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CHAPTER SEVEN Use of Information and Communication Technology ( ICT)

7.1 This chapter explores the use of Information and Communication Technology ( ICT) and access to ICT among adults. The focus here is on the use of ICT in general, rather than ICT specifically for learning, which is covered in previous chapters. The chapter begins by considering how widespread and frequent the use of ICT is and whether respondents have access to computing and Internet facilities at home. The demographic profile of ICT users is then explored with reference to factors such as age, educational attainment, occupation, household income and local deprivation. In common with the England and Wales report, the results in this chapter cover all NALS respondents, including those aged 70 and older.

ICT use

7.2 The survey asked a series of questions in order to establish, first, whether respondents had ever used either a computer or the Internet and second, whether they were currently computer or Internet users ²⁶. The use of computers and Internet was very common with 77% of respondents saying they had used either a computer or the Internet at some point in their life. Further:

• 70% were current computer users
• 67% were current Internet users, and
• Around two-thirds (65%) currently used both computers and the Internet.

Results in Scotland were almost identical to those for England and Wales.

Table 7.1 Use of computers and the Internet

Base: all respondents

*These two categories are not mutually exclusive.

7.3 Respondents who indicated that they had used a computer or the Internet at some point were asked how often they used each of these. Over half (57%) used a computer almost every day and just under half (46%) used the Internet every day. Again findings in Scotland show little variation from those for England and Wales.

Table 7.2 Frequency of computer and Internet use

Base: all respondents who had ever used a computer for the computer column, all respondents who had ever used the Internet for the Internet column

7.4 In addition to high usage of computers and the Internet the majority of respondents had access to both these resources at home, (71% had a computer at home and 65% had access to the Internet at home).

Profile of ICT users²⁷and non-users

Age and gender

7.5 Figure 7.1 shows a clear relationship between current ICT use and age, with those under 50 far more likely to be ICT users than those aged 50 and over. There is a particularly sharp decline in ICT use from aged 60 (from 73% of 50-59 year-olds to just 45% of 60-69 year-olds). In addition, a greater proportion of men were ICT users than women (76% compared with 66%).

Figure 7.1 Percentage of respondents in different age groups classified as current ICT users

Educational background and adult learning

7.6 There was a clear link between qualification level and ICT use - 97% of those qualified to NVQ Level 5 were current ICT users, compared with 59% of those qualified to Level 1 and 17% of those with no qualifications (Figure 7.2).

Figure 7.2 Percentage of respondents with different current qualification levels classified as current ICT users

7.7 Results also suggest a clear relationship between ICT use and participation in learning (Figure 7.3):

• 87% of learners were classified as current ICT users, compared with 24% of non-learners.
• Looking at this relationship from the opposite perspective, 92% of current ICT users were learners, compared with just 35% of non- ICT users.
• Vocational learners were considerably more likely to be current ICT users than non-vocational learners (89%, 67%) - though the gap between the two was slightly wider in England and Wales (32 percentage points) compared with Scotland (22 points).

Figure 7.3 Proportion of different learners classified as current ICT user

Employment and financial circumstances

7.8 The use of ICT was also linked to socio-economic group, with professionals and managers most likely to be ICT users (82%), and those in semi routine/routine occupations least likely (50%). (Figure 7.4)

Figure 7.4 Percentage of respondents in different NS- SEC groups classified as current ICT users

7.9 Those in the highest income groups are more likely to be ICT users - 91% of those in the highest group were ICT users, compared with 39% of those in the lowest income group (Figure 7.5).

Figure 7.5 Percentage of respondents in different household income groups classified as current ICT users

7.10 Similarly, a close association between local deprivation (as measured using the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation) and ICT use was evident - 54% of those in the most deprived areas (5th quintile) were current ICT users compared with 83% of those in the least deprived areas (1st quintile).

Figure 7.6 Percentage of respondents in multiple deprivation quintiles classified as current ICT

Conclusion

7.11 The results show high levels of regular ICT use among respondents. The link between educational attainment and ICT use, found over several waves of NALS in England and Wales, was also present in Scotland, with respondents with lower qualifications less likely to use ICT. Furthermore, many of the characteristics associated with participation in learning are also associated with ICT use. Those in routine or semi-routine occupations, those from deprived areas, those in low income households and older respondents were all less likely to use ICT than other adults.

7.12 However, it is perhaps worth noting that in England and Wales, the greatest increase in ICT use since 2001 has been among groups with previously lower levels of useage (e.g. those from deprived areas, those in low income households, those in routine and semi-routine occupations). Only further years of data for Scotland will allow us to determine whether or not a similar pattern of increasing ICT use among more 'disadvantaged' groups is occurring here.

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