This indicator provides information on the population's skills in information and communication technology. People with poor digital skills find it harder to use the digital resources they need in both their private and professional lives efficiently.
From an integration perspective, the aim is to reduce the share of people with poor digital skills.
The share of people with poor digital skills is higher in the population with a migration background than in the population without such a background.
Note: Internet users' digital skills level varies greatly by age, with younger people generally having better digital skills than older people. The population with a migration background is younger than that without (average age of people aged 15 and over: 45 and 50, respectively). This means that when comparing the same age groups from each population, the gaps are more pronounced.
For this category, the categories none, minimal, limited and poor overall digital skills of internet users have been grouped together to form the category of poor digital skills.
Digital skills are measured based on a conceptual framework developed at European level (DigComp 2.0). Five skill areas have been defined, each with an indicator showing the number of online activities or specific tasks carried out by internet users. The hypothesis is made that users having carried out an activity have the necessary skills to accomplish that task. A synthesis of the results for each domain provides an indicator of overall digital skills.
The five skill areas are:
1. Information and data literacy skills, which enable users to identify, locate, store, organise and manage digital information and content.
2. Communication and collaboration skills, which allow users to establish contacts and to share information, to collaborate using digital tools and to participate in online networks or communities.
3. Software-using skills for creation, which cover the ability to edit and manipulate digital content ranging from text documents and videos to code writing in a programming language.
4. Security and privacy skills, which include protecting devices and personal data.
5. Problem-solving skills, which enable users to identify their needs and which digital resources to use, to make informed decisions on the choice of digital tools and to resolve technical problems.
