Millions of people in the UK are missing out on the benefits of using the internet. Initiatives, such as free connectivity in community spaces, are helping them to apply for jobs, improve skills and get support
Getting online transformed Bernard Whitbay’s life. Suffering from poor health, the 72-year-old from Salford spent most of the last 18 months in isolation at home. Without basic IT skills, he couldn’t shop online or even make video calls to his grandchildren and became increasingly depressed. Then a friend put him in touch with Tech and Tea, a local digital skills project for the over-60s that taught him the basics. From not knowing how to send an email, Whitbay has gone on to become a tech coach to others in his local community.
Whether it’s ordering a prescription, renewing a passport, or attending a job interview, so many aspects of day-to-day life can now be carried out online – but not by everyone. Despite the rapid pace of digital adoption during the pandemic, which has boosted the take-up of online services, the UK’s digital divide still prevents many people from accessing them. Ten million people in the UK lack the most basic digital skills, such as logging on to wifi or using email, and 1.5m households have no internet access, according to social charity the Good Things Foundation in its Building a Digital Nation report.
