European Commission publication of a Commission Staff Document as an accompanying document to the “Europe's Digital Competitiveness Report” of 4 August 2009

The Commission Staff Document clearly states that digital divides still remain. In most countries, the largest disparities in internet use relate to groups aged 65-74, the economically inactive and the low educated.

The adoption and use of advanced communication services on the internet is very much linked to age: "Digital natives", i.e. people between 16 and 34 years old, and especially those aged 16 to 24, stand out as the most regular, intensive users. 73% of them have used the internet in the last three months for advanced communication services, more than twice as much as the population average, and they exceed other categories of the population in the use of the internet also for entertainment purposes. Digital natives are veritable users of an interactive borderless space in which content and services are made available for active users to download, exchange, create and recreate, distribute, share and re-use. This is confirmed by the rise in social networks and in user-created content in the past two years. The continued widening of the internet base and its increasing active usage strongly point to the rising social and economic importance of the internet and ICT. However, digital divides still remain. In most countries, the largest disparities in internet use relate to groups aged 65-74, the economically inactive and the low educated. Meanwhile, a second digital divide, based on quality of use, is emerging. These results suggest the importance of demand-side policies which focus on stimulating the use of the internet, reducing psychological and skills barriers, increasing awareness on its possible benefits, facilitating access for the old and the disabled, reducing financial barriers and encouraging the acquisition of skills and life-long learning.