The Ministry for Digitalisation has just published the results of a study it commissioned from the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER): "Digital Inclusion. An identification of the factors at the origin of the digital divide". The study, which is now available online, is one of the 40 initiatives included in the National Action Plan for digital inclusion.
The study completes the survey commissioned in 2019 by the Ministry for Digitalisation on the perception and expectations of the population with regard to digital technology. In addition to other existing surveys on the subject of digital exclusion in Luxembourg, the Ministry for Digitalisation wanted to go beyond the established findings in order to deepen the quantitative, but also qualitative analysis of the digital divide in Luxembourg. The aim was to measure the impact that digital technology has on the citizens' daily lives and to identify the difficulties they encounter in this field.
Only a quantitative and also qualitative study could provide an accurate view of the experiences, concerns, needs and expectations of the populations which may be more isolated from the digital world. For this purpose, the socio-economic research centre LISER was the ideal partner to analyse the data from a technical point of view, but also considering the social dimensions.
The results of the study and LISER's recommendations will serve as a basis for a revision of the National Action Plan, adapting it to the needs of society and technological developments.
The main findings
In 2022, 1.5% of the residents surveyed had never used the Internet and 0.5% had used the Internet more than three months ago. The 2% of residents who do not use the internet or hardly at all are mostly women, people aged 50 and over or people with a lower level of education.
With regard to the difficulties encountered by people with limited Internet use:
- 11% consider their skill level to be low,
- 42% have received help in using the Internet at least once,
- On average, people who have ever used the Internet report having received almost 6 of the 14 benefits studied,
- 68% are positive about the fact that the Internet makes their lives easier
- 36% do not feel any stress in using the Internet.
The study identifies 3 groups of Internet users: heavy Internet users (32%), medium users (40%) and low users (28%). In the "low users" group:
- 20% experience high stress due to Internet use (compared to 14% in the study population),
- 24% consider that the Internet complicates life (compared to 14% in the survey population),
- 60% are bothered by the fact that some administrative services are only available online (compared to 43% in the survey population),
- 55% say they are not autonomous in their Internet use (compared to 42% in the survey population).
In addition, the study also looked at the difficulties encountered by non-profit associations in helping people that struggle with ICT tools. The main concerns expressed by the employees were: lack of computer skills on their part, lack of time, lack of dedicated equipment and the issue of protection of the personal data of the persons assisted.
The recommendations
The study makes several recommendations to facilitate digital inclusion for all.
1. To meet urgent needs (e.g. writing a CV, writing a letter, sending scanned documents, etc.):
- ensure that the assistance provided is free of charge,
- make time for the helper (consider it part of their job),
- provide a suitable environment for the helper: a dedicated computer workstation, a specially designed space to ensure the confidentiality of requests,
- enable the helper to manage the personal data of the person in difficulty (login, password, etc.) via an appropriate legal framework,
- promote the storage of documents on MyGuichet.lu to facilitate recurrent procedures.
- training helpers in computer skills.
2. To meet non-emergency needs:
- set up a dense territorial network of IT support in order to be as close as possible to all those who have difficulty using the Internet,
- facilitate the ownership of IT equipment (computers, smartphones, printers) by making reconditioned second-hand equipment available free of charge throughout the country,
- federate all the organisations providing IT courses around a single core curriculum, which could take the form of a skills acquisition pathway based on different thematic modules.
What happens now?
Several of these recommendations have been anticipated and are already the subject of projects in the Ministry for Digitalisation. Others will be analysed in the near future for possible implementation.
Among the many projects underway, the Ministry is, for example, about to offer training to social workers to enable them to better guide people who ask them for explanations in the digital field. During this training, these helpers will obtain all the information and keys they need to be able to guide people who ask them for help. These helpers will then have at their disposal a whole range of sources and aids that are available to citizens to enable them to evolve in the digital world.
The "digital mandate" allowing a person to carry out administrative procedures on behalf of a relative is a project that was launched at the Ministry several months ago. The legal analysis has been finalised. The CTIE is now studying the technical aspects to adapt MyGuichet.lu in this sense.
The setting up of a physical reception of Guichet.lu, such as currently exists only in Luxembourg City, is also being studied. The aim is to determine whether and under what conditions the opening of similar branches in the various regions of the country could be envisaged.
Finally, since 2021, the Ministry has been working with the non-profit organisation Erwuessebildung to provide training in digital skills for adults (Internetführerschäin, ebanking, smartphones, tablets, etc.). This collaboration will also be continued in 2023.
Press release by the ministry for Digitalisation