More and more people in Germany are using the Internet. These and many other findings are provided by the D21 Initiative’s Digital Index. The study supported by aconium as a partner has been researching how German society is dealing with the challenges of digitalization since 2013. The results are summarized with a key figure that is intended to represent the degree of digitalization. For the study year 2022/23, this key figure is 57 out of 100 points. What is striking here is that the number of internet users also increased this year, regardless of age and education.
Low level of naysayers
The trend of recent years is continuing, as the number of people aged 14 and over who have access to the internet also increased in 2022. This means that 93% of respondents use the internet for professional or private purposes – a new record. A closer look reveals that the percentage of internet users is increasing regardless of age, as the figures are higher than ever in all age segments. Depending on the age group, between 66% and 98% of Germans use the Internet. The smartphone is still the most common device used to access the internet (89%), followed by the laptop (65%) and smart TV (52%). On average, citizens use 3.6 devices. Just as the number of internet users is increasing, the number of consistent offline users is also decreasing. Only 7% of the total population have no interest in the internet, 2% less than in the previous year.
Meta and Google remain popular
As access to the internet increases, so does the use of computer and internet applications. Most Germans (90%) use search engines to look up keywords, closely followed by online shopping services (86%) and instant messaging services (84%). More users also mean more potential profiles on social networks. For example, 86% of respondents now use social media, with an average of 3.3 platforms – WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram are far ahead.
Trust in digital services is increasing
However, the surveys also reflect another development: the more people use the internet, the greater the mental pressure on those who are not confident online. For example, 79% of those surveyed stated that they think that “without basic knowledge of digitalization, you have little chance on the job market”. At the same time, the number of those who think that they personally benefit from digitalization overall fell by 4 percentage points to 55%. 30 percent of respondents feel under pressure to keep pace with digital developments. Despite all the skepticism, there are also positive aspects. For example, fewer and fewer people see digitalization as a threat to democracy (20%) and the proportion of those who had no confidence at all in many of the digital services and applications they use fell by 13 percentage points to 31%.
Key competence resilience
Whether people are open to digitalization depends on how they can deal with the accompanying changes. This is why the question of individual and social resilience was a focus of the D21 survey. Resilience describes the ability to successfully adapt to change. It is encouraging that a majority of 64% of respondents have important resilience factors, which allows them to face future changes with confidence. For example, respondents are able to critically assess their own digital skills and have an idea that these skills will be increasingly needed in the future. This can be seen from the special question posed by aconium GmbH: in response to the question “What level of skills do you think will be essential to ensure that people are not left behind in the digital transformation?”, around a quarter of the population answered that much more complex skills will be required in the future.
Digitization – an opportunity for democracy?
The study also sheds light on the opportunities and risks for democracy that respondents see in digitalization. Just over half of the participants see a positive potential of digitalization in terms of coordinating relief efforts in the event of flooding or the coronavirus pandemic. Around two thirds of respondents see targeted false reports on the internet as the greatest risk. This is in line with the 61% of respondents who have already been confronted with disinformation online. Overall, however, a majority of 56% see digitalization as having a positive impact on democracy.
Question marks regarding sustainability
The study also looked at aspects of sustainability. It is striking that citizens have problems understanding the interaction between digitalization and green change. For example, 49% of respondents stated that they lacked information about the environmental impact of their digital applications. If citizens are faced with a choice between two comparable products, 35% are not sure whether they would choose a more expensive but more sustainable alternative. The picture is also mixed when it comes to measures for a green transition: respondents see possible promising measures in setting incentives and support programs (33%), investing in research (33%), voluntary commitments by industry (31%), regulations (30%) and international agreements (24%).
Working world increasingly digital
Digitalization is not stopping at the world of work and the economy. The share of digitalization in the value chain is constantly increasing. Between 2005 and 2016, 40% of the professions created were in digital-intensive sectors. This is accompanied by transformation processes that also influence employees’ ideas about the future. 80% of employees agree with the statement that entire professions will cease to exist by 2035. At the same time, 19 percent assume that they themselves will be affected by this. Whether professions disappear has to do with whether companies adapt to digital change, among other things. In this regard, the study shows that just over half of those in employment confirm that their employers are adapting to digital change. However, suitable training opportunities are needed to ensure prosperity in the future. This shows that only 16% of respondents have taken advantage of training and further education courses paid for by their employer in the last year. In addition, only just under a third of respondents believe that students are taught the digital skills they need to keep up with the international competition.
Positive balance sheet
Tim Brauckmüller, Managing Director of aconium GmbH, categorizes the results: “It is encouraging that more and more people are using the Internet. It means that it is becoming easier and easier to gain access to fast internet. The easier it is for people to access digital services, the more adept they are at using them – their confidence in their own digital skills increases and barriers are reduced. These are good prerequisites for further advancing the level of digitalization in society. It also makes sense to provide additional educational opportunities in schools and in the world of work in order to increase society’s resilience.”
The D21 Digital Index and the D21 initiative
The D21 Digital Index is a social study. It was first published by the D21 initiative in 2013 and since then has presented the degree of digitalization in society on an annual basis. Over time, it provides information on how digital change is progressing in German society. Based on an empirical foundation, the study forms the basis for decision-making by political, economic, civil society and scientific actors.
The D21 initiative is a network for the digital society. In addition to around 200 member companies and institutions, it also brings together stakeholders from politics, administration, business and science. aconium is a long-standing partner of the non-profit D21 association and supports the D21 Index as a partner.
The following link takes you to the full D21 Digital Index 2022/23:
https://initiatived21.de/app/uploads/2023/02/d21_digital_index_2022_2023.pdf