We at the Dentsu Aegis Network communication group conduct the Digital Society Index (DSI) survey every year. This is our global research in 22 countries, including Russia, about the digital economy and its impact on society.
This year, of course, we could not ignore COVID-19 and decided to look at how the pandemic has affected digitalization. As a result, DSI 2020 was released in two parts: the first is devoted to how people began to use and perceive technologies against the backdrop of coronavirus events, the second - how they now relate to privacy and assess their level of vulnerability. We share the results of our research and forecasts.
prehistory
As one of the biggest digital players and brand technology conduit, Dentsu Aegis Network Group believes in the importance of developing the digital economy for all (our motto is digital economy for all). In order to assess its current state in terms of meeting social needs, in 2017 we launched the Digital Society Index (DSI) at a global level.
In 2018, the first study was published. In it, for the first time, we assessed digital economies (at that time there were 10 countries studied and 20 thousand respondents) in terms of how ordinary people are involved in digital services and are positively disposed towards the digital environment.
Then Russia, to the surprise of many inhabitants, took second place in this indicator! Although it was at the bottom of the top ten in other parameters: dynamism (how much the digital economy affects the well-being of the population), the level of access to digital and trust. One of the interesting findings of the first study is that people in developing economies are much more involved in digital than in developed ones.
In 2019, due to the expansion of the sample to 24 countries, Russia dropped to the penultimate place in the ranking. And the study itself came out under the motto "People in the first place" (Human Needs in a Digital World), the focus has shifted towards studying people's satisfaction with technology and digital trust.
As part of DSI 2019, we identified a big global trend - people are seeking to regain digital control. Here are some trigger numbers in this regard:
44% of people have taken steps to reduce the amount of data they share online
27% have installed ad blocking software
21% actively limit the amount of time they spend online or in front of a smartphone screen,
and 14% have deleted their social media account.
2020: techlash or techlav?
The DSI 2020 survey was conducted in March-April 2020, which was the peak of the pandemic and restrictive measures around the world, among 32 thousand people in 22 countries, including Russia.
According to the survey results, we have seen increased techno-optimism amid the pandemic, a short-term effect of the events of previous months, and it inspires great hope. At the same time, in the long term, there is a threat of techlash - a negative attitude towards technology that has been felt around the world in recent years.
Techlove (techlove):
- Compared to last year, people have become more likely to use digital services: almost three-quarters of respondents in all countries (more than 50% in Russia) said that they are now more actively resorting to banking services and online shopping.
- 29% of respondents (both in the world and in Russia) admitted that it was technology that allowed them to keep in touch with family, friends and the outside world during quarantine. The same number (more than 35% among Russians) noted that digital services helped to relax and unwind, as well as to acquire new skills and knowledge.
- Employees have become more likely to use digital skills in their work (this is typical for almost half of those surveyed in 2020, compared to one third in 2018). This indicator could be affected by a massive transition to a remote work format.
- People have become more confident in the ability of technology to solve social problems, such as the challenges of COVID-19 for healthcare and other areas. The share of optimists regarding the importance of technology for society increased to 54% against 45% in 2019 (in Russia, a similar trend).
Techlash (techlash):
- 57% of people globally (53% in Russia) still believe that the pace of technological change is too fast (the figure has not changed much since 2018). As a result, they strive for a digital balance: almost half of the respondents (both in the world and in our country) intend to set aside time for βrestβ from gadgets.
- 35% of people, as in the past year, note the negative impact of digital technologies on health and well-being. There is a noticeable gap between countries on this issue: the greatest concern is expressed in China (64%), more optimistic in Russia (only 22%) and Hungary (20%). Among other things, respondents indicate that technology makes them feel more stressed, it becomes more difficult for them to βdisconnectβ from digital (13% in the world and 9% in Russia).
- Only 36% of the world believe that new technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics will create jobs in the future. Russians are more pessimistic on this issue (among them 23%).
- About half of the respondents, as a year earlier, are sure that digital technologies increase the inequality between the rich and the poor. The attitude of Russians to this problem also remains unchanged, but in our country only 30% share a similar opinion. An example is the use of mobile Internet and digital services. The respondents rate the coverage and quality of Internet services as much higher than their availability for the entire population (see the graph at the beginning of the article).
privacy disruption
So, the results of the first part demonstrate that the pandemic has accelerated the digital revolution. It is logical that with the growth of online activity, the amount of data shared by users has increased. And (spoiler alert) it worries them a lot:
- Less than half of those surveyed globally (and only 19% in Russia, the lowest in the markets surveyed) believe that companies protect the privacy of their personal data.
- 8 out of 10 consumers, both globally and in our country, are ready to refuse the services of a company if they find out that their personal data has been used unethically.
Not everyone believes that it is acceptable for businesses to use all the variety of personal data to improve their products and services. 45% in the world and 44% in Russia agree to use even the most basic information, such as an email address.
Globally, 21% of consumers are ready to share data about viewed Internet pages, 17% share information from social network profiles. Interestingly, Russians are more open in providing access to browser history (25%). At the same time, social networks are perceived by them as a more private space - only 13% want to give this data to third parties.
Leaks and privacy breaches are the top destroyer of trust in tech companies and platforms for the second year in a row. Most of all, in the matter of preserving their personal data, people are ready to rely on government agencies. At the same time, there is not a single industry/sphere that they would fully trust in matters of privacy.
The negative attitude of people towards privacy issues goes against their real behavior on the network. And this is more than paradoxical:
- People are not sure about the fair use of their personal data, but they are increasingly sharing them, using digital services more and more actively.
- Most users do not want to share personal data, but do it anyway (often without realizing it).
- People demand that companies explicitly ask them for permission to use personal data, but they hardly read user agreements.
- Consumers expect personalization in products and services, but are more wary of personalized advertising.
- Users seek to regain digital control, but believe that in the long term, the benefits of digital services are likely to outweigh the possible risks.
- Technologies for the benefit of society is the main demand of consumers for the future.
About future
As the use of digital products grows, for example for work and health diagnostics, the volume of personal data will continue to grow, raising concerns about the rights and opportunities to protect it.
We see several scenarios for the development of the situation - from the creation of ethical regulators and special supervisory corporate policies (central control) to partnerships between companies and users in the monetization of personal data (free for all).
Looking 2-3 years ahead, almost half of the consumers we surveyed want financial benefits in exchange for their personal data. So far, this is perhaps futurology: over the past year, only 1 out of 10 users at the global level has sold their personal data. Although in Austria such cases were reported by a quarter of respondents.
What else is important for those who create digital products and services:
- 66% of people in the world (49% in Russia) expect companies to use technology for the benefit of society in the next 5-10 years.
- First of all, it concerns the development of products and services that improve health and well-being β such expectations are shared by 63% of consumers globally (52% in Russia).
- Despite the fact that consumers are concerned about the ethical side of using new technologies (for example, face recognition), almost half of the respondents in the world (52% in Russia) are ready to pay for products and services using Face-ID or Touch-ID systems.
Learning experiences will be at the heart of every business, not only during the pandemic, but throughout the next decade. In response to new demands, companies will have to focus more on creating customized solutions that help people improve their quality of life, and not just promote a product or service. As well as the ethical side of the use of their personal data.
Source: habr.com