Digital Readiness: Nearly one-third of Americans lack the skills to use next-generation “Internet of things” applications

Accelerating technological change is placing a new premium on people’s abilities to navigate the digital landscape.

As the “Internet of things” ushers in powerful new applications in health care, education, government service delivery, and commerce, Americans are asked to share personal data with service providers in ways unforeseen a decade ago. They also have to muster the technical know-how to make Internet-connected devices function.

Yet nearly one-third of Americans are not ready to meet the twin challenges of trust and skills in a society in which digital applications are extending to more corners of our lives. Based on a 2013 national survey of Americans, this report finds that:

• 29% of adult Americans have low levels of digital readiness, as measured by respondents’ understanding of terms about the Internet and self-reported confidence in using computers or finding information online.
• Digital readiness is a bigger problem than the digital divide. Some 18% of Americans lack “advanced Internet access,” that is, either broadband at home or a smartphone; 15% are not Internet users at all. Put differently, 70 million Americans are not “digitally ready” for robust online use, nearly twice the number (36 million) of people with no online access.
• Lack of digital readiness afflicts one in five Americans who have advanced online access. Although non-Internet users necessarily lack digital readiness, 18% of people who have broadband or a smartphone register low levels of digital readiness. These Americans -- possessing the tools but deficient in skills -- exhibit far lower levels of Internet use.

The report also makes policy recommendations for improving Americans’ level of digital readiness. The proposals aim at building the capacity to help Americans use digital applications that will increasingly shape how governments serve citizens. Specifically:

• Governments should make complementary investments in digital readiness as they roll out new applications.
• Investments in digital readiness should build on existing programs that promote digital inclusion, such as those funded by the Commerce Department’s Broadband Technology Opportunity Program, as well as other public-private initiatives.
• The philanthropic sector should direct investments to digital readiness for all segments of the community, as well as invest in measurement of how digital readiness impacts outcomes.
• Cities should create “community tech champions” as advocates for digital readiness. Such champions would highlight the need for promoting digital skills for new “Internet of things” applications that the public and private sectors develop.
• Libraries, who are already the primary curator on programs to encourage digital readiness in many communities, should embrace and expand that role.

[At the Federal Communications Commission in 2009-10, Horrigan led development of the broadband adoption and usage portion of the National Broadband Plan]