary report analysing data from major cross-national surveys on the digital divide in Europe has been published.
The report from the Infra4NextGen project analyses data collected from questions about digital technology fielded by major cross-national surveys across Europe over the past 20 years.
Written by the academic experts for the Make it Digital theme, Lasse Marz and Anja-Kristin Abendroth (Bielefeld University), this data summary has a strong focus on attitudes amongst younger Europeans (aged under 35) compared to their older counterparts.
Analysis of the data presents the differences and similarities in attitudes and behaviour regarding digital technology amongst young people by gender, education, and place of living (urban or rural).
Parts of the analyses also assess some of these variables – age, gender, education, and place of living – within countries.
The data summary provides a descriptive overview of the extent to which younger Europeans rely on digital connectivity and have the digital skills to benefit from it.
It also examines whether respondents experience social exclusion online, face digital stressors such as online harassment and scamming, and whether there is an increased blurring of boundaries between life domains.
The report found that an age, education and gender gap in internet access and use has declined over time, but a digital divide still exists, especially in terms of daily internet use by age.
When it comes to digital skills, young European men are the most likely to report higher digital skills than others, with particularly high levels reported in Austria and Scandinavia.
The authors found that young European women are much more likely than young men to communicate with their parents via digital communication technologies, and that digital communication at work is mainly used by highly educated employees.
Data explored around digital stressors found that young Europeans are more likely to experience online fraud than older Europeans.
The report states:
"The descriptive results show that the majority of young Europeans have access to the internet and are frequent users but that differences in digital skills, opportunities and stressors involved in the digital transformation persist even for the younger generation.
"In particular, the report identifies an educational and regional digital divide. In addition, northern European countries appear to be at an advanced stage in terms of infrastructure and equality."
This initial data summary draws on data from the European Social Survey (ESS), European Quality of Life Survey (Eurofound), and the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP).
The report relies on existing representative cross-national surveys that cover most or all European Union (EU) Member States, as well as Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Read the report: The Digital Divide across Europe
Provided by European Social Survey ERIC
