In recent months, the debate on literacy has returned to the national public space. Both in a stricter sense, that of financial literacy, and in a broader sense, that of literacy as a whole, given that this is the driving force of a country with full citizens, that is They are more autonomous, more productive, more demanding and more participatory, contributing to achieving the objectives established by the UN with regard to education and employment within the scope of sustainable development.
However, there is a specific dimension of literacy that has been treated as side B, the dead angle of this problem and that is essential for Portugal not to make a breakthrough, not to lose any more time, and can sustainably grow and develop: digital literacy.
A country’s digital literacy is a key indicator to determine its ability to take advantage of the opportunities that investment in electronic communications networks and services provide, so it is essential to have a clear diagnosis and a plan for action for possible mitigation measures.
If 5G and FTTH coverage is a fundamental pillar of a strategy on which the success of national affirmation is based, both within the framework of the European Union (EU) and from the point of view of international relations, with other political and economic blocs, regarding leadership in the adoption of new technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Thingso Cloud Computing or advanced computing, it is clear that the absence of a plan to combat digital illiteracy is a fatal weakness for this same strategy.
Let us have no doubt that there is a digital revolution underway and the street in which it is happening is the electronic communications infrastructure. It is no coincidence that Enrico Letta, former Prime Minister of Italy who recently presented a report on the single European market, came to advocate the strengthening of the single market and the expansion of the four foundational freedoms of the community project ( free movement of goods, services, people and capital) to a new domain. In the document entitled “Much more than a market†, it highlights the introduction of a “Fifth Freedom†– already referred to in the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU – to improve research, innovation and education in the single market, aiming to harness the full potential of the EU within the framework of a global economy based on innovation and development.
To achieve this, it is not enough that Portugal has the best electronic communications networks and services in the EU, leading in all rankings that analyze electronic communications infrastructures. The massive investment made by operators in recent years (8.5 billion euros between 2016 and 2022), which resulted in coverage, resilience and quality that communications networks present and which were put to the test, is not enough , successfully, during the pandemic, with teleworking and ensuring digital access to education. It is not enough to look with satisfaction and optimism at the most recent data from ANACOM which show that Portugal, along with new generation network coverage of 94.4% of homes, All municipalities are already covered with 5G.
More is needed. It is necessary, from the outset, and as Letta himself mentions in his report, to guarantee conditions of financial sustainability so that operators continue to be able to invest in the modernization and development of the capabilities of their networks, but it is also A clear commitment to digital literacy is essential. There is a need for a national plan involving all stakeholdersfrom governments to educational communities, from legislators to companies from the most diverse sectors, including different regulators and, of course, consumers.
The country, as a whole, cannot accept being 12th on a community scale in terms of digital literacy, with only 55.9% of the population having basic or above basics of using technology. Nor can it resign itself to having 12.4% of the population never use the internet (6.5 percentage points above the EU average), according to survey data “Information and Communication Technologies in Households and by Individuals†, from the European Commission, relating to last year.
It cannot accept such values, even more aware that these phenomena have a greater impact on groups that tend to be more excluded, especially retirees and other inactive people. In Portugal, according to the annual report “The consumer of electronic communications”, published by ANACOM, 42% of citizens between the ages of 65 and 74 have never accessed the internet (the EU average is 22%). Among those aged 55 and 64, the scenario was also not encouraging: 20% in Portugal compared to 8% in the EU. And there is no way to dissociate exclusion from the digital universe from the lack of schooling: last year, 27% of people whose education did not go beyond 3rd basic education cycle had never been online (in Europe, the rate is 14%).
If we consider the reasons given for not using the internet at home, the statistics are unequivocal: 45.2% of people say they do not know how to use it, while 16.1% consider it “not very useful or interesting†.
Returning to the report “Information and Communication Technologies Usage in Households and by Individuals†from 2023, the Portuguese have come closer to the European average in dimensions of literacy such as data and information analysis or content creation, but remain below in terms of resolution §tion of online problems (44% vs. 57% in the EU).
Furthermore, digital literacy is also a cause and consequence of territorial cohesion. As shown in the report “Digital Skills of the Population and Companies†, released by ANACOM, in urban areas the percentage of people with a level above basic, 64%, is well above the 41% recorded in rural areas.
And if the reality of individuals and families requires measures, that of companies also deserves attention, even without deviating too much from European standards – 64% of our companies have a low digital intensity index (35%) or very low (29%). Furthermore: 13% of medium-sized companies have a very low digital intensity index, a percentage that rises to 32% when small companies are under observation. This vector of analysis is all the more worrying if we consider that the Portuguese business sector is mainly made up of SMEs.
When his report became public, Letta stated that he did not intend to “write a dream book†, but “a set of reasonable and feasible proposals†for the single market to regain dynamism and Europe to reposition itself in the world scene. In fact, the digital revolution is a tremendous opportunity for countries like ours, as well as for the future of our children and grandchildren. Connectivity and digitalization could mean an increase of one billion euros in European GDP – the equivalent of the GDP of the Netherlands. They can therefore represent a dream for everyone. Let us invest in literacy, let us allow ourselves to dream. We still have time.
