Is Europe prepared to go digital? Making the case for developing digital capacity: an exploratory analysis of Eurostat survey data

Abstract

Digital divides are globally recognised as a wicked problem that threatens to become the new face of inequality. They are formed by discrepancies in Internet access, digital skills, and tangible outcomes (e.g. health, economic) between populations. Previous studies indicated that Europe has an average Internet access rate of 90%, yet rarely specify for different demographics and does not report on the presence of digital skills. This exploratory analysis used the 2019 community survey on ICT usage in households and by individuals from Eurostat, which is a sample of the population aged 16-74 on Internet access and digital skills. The cross-country comparative analysis includes EEA and Switzerland. Data was collected between January and August 2019 and analysed between April and May 2021. Large differences in Internet access were observed (75-98%), especially between North-Western (94-98%) and South-Eastern Europe (75-87%). Low age, high education levels, employment, and living in an urban environment appear to positively influence the development of higher digital skills. The cross-country analysis exhibits a positive correlation between high capital stock and income/earnings and the digital skills development, while showing that the internet-access price bears marginal influence over digital literacy levels. The findings suggest Europe is current unable to host a sustainable digital society without exacerbating cross-country inequalities. Investment in building digital capacity in the general population should be the primary objective of European countries to ensure they can benefit maximally from the advancements of the Digital Era.

Has the pandemic enhanced and sustained digital health-seeking behaviour? A big data interrupted time-series analysis of Google Trends

“…However, our findings indicate that digital healthcare-seeking behaviour is not sustainable at the current stage of progress, seeing how the search volumes under study frequently dropped back to pre-pandemic levels. While this may be partially explained by the return of traditional health services, it also supports previously speculated notions that the digital capacity of the general population may not be sufficiently developed to fully embrace the opportunities brought by digital health (11). Additionally, we highlight how, irrespective of a hypothetical increase in digital competence at a population level over the course of the pandemic, digital skills at later stages in the pandemic continue to be lacking for the purpose of structurally implementing digital health.…”

“…While we were not able to ascertain sociodemographic characteristics, we need to consider the possibility of selection bias since young people are more likely to seek health information digitally given their digital skills (11,53). Also, population groups without internet access are unable to contribute to this dataset (11,53). Furthermore, data from only one search engine are included.…”

“…Finally, the readiness and willingness of digital health users are crucial elements in adopting digital health solutions (2,8). A recent analysis of digital skills in the European Union -frequently regarded as a leading region in terms of digital skills -found clear discrepancies across the European region (11). Certain population groups also seem to fare more favourable in a digital world: people who are younger, higher educated, male, live in urban regions, and are either a student or employed consistently report higher internet access and digital skills (11)(12)(13)(14).…”

“…A recent analysis of digital skills in the European Union -frequently regarded as a leading region in terms of digital skills -found clear discrepancies across the European region (11). Certain population groups also seem to fare more favourable in a digital world: people who are younger, higher educated, male, live in urban regions, and are either a student or employed consistently report higher internet access and digital skills (11)(12)(13)(14). These findings suggest that − if digital health services were structurally introduced now − only certain population groups could fully benefit from these services.…”

Digital Transformation, the Future of Work and Women: The Case of the European Union

“…With its policy of establishing a digital single market since 2015, the EU has aimed to support an inclusive digital society that will provide ICT learning and skills acquisition in different sectors so that men and women of all ages can have opportunities to progress at the Union level. On the other hand, due to geographical discrepancies between different regions in Europe, it does not seem possible to host a sustainable digital society (van Kessel et al, 2022). The "Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition" of the European Commission has taken a significant step in cooperating to prevent digital skills inequality by bringing together local and national parties on this issue.…”