Reviewed 16/10/2025
Digital inclusion
Digital inclusion means ‘ensuring that everyone has the access, skills, support and confidence to participate in and benefit from our modern digital society, whatever their circumstances’ (Digital Inclusion Action Plan
This includes five elements:
- Affordable, robust broadband internet service
- Internet-enabled devices that meet the needs of the user
- Access to digital literacy training
- Quality technical support
- Applications and online content designed to enable and encourage self-sufficiency, participation and collaboration.
Who is most likely to be digitally excluded?
Digital exclusion arises from a complex interplay of factors. It can take different forms, vary by degree, and fluctuate according to circumstance and life stage. Evidence suggests the eight factors which make people particularly likely to experience digital exclusion. However the root causes of digital exclusion are often structural and reflect longstanding social, economic and regioal disparities - people are rarely digitally excluded for a single reason.
- Age
- Poverty
- Literacy & communication preferences
- Skills & motivation
- Precarious lifestyles
- Privacy
- Disability & specific conditions
- Trust in IT
The Bolton picture
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