With the Covid crisis accelerating the speed of digitisation, the digital divide among the population has only increased. About two in five Brussels residents are digitally vulnerable. In this respect, Brussels is doing better than Flanders and Wallonia.
In 2020, the Digital Inclusion Barometer, published by the King Baudouin Foundation, pointed to the existence of digital inequalities for the first time. As the Covid crisis and the associated measures led to the digitization of our society, Belgians were forced to become more digitally active.
But the gaps remain: socio-economically and culturally disadvantaged individuals struggle to keep up with digital evolution.
Digital vulnerability
In Brussels, the digital vulnerability is 39%. That is high, but lower than in Flanders at 46% and Wallonia at 49%. The degree of digital vulnerability is not the same for everyone. People with a low level of education or a low income are more at risk of exclusion.
In 2021, for example, 93% of households in Brussels had an internet connection at home. The proportion was higher among households with a high income (98%) than among households with a low income (83%).
A striking evolution in Brussels is the number of laptop users. 70% of internet users now own a laptop, which is an increase of 20% compared to 2019. But here too, it was primarily the financially more affluent users who bought a laptop during the corona crisis.
Online services
Due to the Covid crisis, many more services were digitise: between 2019 and 2021, the use of essential digital services has increased most in Brussels. Online banking increased by 10%, with an increas of 15% for online shopping and 16% for online administration.
The largest increase is in online health with an increase of 18%. However, there is a big difference between people with a high and a lower level of education.
Risk groups
According to the King Baudouin Foundation, people with a low income or a low level of education, people older than 55 and job seekers are particularly excluded from the digitisation of society.
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Surprisingly, the stereotypical image of young people between the ages of 16 and 24 as “digital natives” does not hold true for young people with a low education level. Many of them only log in to the internet via their smartphone and have weak digital skills.
Investment in digital inclusion
In the report, the researchers therefore ask the Belgian governments to continue to invest in digital inclusion. "The digitisation of our society is an ongoing phenomenon, which will continue after the Covid pandemic. Despite the initiatives taken over the past two years to improve access to the internet and promote digital skills, we failed to digitally engage the most vulnerable people."
According to the researchers, the government should monitor the accessibility of digital services and provide alternative solutions, such as physical and telephone contact.
