'Disconnected: Understanding Digital Inclusion and Improving Access' has now been published. A huge thanks to the 33 participating Citizens Advice Bureaux who made this research possible. Read on for more information and to download your copy here.
With the world becoming ever more digitised, Scottish citizens are seeing more and more services moving online. There is a risk that people without sufficient access to the internet, or skills to engage with digital content, will be left out. In some instances, this can be to the detriment of their basic and fundamental rights.
Citizens Advice Scotland undertook a paper-based survey about digital access, and over 1,200 people took part. The people surveyed sought advice in June 2017 from one of the 33 participating Citizens Advice Bureaux in Scotland. Respondents were asked about using computers, what devices they use to go online, where they go online, their abilities to perform basic tasks such as completing electronic forms, and any barriers they faced trying to use the internet.
Findings indicate that there are still a significant number of bureaux clients who face digital exclusion. The level of digital exclusion varies between a number of factors including people’s age and where they live. A lack of access to hardware and internet services, poor digital skills, the cost of going online, and connectivity issues, are all reasons which contribute to the on-going group of people who are either not online, or unable to access digital services without support.