5.3 million people in Britain still not caught up with internet age: study

Around 5.3 million People in Britain have yet to catch up with the age of the internet with millions having no digital skills at all, a report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed Monday.

In Northern Ireland the figure is highest, with one-in-six People still not using the internet.

ONS has explored the scale of digital exclusion in Britain and its impact and how internet use and digital skills vary for different groups of the population.

The findings show that while the number of People in Britain using the internet is increasing over 5 million did not use the internet, with an estimated 4.3 million People estimated to have zero basic digital skills.

Women continue to be more likely than men to not use the internet, accounting for 58 percent of the 5.3 million non-users.

A digital disparity persists across different areas of Britain, with Northern Ireland having the highest proportion of internet non-users (14.2 percent) followed by the North East of England (12.1 percent) while London had the lowest proportion of internet non-users (7 percent).

The ONS study also revealed that 12 percent, or 700,000 young People, aged between 11 and 18 reported having no internet access at home from a computer or tablet. A further 60,000 in the age group reported having no home internet access at all.

The figures also show that over half of all adult internet non-users were over the age of 75, with 56 percent of adult internet non-users described as disabled People. Among internet non-users aged between 16 and 24 years, 60 percent were disabled.

Sending and receiving emails remains the most popular activity for People in Britain when using the internet.

Dawn Snape from ONS said: "Today's release shows the number of People using the internet regularly and having at least basic digital skills is increasing.

"However, over 5 million adults in the UK are not accessing vital services, help and information online. Many of these are among the most vulnerable in society, including some disabled People and older People.

"In addition, about 700,000 children of secondary school age don't have a tablet or computer to access the internet at home. Another 60,000 are estimated to have no internet access at all, which may impede their ability to do school work.

"Until the barriers to digital inclusion are overcome, non-digital alternatives should continue to be made available to enable everyone to participate fully in society."