Recent European policy statements have emphasised that digital literacy is needed by all citizens, for example in order to:
- ensure better service access and use
- easing the daily life burdens of citizens (for instance as they are engaging with public administration)
- providing better access to education, training, work and jobs
- improve citizens' personal capacity (quality of life and life chances)
- enhancing citizens social networks and participation.
There is a growing focus on those citizens who are in a disadvantaged position in relation to reaping the benefits of digital information and communication technologies. For instance, some delegates to the 2006 EU Ministerial Conference on ICT for an Inclusive Society proposed as a working hypotheses that 70% of citizens are ‘mainstream’ and 30% are ‘disadvantaged’ in some way.
To date, the needs of the 70% majority have been in focus, so attention must also now also turn to the remaining 30%. Indeed, Eurostat recently published data showing that more than a third of the EU25 population has no basic computer skills.
It may thus be more productive to analyse digital literacy for this 30%, with a focus on the disadvantages which actually do, or are likely to, reduce or threaten the life chances or quality of life for these citizens.
Such individuals and groups require special consideration in that service and support providers have to think about specific ways to support them given that the normal ‘mainstream’ offerings provided by the public sector, the community or by the market, may not, or may be slow to, offer support.