Recently, Eurostat released the results of a survey of citizens from EU member states regarding their possession of ‘digital’ skills. The survey was conducted in 2019, prior to the entire COVID-19 pandemic saga. However, this does not lessen its value, as it is better to prepare for troubles in advance. As European officials discovered, having children in the household increased the digital skills of adults.
Thus, in 2019, in the European Union (EU), 64% of citizens aged 16 to 74 with children under 16 had a basic or higher level of digital technology skills. This is 1% more than in 2017 and 3% more than in 2015. Furthermore, 28% of citizens in the same age group reported low digital technology skills, even among those with children under 16.
The percentage of those who are 'basically knowledgeable' in IT and do not have children in the household was found to be 11% lower (53% overall) than for those living with children. Likely, they had no one to pick up clever phrases to impress during the survey. Seriously, having children prompts citizens to engage in some form of online activity and learn to use gadgets.
Among EU member states, Finland had the highest percentage of individuals aged 16 to 74 living in households with children under 16 who reported having basic or above-basic general skills in using digital technologies (88%). This was followed by the Netherlands (83%), Sweden (81%), Germany, and Estonia (both at 80%).
The lowest figures were observed in Bulgaria (32%), Romania (34%), Italy (45%), Cyprus (54%), and Poland (55%). A complete list of countries and their corresponding percentages of trained citizens in 'digital' skills can be found in the table above. Knowledge is power!
Source: 3dnews.ru
