About the Study
The fourth edition of the Dual Digital Divide series
of reports builds on the findings from the first three studies utilizing,
for the first time, an integrated quantitative and qualitative approach
to exploring key trends.
The report has three main objectives:
- Provide tracking data on the status
of Internet usage and location of Internet usage/access trends in Canada.
- Provide
a better understanding of the reasons why a significant number of
Canadians still do not use the
Internet, including a detailed analysis of key non-user subgroups.
- Analyse
and provide appropriate next steps to enhance those initiatives working
to make Canada the most connected nation in the world.
Tier One Digital Divide: Usage
The tier one digital divide is the separation between
those who use the Internet and those who do not, without consideration
of where they go online.
Today, three in four Canadians are Internet users (defined as having
used in the past three months). 7 per cent have used the Internet before,
but have stopped using or use the Internet infrequently. The remaining
19 per cent have never used the Internet before.
Despite the overall
pervasiveness of usage, the digital divide between subgroups persists.
- Just
over one in three seniors (35 per cent) have used the Internet in
the past three months. By comparison, 93 per cent of those under 25,
and
86 per
cent of those 25 to 44 years of age, are Internet users.
- 52 per
cent of lowest income Canadians (less than $20K) and 94 per cent of
highest income Canadians ($100K or more) are Internet users - a
substantial 42-percentage point divide.
- 60 per cent of Canadian labourers
are Internet
users, compared
to 85 per cent of those employed in management or professional positions.
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