Technology

Class-based digital divide persists in Ireland, research finds

Survey highlights acute level of concern about the impact technology is having on society

Research suggests that 71 per cent of parents in Ireland worry that their children’s ability to communicate in person has been stunted as a result of the relentless march of technology

Conor Pope
Sat Jun 29 2024 - 06:00

Irish people have a deepening love/hate relationship with technology and lean heavily on it for work, leisure, entertainment and spending, while recognising the damage it does to both adults and children and fearing its power in the future, according to new research.

While the internet is now the source of much of the content we watch, listen to and read, it is also slowly – and sometimes not so slowly – killing the art of conversation and our capacity to interact with other human beings, suggests the Ipsos B&A TechScape study.

The research was conducted among representative sample groups in more than two dozen countries, with Irish people emerging as the most distrustful about the newest developments likely to shape our world between now and 2030.

The average Irish home has nine devices connected to the internet, rising to 12 in homes with teenagers, with broadband viewed as more important than television for 53 per cent of those who took part in the research.

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While 54 per cent of those over the age of 65 are now using the internet daily compared with 51 per cent last year, a generational divide is still very much at play.

A total of 16 per cent of the so-called “silent generation” (aged 80+) have laptops, rising to 20 per cent for tablets and falling to 1 per cent for tech “wearables”. For millennials (the category now aged 28-44), the comparable figures are 76 per cent, 67 per cent and 48 per cent.

The study points to the “phenomenal” growth in streaming since 2020, with almost three-quarters of households now watching Netflix and 37 per cent admitting to having access to so-called dodgy boxes.

[ Dodgy boxes and suspect streaming: can Irish viewers be persuaded away from illegal services? ]

A financial revolution has also taken place, with just under half of those polled using digital banks such as Revolut, Bunq and N26 and a similar percentage using contactless payments.

There is an acute level of concern about the impact tech is having on society, with 70 per cent of households containing teenagers of the view that it has a negative impact on family life compared with just over 40 per cent more broadly.

Slightly more than two-thirds of those polled believe Irish people have “lost the art of conversation” compared with 50 per cent a decade ago, while 71 per cent of parents worry that their children’s ability to communicate in person has been stunted as a result of the relentless march of technology.

One in three people say they find it hard to switch off from thinking about work, school or college in their spare time in the evening or at weekends, with a huge proportion of people checking social media and emails first thing in the morning and last thing at night and when on holidays.

The usage of “retro” devices remains steady, with 21 per cent happy to use a mobile phone that is not considered smart and 14 per cent still playing records on turntables.

The study suggests that hybrid working is commonplace, with one in three people working from home at least two days a week, although this is a mostly middle-class and Dublin-centric phenomenon.

One of the biggest talking points in the world of tech is AI. Just over two-thirds of Irish people admit to a degree of nervousness about what it might mean over the next five years, a full 17 per cent more than the global average.

A further 40 per cent say they are excited for a brave new world in which AI becomes more dominant.

Irish people also have less trust than the global average that companies which use artificial intelligence will protect their personal data and Ireland is the only country where people believe that AI is more likely to be a force for discrimination than human beings ever were.

Close to half of Irish people believe AI will change how they do their job over the next five years, below the 60 per cent global average. When asked how likely is it that AI will have the potential to replace their job in the next five years, more than one in four say it is either very likely or somewhat likely.

“Ireland’s enduring fascination with technology is hardly a surprise, given the prominent presence of tech giants like Meta, Google, Microsoft and TikTok,” says Ipsos B&A managing director Luke Reaper.

He describes the Irish perspective on AI’s role in the future as “intriguing”, with Ireland exhibiting “more apprehension and less trust, particularly regarding data security and the potential impact on future employment. There’s a notable level of concern about AI’s implications, with fears surrounding its potential to hinder student learning in educational institutions.”

He notes that the need for regulation of AI emerges as a recurring theme in discussions. “Given the country’s technology-driven landscape, this keen interest in AI developments is unsurprising,” says Reaper.

He stresses, however, the need to maintain “a balanced perspective on AI beyond the media hype, considering that only 16 per cent of the population currently utilises tools like ChatGPT”.

[ One in three young people use AI for job applications ]

Reaper also highlights how the number of devices per household is increasing and internet usage is expanding among the over-65s but said “a digital divide persists, with middle-class cohorts having greater access to technology than their blue-collar counterparts”.

He says the disparity is mirrored in the working-from-home trend, which has become “primarily a middle-class, Dublin-centric phenomenon”.

He describes broader access to the internet as “crucial for education, essential services and overall participation in the modern workforce”.

It is, he says, notable how our consumption of content is evolving, with streaming and podcasts gaining significant traction but says “traditional media like television and radio remain relevant, demonstrating a fragmented media landscape, especially among younger demographics”.

He suggests the fragmented landscape is being driven by the “evolving ways people interact and their changing needs”, with Gen Zs in particular “avoiding ‘company speak’ and seeking an unvarnished reality. This has led to the rise of platforms like TikTok, which caters to this desire for virtual authenticity.”

Conor Pope

Conor Pope

Conor Pope is Consumer Affairs Correspondent, Pricewatch Editor

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