The 2017 edition of the Digital Barometer confirms the trends observed over the past few years regarding the digital practices and skills of the French.

Conducted by Credoc on behalf of the CGE (Conseil Général de l'Économie, de l'Industrie, de l'Énergie et des Technologies), the ARCEP (Autorité de Régulation des Communications Electroniques et des Postes) and the Digital Society Mission of the Agence du numérique, this Barometer is based on a survey of 2,209 people interviewed "face to face" at home (2,004 adults and 205 young people).

At the request of the Digital Agency, a series of questions were introduced in 2017: they focus on the perception of new services and features, the framework in which people learn or have learned to use digital tools, the devices that allow people to better master digital tools, their expectations regarding the digital tools offered by the "Smart Cities" and their readiness to adopt new digital services.

The meteoric rise of mobile uses

• 94% of French people are now equipped with a cell phone, 73% with a smartphone (+8 points in one year) and 44% with a tablet (+4 points).
• Those without a degree (76%) and those aged 70 and over (78%) are the least equipped.
• Those who do not have a cell phone are much older than average (56% are 70 years old and over); they are retired and not graduated.

Computer equipment and fixed Internet connection rates are no longer increasing

• Younger people are more equipped than their elders: 95% of 12-17 year olds have a computer at home, compared to 52% of those aged 70 and over. Computer equipment remains correlated with income or diploma levels: it reaches 93% for high income earners and 92% for university graduates.
• 97% of those who have a computer have a fixed internet connection.
• The proportion of French people aged 12 who have a fixed Internet connection at home is stable: 85%, the same as in 2016. The youngest, the most educated and the most privileged are more often connected than average: however, Internet access at home is now in the majority in all population groups: 54% of the non-educated and 57% of those aged 70 and over are connected).

The French now prefer to use their cell phones to access the Internet

When asked which device they use most often to connect to the Web, the French put the smartphone in the lead (42%), ahead of the computer (38%) and then the tablet (7%).

If the smartphone has conquered the youngest, the computer remains the most used entry point on the Internet by the over 40s, the high income earners and the executives.

The most used equipment varies depending on the practice.

• Smartphones are mostly used to participate in social networks.
• Smartphones and computers are now almost equal when it comes to watching videos or playing online games.
• The less fun activities (work, online shopping or sending e-mails) are still carried out primarily from a computer.

More and more Internet users are connecting to their homes from mobile networks

Now, for 65% of French people, the Internet connection at home is made by at least two different modes (only 37% of cases in 2013).

67% of French people carried out administrative procedures online in 2017

The proportion of people who have carried out administrative procedures online continues to rise: it has increased from 62% to 67% in one year

The use of the Internet for administrative and tax procedures recorded a clear increase in 2017, from 62% adoption by the French in 2016 to 67% in 2017 (76% among Internet users alone). A similar increase was recorded between 2015 and 2016.

This increase is seen in 2017 across all age groups and income levels.

However, there are still significant differences.

• While 81% of high-income earners have gone online, only 59% of low-income earners have done so.
• The gap is even more pronounced when degree level is taken into account: 90% of university graduates have taken steps online, compared to only 30% of non-graduates (the same as in 2016). Non-graduates are thus the only category of population for which online procedures did not increase in 2016.
• The proportion of people who have carried out administrative procedures online is increasing in rural communities, in medium-sized cities and in large cities: however, there are still differences between these practices in medium-sized cities (61%) and the Paris metropolitan area (74%).

Participation in "social networks" on the Internet continues to grow

Since 2009, the proportion of French people aged 12 and over who participate in social networks has been increasing steadily. This year, the progression remains steady (+3 points for the whole population and +2 points for Internet users).

Participation in social networks is still very strongly determined by age, with the youngest being the biggest users of such networks

Among 18-24 year olds, almost all have participated in social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. in the past 12 months (96%). Beyond the age effect, the level of education also has an impact on participation. More than two-thirds of graduates with a bachelor's degree or higher participated in social networks, compared to just over a quarter of non-graduates.

A majority of the population does not trust the information that is relayed on social networks (73%). The distrust is only slightly less pronounced among people who participate in social networks (69%).

One French person in four uses the Internet to look for a job

The most discriminating variables in the use of the Internet for job search remain age and degree.

