Which Is The Biggest Age Group Without Internet Access? Amazingly, It’s Not The Elderly

A startling new piece of research has revealed that the working-age young are more likely to be offline than retirees.

Older generations are typically regarded as those least likely to be using the internet, due to their unfamiliarity with new technology. However, a Capgemini survey of more than 5,000 people across six countries – the U.S, U.K., France, Germany, India and Sweden – found that 43% of the offline population is 36 years old or younger.

The group of young adults that are leaving the support of their parents is particularly vulnerable, with the 22-36 age group making up 35% of the offline population.

Paul Hermelin, CEO and chairman of Capgemini, said he was “shocked” to discover from the research that such a high proportion of the working-age young were cut off from the internet.

“We all thought the offline people would be ageing people, people in isolation, but when you read that 59% of the people who are offline have used the internet and have stopped for whatever reason… that’s quite shocking,” he said.

Cost of access is the biggest barrier for the offline young, with 56% reporting that the cost of a computer or mobile phone to access the internet is too expensive, while 51% said they couldn’t afford the broadband/mobile phone tariffs.

The fact that 28% of the offline population is in full-time employment shows that there’s still much work to do to make internet access affordable for all. Hermelin said that while smartphone manufacturers made efforts to make handsets more affordable in emerging countries, “between Apple and Samsung and the others it’s a raise of sophistication” in the West.

“That’s potentially more profitable, but it leaves on the side the people that would potentially come back to the internet if they could find some more frugal model of connecting,” he added.

The Capgemini report highlights research from The Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), which claims that 1GB of mobile data costs as much as 20% of the average salary in some nations. The U.S. is particularly expensive for mobile data, with 1GB costing an average of $12.37, compared to $6.66 in the U.K. and only $3 in France.

Government action?

Hermelin says he isn’t hopeful of any meaningful action by governments to deal with the sizeable offline population, even though many countries now require citizens to use the internet to submit tax returns, access health information or apply for state benefits.

The Capgemini CEO said he spoke this week with a French minister about the problem, but was told that it would be “difficult” to make it a priority following the Covid-19 crisis.

That, of course, creates a bitter irony, as the Coronavirus pandemic has forced many more people to work from home, where they may potentially not have access to the internet. “Society has made a gigantic step and we don’t think things will come back as they were,” he said. “We should not have the evolution leaving on the sides so many people. There should be some reflection and action on that, or digital exclusion will become something major.”