Article published in French in Le Point

A JIN-Opinion Way survey reveals the questions and digital divides that have arisen since the Covid crisis.

This is an indicator that, if left unchecked, could one day become a handicap for French society. Admittedly, the confinement from which we are gradually emerging has led to an acceleration in the use of digital technology in everyday life. has led to an acceleration in the use of digital technology in everyday life, but the study conducted by the digital agency Jin, with the Opinion Way polling institute, and published exclusively by published exclusively by Le Point, makes a number of counter-intuitive observations. While technology has been a great help in times of confinement, notably through the use of teleworking, videoconferencing, online leisure activities and remote shopping, the divides between generations and social categories. “This is the paradox of technology: it is both a factor of resilience and continuity, but also a limit to our freedoms and a factor in our retreat into our original tribe”, notes Édouard Fillias, co-founder of Jin. One of the main challenges we face is to take users by the hand: in France, only 19% of those surveyed feel more at ease with the Internet today than they did at the start of the crisis, compared with 26% in Germany and 34% in the UK. Is there a technological malaise in France? Let’s take a look.

A generational divide…

The first lesson is that Covid-19 has not narrowed the gap between age groups. Indeed, 29% of the under-35s said they were more comfortable using the Internet after confinement, compared with only 16% of their elders. Unsurprisingly, this digital agility decreases with age: 49% of French people under 35 say they have a home meal delivery account, compared with just 9% of those aged 35 and over. Watching films and TV series has also increased much faster among young people (47% of under-35s, compared with 25% of older people), especially in urban areas (40% in Paris, compared with 28% in the rest of France), where it was one of the only leisure activities available.

… which nevertheless strengthens family ties

Another surprise of the period that is drawing to a close: the forties are the cause of a return to one’s roots, tending to turn in on oneself, reveals the report. The people surveyed have distanced themselves from most of their circle of acquaintances – their friendship and professional networks in particular – but have drawn closer to their family.

More agile craftsmen

When asked about the general impact of technology on their daily lives, low-income respondents income respondents, “whose jobs are potentially more likely to be replaced by artificial potentially more likely to be replaced by artificial intelligence or robotics”, were much more more concerned than more affluent respondents. More surprisingly, 33% of craftsmen, shopkeepers and company directors said they were “more comfortable using the Internet. With the closure of restaurants and shops, many of them have turned to digital turned to digital markets such as Deliveroo or Uber Eats”.

But a growing mistrust of “fake news”

While a large proportion of French people have taken advantage of this period to become better informed, the study notes “an increase in concerns about fake news, privacy and the impact of technology on [their] everyday lives”. In fact, fake news is now a concern for 39% of our fellow citizens. It has to be said that the period now drawing to a close has been full of ‘intoxications’, some of which have had frightening effects, as shown by the links unfairly put forward between 5G and Covid, which resulted in the burning of telephone masts.

Technology, I love you and I love you not

It’s true that the amount of time spent behind screens has exploded via educational platforms or platforms devoted to video games, such as Twitch or Discord, but mistrust is still on the rise, particularly when it comes to the use of personal data. This is of concern to “only” 22% of French people (compared with 33% of Americans), but the issue is growing.”It’s important for users to take ownership of how their data is used”, notes Édouard Fillias, who points out that this new mindset represents a challenge for companies. Few brands are succeeding. In 3 of the 4 countries studied, Amazon is the only one cited positively for its “benevolent” attitude during the crisis, with the exception of… the French.The most popular company in our country is LVMH, even though only 4% of those surveyed were in favour of it.The brand references of the world to come have yet to be created.To do this, we need to convince the younger generation. Because, as the authors of the study point out, the trend in France is the opposite of that in our neighbours: “The younger you are, the more pessimistic you are”.