How did COVID-19 affect digital connectivity in terms of health, education and work? A survey provides answers
the story So Far: Internet connectivity has increased over the past year, with most new users blaming their new connections on the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdowns. However, a new nationwide survey found that remote work, education and healthcare are still not equally available to everyone, even among those with digital access.
How was the study designed?
LIRNEasia, an Asia Pacific think tank focused on digital policy, invited the Indian Council of Research on International Economic Relations to participate in a global study funded by Canada’s Center for International Development to assess the socio-economic impacts of India. (ICRIER) has tied up with COVID-19 by analyzing access to services with a focus on digital technologies in health, education and work. The face-to-face survey was conducted between March and August 2021, with a sample group of 7,000 individuals from all states except Kerala. There were 500 families each in Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Assam that took part in the survey, while the remaining 5,000 families were spread across the rest of the country. The sample was nationally representative of the population above 15 years of age in terms of gender, socio-economic classification and urban-rural divide.
What did the study find about the impact of the pandemic on Internet access and use?
The survey found that 47% of the population are Internet users, a significant jump from the 19% who identified as Internet users at the end of 2017. An extrapolation of the respondents indicated that 34 crore people in the country were already online before 2020. An additional 80 million came online in 2020, and at least 50 million have already become new internet users in 2021. Of those who started using the Internet for the first time in 2020, 43% said they came online because of COVID-19.
Men still use the Internet more than women and there is a 37% gender gap between users, although this is half of the 57% gap that existed four years ago. Similarly, the rural-urban gap has reduced from 48% in 2017 to just 20% now as more rural residents come online. The biggest divide, however, is education. Among those pursuing a college education, 89% are Internet users, compared with 60% of those completing secondary school. Only 23% of school dropouts after Class 8 and 9% without education are able to access the Internet.
Among non-users, lack of awareness is still the biggest obstacle, although the percentage of non-users who said they do not know the Internet has declined from 82% to 49% over the past four years. Increasingly, people do not go online due to lack of access to equipment and lack of skills.
Did increased digital connectivity help access to distance education?
The survey found that 80% of school-age children in the country did not have access to distance education during the 18 months after school closures. This happened even when 64% of households with school-aged children actually had an Internet connection. Less than a third of children in such households were able to take advantage of connectivity in any type of classroom, largely due to the lack of large-screen devices as well as the lack of preparation in schools. However, the situation was worse in households without an internet connection, with only 8% of children receiving any kind of distance education. Apart from no equipment, poor 3G/4G signal and high data cost were listed as the biggest constraints.
Even of the 20% who received an education, only half had access to live online classes, which required a good internet connection and exclusive use of a device. Most relied on recorded lessons and WhatsApp messages that could be sent to parents’ phones and downloaded at recess, while others were able to interact more directly with teachers through phone calls or physical visits. Were.
The situation was worse in the lower socio-economic classes, or where the head of the household had a low level of education. Nationwide, 38% of households said that at least one child had dropped out of school completely because of COVID-19.
How did digital access affect work patterns?
Only 10% of those employed during the lockdown were able to work from home. There were significant geographic variations, with one in five Delhi residents working from home, compared to 13% in Maharashtra and just 3% in Tamil Nadu. Estimated enough, the finance, insurance, information technology and communications sectors had the largest share of people who were able to work remotely during the lockdown. However, even one in three employees in these occupations was able to work from home, the survey found. Even among this group, only 35% continued to work remotely after each lockdown period, while 16% had a hybrid work life, returning to physical workplaces only on select days.
A significant minority of those engaged in remote work ran into device and connectivity challenges. About 27% said they were forced to share a device with another household member, while 16% said the available devices were unsuitable for work and another 16% suffered from poor network quality. About 43% also said that remote working meant they were forced to work more and work longer than usual.
How did internet access or lack thereof affect healthcare during the pandemic?
About 15% of the sample respondents said they needed health care for non-COVID related purposes during the most severe national and state lockdowns. Of the 14% who required ongoing treatment for chronic conditions, more than a third missed at least one appointment because of the lockdown. Telemedicine and online doctor consultations increased during this time, but only 38% said they were able to access such services.
As far as medical information about symptoms and treatment of COVID-19 is concerned, nearly 40% of the respondents relied on television channels for advice as their most trusted source, with respondents relying on face-to-face conversations. quarter above. Only 1% visited websites for information, though 4% were on social media and 2% relied on the Aarogya Setu app.
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