An Ofcom report published in April 2021 estimated that 6% of all households in the UK do not have Internet Access. That is an estimated 1.5 million people. In this blog post, I will highlight some of the key findings of the Ofcom report. As well as stating my own thoughts at the end.
Which Groups Don’t Have Internet Access In The UK?
The largest group of people who were unlikely to have home Internet access were the over 65. With almost 1 in 5 not having access to the Internet at home. While just over 1 in 10 of low-income households were without Internet access.
The top 3 Reasons given for not having home Internet were.
- The Internet is too complicated
- The Internet holds no interest
- That lack of equipment was a barrier.
What Was The Impact Of The Pandemic On Children Learning From Home?
Thankfully ofcom reported that over 99% of children have home Internet access. With 4% of those relying on mobile Internet and 2% being reliant on Smartphones.
More concerning to me was that the report stated that 17% of children didn’t have access to a device that was suitable for online learning. Including a quarter of all children that Ofcom considers as being the most vulnerable.
My Thoughts
I think that as a society we should be very concerned that one in five children were considered by Ofcom to not have equipment appropriate for online learning. The children impacted by this will have lost out because of this. It makes you wonder why the British government didn’t do more to help?
I also found it interesting that 46% of responders stated that they found the Internet too complicated to use. It is concerning that so many people living in the United Kingdom consider using the Internet as being complicated. We have to remember is that while the Internet has been around since the 1960’s it didn’t become available to consumers until the 1990s. This means only people born before the late 1980s would not have grown up with the Internet
I think it is vital for us to realise computer skills are an essential skill. in the same way, as we now consider reading and writing. I started this blog with the aim of making computing and technology acceptable to all. As part of that objective, I’m going to write a series of blog posts covering a number of Internet basics such as searching the Internet and using email. The irony of writing this on a blog isn’t lost to me, but I can only use the tools I have at my disposal.
Conclusion
What are you thoughts on the Ofcom report and what do you think needs to be done if anything?
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