Through its Barometer "The French and New Technologies", ADEME has been measuring public attitudes towards a series of innovative technologies since 2012:
"How does the public evaluate the consequences of the development of this or that technology? To what extent do they differentiate between the environmental impacts, societal risks, or health risks, and the possible economic benefits of these technologies?The 2021 edition The study focused on technologies related to digital technology. The aim was to measure the use and appreciation of the French on digital technologies in general, mobile applications for food and mobility, connected objects, 5G, smart meters and electric vehicles.
The population is divided on the benefits and drawbacks of digital technology
- 47% of French people think that digital technology has about as many disadvantages as advantages.
- One third believe that it has more advantages than disadvantages.
- 18% believe that it has more disadvantages than advantages.
The top two benefits attributed to digital are easier and faster sharing and dissemination of information (20%) and easier administrative procedures (18%).
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The top two drawbacks attributed to digital are increased cybersecurity issues (23%) and increased energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions with the growth of data centers (20%).
Digital technology is the top priority for development
Among the technologies tested, digital and electric vehicles are at the top of the list of technologies to be developed as a priority, far ahead of 5G or connected objects.
20% of respondents cite digital as the first technology to be developed as a priority (48% at least once) and 21% electric vehicles (37% at least once).
Among the technologies whose development should be slowed down, 5G comes out on top (23% cite it first, 44% in total) ahead of connected objects (12% and 38% respectively) and smart meters (15% and 37%).
"Whatever the technology tested, the environment is almost always the area in which the impact of the various innovations is perceived as negative (with the exception of food-related applications)," observe the authors of the survey.
The various technologies are better perceived in the Paris region than in rural communities. Young people, those with higher socio-professional status, graduates, those with higher incomes, and residents of the Paris region (who are better equipped than the average, especially for connected objects and 5G) are the most positive about the various technologies.
The survey was conducted from July 16 to 28, 2021, among a sample of 2,072 people, representative of the French population aged 18 and over.
