A persistent digital divide

The French are highly connected, with nine out of ten people using the Internet, according to the 2023 Digital Barometer. However, beyond the general data, there are major disparities according to age, income level and qualifications. The financial aspect and the feeling of a lack of skills are factors cited by many French people as an obstacle to digital use. A quarter of French people say they are not sufficiently proficient in these online tools, a figure that rises to 20% among young people and 33% among those with no qualifications. Many people experience digital technology as an obstacle. This reflects the digital insecurity and illiteracy still prevalent in France.

Digital insecurity: Lack of access or difficulty in using the Internet and digital tools.

Illectronism : sometimes referred to as “digital illiteracy”, this refers to a lack of digital skills, and characterizes the situation of an adult who has not sufficiently mastered the use of common digital tools to access and process information, and to act autonomously in everyday life.

Digital youth: the illusion of smartphones and social networks

Despite the omnipresence of screens and the massive use of smartphones among young people, this use remains largely recreational, limited mainly to social networking or video games. As a result, young people have little experience of computers, and may lack the necessary skills to use office software (Word, Power Point, etc.) or to deal with paperless administrative procedures (tax returns, grant applications, etc.).

In 2019, 62% of French people used a computer on a daily basis, compared with 41% of teenagers. What’s more, almost 30% of 15-29 year-olds declare themselves incompetent when it comes to digital administration.

This lack of “digital capital” is amplified among young people from modest backgrounds, where access to digital tools represents a significant cost. It’s hard for schools to compensate, as they themselves are inequitably equipped with digital equipment depending on their location (urban, rural, ZEP, etc.). Subsequently, these inequalities complicate the professional and social integration of young people, potentially reinforcing their isolation and precariousness. And yet, even if illiteracy does affect young people, the job market is becoming massively digitalized: 57% of vacancies published on the France Travail website are inaccessible to people with no digital skills.

In other words, digital technology can harm even “digital natives”, i.e. people born after 1980 with digital language as their “mother tongue”. The digital divide accentuates inequalities in access to employment, and even contributes to the reproduction of socio-economic inequalities.

Break Poverty’s response to this situation

Missions Locales are key players in France’s employment ecosystem. They provide comprehensive support for young people aged 16 to 25, in terms of guidance, job search, training, mobility, housing and more. In particular, they cater for young people with multiple barriers to entry into the job market, who may have come from complex educational backgrounds, dropped out of school or are NEET (neither in employment, education or training).

These disadvantaged young people have a greater need for support in using digital technology. Indeed, 40% of them say they are unable to use office automation tools (office suite), and 30% have little or no confidence in carrying out online procedures. As a result, this target group requires digital support, which Break Poverty has set up from 2021, through the Réussite Connectée project. Since then, over 1,000 young people have benefited from our scheme, which we have renewed every year. In concrete terms, the project consists of donating a computer, an Internet connection and workshops tailored to the needs of the young people. The aim is to provide them with basic digital skills, relating to the creation and management of a professional mailbox or the creation of an online CV, in order to facilitate their access to employment or training.

By 2024, our ambition was to support more than 400 young people monitored in 32 Missions Locales in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie. So far, 300 young people have taken part, and the program will continue until October. Alongside the project, we rigorously evaluate the progress made by participants. They also have the opportunity to fill in a satisfaction questionnaire to express their opinion on the support they have received: 98% say they are satisfied with the scheme, and over 90% say they are better equipped to find a job or training.

By the end of the year, the full impact evaluation of the Réussite Connectée en 2024 program will be available. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to read the reports from previous years!

Sources :

« Baromètre du numérique, La diffusion des technologies de l’information et de la communication dans la société française » rédigé par le CREDOC à la demande de l’Arcep, l’Arcom, du CGE et de l’ANCT, publiée en Mai 2024

Ibid, Baromètre du numérique 2023

Définitions ANLCI https://www.anlci.gouv.fr/illectronisme/quest-ce-que-lillectronisme/

Baromètre du numérique 2022 « Baromètre du numérique, La diffusion des technologies de l’information et de la communication dans la société française » Arcep, Arcom, CGE et ANCT, publiée en Janvier 2023

Illectronisme : la fracture numérique frappe aussi les jeunes, France info, Avril 2022 https://www.francetvinfo.fr/internet/illectronisme-la-fracture-numerique-frappe-aussi-les-jeunes_5105848.html

Le Monde « Les jeunes Français, victimes insoupçonnées de la précarité numérique » 28 janvier 2022 https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2022/01/28/les-jeunes-francais-victimes-insoupconnees-de-la-precarite-numerique_6111324_4355770.html

« Cartographie détaillée des usages numériques des jeunes et des professionnels en Nouvelle-Aquitaine » Etude Juin 2022 https://arml-na.fr/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/22_NUM-Etude-jeunes-et-professionnels-ML.pdf

Photo Credits : Eliott Reyna, Unsplash