• 70% of 18-24 year olds, many of whom are entering the job market and have a high unemployment rate (23% in Q2 2017) are turning to the internet for job searches.
• Online job searches vary according to degree level: from 11% among non-graduates to 31% among university graduates.
• Nearly one in two (48%) blue-collar workers have looked for a job online in the past few months, compared to 26% of senior managers, 37% of middle managers and 36% of employees.

Transactions and exchanges between peers concern, in total, more than a quarter of the population

• The most common practice, as in 2015, remains the use of a good or service belonging to a private individual in exchange for payment: 22% of French people aged 12 and over have done so in the last 12 months via the internet (compared to 15% 2015).
• 13% offered the same type of services to individuals for a fee (8% in 2015).
• Only 6% practice the exchange or sharing of services between individuals without remuneration.

These observations largely overlap with the results of theCapacity survey (supported by the Agence du Numérique), which found that the purchase of objects or services from individuals via the Internet was more frequent in 2016 among executives and intermediate professions than in other socio-professional categories.

Telecommuting attracts nearly 4 out of 10 employees

Not all employees are equally ready to work from home.

• The most likely to respond favorably to this possibility are college graduates and those whose jobs might lend themselves to it, such as managers and senior professionals and intermediate professions.
• Employees and blue-collar workers, most of whom have jobs that require physical presence in the workplace, cite the fact that their work does not lend itself to telecommuting much more than other categories.

The French feel rather competent to use digital tools.

They feel most comfortable with the smartphone (69%), ahead of the computer (67%) and the tablet (62%).

Nearly one in three (31%) even consider themselves very proficient in using a smartphone.

The effects of age and level of education are significant: from the age of 40 onwards, the feeling of competence is much less developed. However significant they may be, the differences in competence according to age tend to be reduced.

The differences related to degree are even more marked: the largest gap is between those without a degree and those with a BEPC level (nearly 30 points difference). For all the equipment, those with a bachelor's degree and education graduates have feelings of competence that are well above average.

While the general population feels most proficient with the smartphone, those 60 and older are most comfortable with a computer.

In four years, the feeling of competence to use a computer has increased by +12 points in the general population.

A majority of French people do not take advantage of the opportunities offered by digital technology

The number of people who benefit "little or not at all" is greater than those who benefit "quite a lot or fully" . And this in the spheres of professional life, citizenship, leisure and everyday life.

63% of French people believe that they do not take advantage of the opportunities offered by digital technology in their professional life

This average hides deep disparities

• According to occupation: 22% of blue-collar workers are concerned, compared to 76% of senior executives or 66% of members of intermediate professions
• According to the diploma and the level of income, variables closely linked to the occupation, with a difference of the simple to the double
• Three out of four executives benefit from new technologies in their lives
• Younger workers (18-24 years old) feel they make the most use of new technologies (58%, +8 points compared to the average)
• more than one in two workers (54%) and 63% of the least qualified workers do not benefit from the possibilities offered by digital technology in the professional sphere.

52% do not take advantage of it or take little advantage of it in their daily life

In the field of leisure, on average, 4 out of 10 people feel they are taking advantage of the possibilities offered by digital tools: the youngest (students, under 40) while 70% of those aged 70 and over feel they are not taking advantage of these new opportunities at all.

58% do not take advantage of it or take little advantage of it in their civic life

New technologies are all the more popular for the opportunities they offer when they are well mastered

76% of French people say they are ready to adopt new technologies (52% gradually)

Only 23% of respondents are not ready. This is particularly the case for the non-educated (57% of them), the elderly (59% of those aged 70 and over) and people on low incomes.

The willingness to adopt new services and to learn new technologies is related to age, level of education and current skill level. For example, those who present themselves as the least adept at using a computer are the most resistant to new learning.

79% of French people have a positive view of smart cities

These "Smart City" approaches are perceived as"a good thing" by nearly eight out of ten people. Only one person in five (19%) points out the possible drifts, namely the risks of surveillance and the fact that not everyone would benefit from these new services.

Support for these smart city approaches is high, regardless of age, income or degree level, or place of residence. Non-graduates (69%) and blue-collar workers (72%) are slightly less convinced by these approaches than higher education graduates (87%), senior executives (89%) or high-income earners (88%).

Methodology of the 2017 edition of the Digital Barometer

• The exact wording of the questions can be found in the appendix (page 179). For each question, the funding organization is indicated (CGE, Arcep, Agence du Numérique or CRÉDOC).
• Two types of questionnaires are administered for the proper conduct of the survey: the first is intended for individuals aged 18 and over and the second is aimed exclusively at 12-17 year olds.

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