Pandemic accelerates Ireland’s digital divide, report finds

The pandemic has accelerated Ireland’s digital divide, with action needed to ensure the older and poorer populations aren’t being left behind, a new report has found.

Although barriers to digital engagement were coming down, a significant gap in skills mean some people could be at risk of isolation from the digital economy.

The findings were contained in Accenture’s latest Digital Index report, which looks at how the pandemic has accelerated the digital divide. The survey, which was carried out by Empathy Research between August and December 2021, identified gaps around deeper levels of digital engagement.

Skills

The report found some digital skills, such as everyday online interactions carried out on mobile phones, have increased while desktop skills have stalled.

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Some 95 per cent of people used smartphones, while computer use was split according to socio-economic status, with only 39 per cent of those in lower socio-economic groups using them daily, compared with 61 per cent in higher groups.

Nearly 70 per cent of Irish respondents said they had increased their internet usage, with video calls, online shopping, and social media driving greater engagement.

However, the gains in the use of technology have largely been in everyday skills, with little appetite for improving digital skills. Just over a third of people said they did not see the need to improve their digital skills; around a quarter say there nothing would motivate them to improve.

"The pandemic and its associated lockdowns have accelerated the adoption of almost every kind of online service, and there are clear indicators that people generally have become more digitally engaged over the past two years," said Alastair Blair, country managing director at Accenture in Ireland.

“However, there are cohorts of the population not benefiting from, or engaging with, digital society - at work or in their everyday lives. These gaps are not going to close on their own so it’s incumbent on all of us, in business and across the wider ecosystem, to be aware of people’s wellbeing when it comes to digital engagement while helping them ‘skill up’ and play an active part in the digital economy.

“This is important for Ireland, as building this skills base will further position us at the leading edge of those nations who are adopting and benefitting from this rapidly accelerating digital world, making us more competitive on the world stage.”

The report also found a large gap between the social classes in using the internet to find jobs, with more than half of those considered a higher social class scoring themselves at seven to 10 at this, compared to 38 per cent in lower social classes.

Action

"Unless we take action to address what is essentially a socioeconomic divide, a group of people risk being left behind in Ireland. We have to get better at conveying to them the importance of having more advanced digital skills and competencies that will help them succeed in a digital workplace and participate more broadly in society," said Jen Speirs, digital divide sponsor for Accenture in Ireland and executive creative director within Accenture Interactive.

“We have seen, for example, a lack of progress among certain groups in being able to create documents, including CVs, which are table stakes for getting a job. Government, education, and business will have to continue to be creative in how we reach this audience. We need to come up with inventive ways to engage with them, improving their prospects while at the same time benefitting Ireland’s increasingly digital economy.”

However, the broader engagement with technology was not always a positive thing.

Almost half of people said they were trying to reduce the amount of technology they use each day, as digital fatigue sets in, with 20 saying they tried to get away form technology as soon as they finished work.

And although there was less of a gap in the ability of people to identify false or unreliable information, younger users were more confident about spotting such “fake news”, with 61 per cent in the 18-34 category confident of their abilities.