We think of this as a digital age, and in many ways it is. But perhaps not to the extent that we believe – a new EU report reveals that one in four Europeans has never used a computer, and one-third of all Europeans have never used the Internet.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the least active online are the unemployed and those over 65. But a quarter of those who’ve never gone online say they can’t afford it, and one in three don’t see any need to do so.
But the report does show more about European life online. Last year 56% of Europeans were regular Internet users, an increase of 33% since 2004, and more than 80% of them had a high speed connection, with the biggest rise in Baltic states like Latvia and Estonia.
On average, 48% of people in the EU use the Internet daily, but for those under 24 that figure jumps to 70%.
Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media, said:
"These young people are intensive internet users and are also highly demanding consumers."
"To release the economic potential of these ‘digital natives’, we must make access to digital content an easy and fair game."
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