let’s allow equal access to all French people – L’Express

Its digital economy is flourishing, whether it concerns its large groups or French Tech. Paradoxically, despite its initial promise, digital technology is far from benefiting everyone. Indeed, in 2023, more than sixteen million French people will be in difficulty with digital uses, or three million more than in 2017. A quarter of our fellow citizens therefore find themselves isolated, in an all-digital society where However, mastery of IT tools is essential. Younger people are also affected: 20% of them are now affected by this problem.

Based on classic socio-economic determinants (level of income, education, demographics), it appears that our poorest, less educated and older fellow citizens are the first to suffer from digital inequalities. They have more difficulty accessing equipment and connectivity, and experience a skills deficit compared to the average French person. However, this analysis does not explain the extent of the digital divide that France faces today. We must also question more contemporary phenomena, namely the case of well-equipped, connected and a priori competent French people, who nevertheless have digital experiences that could be described as “negative”.

To name but a few, individuals addicted to screens, victims of disinformation, or some of the youngest who use social networks perfectly without knowing how to write an email, maintain an ambivalent relationship with digital technology. Despite its obvious benefits, it harms their well-being and their economic and social positioning. However, the classic determinants that we have cited struggle to explain these contemporary phenomena, which do not primarily affect an age, income or education class, and may or may not be combined with a deficit in skills and equipment. .

It is in this context that we present, in a note from the Terra Nova think tank, the concept of digital capital, an attempt to update the work of Pierre Bourdieu in the era of digital society. Like the economic, cultural and social capital theorized by the sociologist, each French person would be endowed with digital capital, fueled throughout their life by positive indicators (diploma – training, broadband connection, state-of-the-art equipment, etc.). ) or negative (residence in a white zone, addiction to screens, skills deficit, etc.). Digital capital thus makes it possible to finely grasp and combine all of the ambivalent effects of digital technology, namely its economic and social benefits for the individual as well as its capacity to be a vector of inequalities. Therefore, public authorities can use it as an analytical framework and work to reduce inequalities in the digital capital of individuals, with the same ambition as for other Bourdieusian capitals.

Two projects have priority. First of all, it is necessary to ensure that all French people, everywhere on the territory, have access to the best levels of connectivity and equipment. As network coverage is particularly good in France, it is mainly on the social level that action remains to be taken. A useful measure would be the establishment of social pricing for access to very high-speed internet for beneficiaries of minimum social benefits, whose limited means often force them to resort to imperfect and costly solutions in the long term (cybercafes). , prepaid SIM cards). As for electricity and water, it would also be recommended to effectively deploy the right to maintain the Internet connection at home in the event of unpaid bills, although enshrined by the legislator in 2016.

Secondly, digital technology must be established as fundamental knowledge at school, in the same way as mathematics and French, and including in teacher training. In this sense, innovative learning methods could be taken advantage of, by providing digital training “through digital technology”. In this respect, the method of 42, a code self-study school, is interesting, encouraging collaboration, peer evaluation and student autonomy. National Education could therefore use training software adapted to the level of each student, allowing teachers to provide personalized support and to use computer equipment already available in establishments.

Digital technology today constitutes a major socio-economic differentiator. If nothing more is done, we estimate that around 150,000 students will leave the school system each year to join the millions of French people isolated from digital technology. Therefore, it is urgent to pursue an ambitious inclusion policy so that all French people can take full advantage of the opportunities offered by digital technology. The advent of artificial intelligence (AI), through the acceleration of the polarization it generates, only reinforces this urgency to act. The risk for workers is undoubtedly less of being replaced as such by AI, than by others who master it.

* By Philippe Englebert, investment banker, former advisor to President Emmanuel Macron, and Clément Bacchi, specialist in European and international digital policies