Published May 14, 2024, the digital barometer, produced by CREDOC for Arcep, the General Economic Council, Arcom and ANCT, reveals developments in terms of “diffusion of information technologies and […] communication in society” French.
Internet
To summarize the highlights of this 332-page report, we first discover that 82% of the population aged 12 and over in mainland France connected to the Internet every day in 2023. An increasing proportion among under 28 years old (+12 points compared to 2022) or people aged 70 and over (+7). A notable decline has been noted among 18-25 year olds over the last three years, whose daily Internet connection has fallen from 80% in 2020 to 68% in 2023.
Still on the Internet side, the barometer mentions an increase of 11 points in the home Internet connection via optical fiber. Unsurprisingly, network connection is the main obstacle to subscribing to a fiber subscription (39%), followed by the lack of interest in very high-speed connection (26%).
Data on smartphone connectivity also reveals that 78% of French people are equipped with a model compatible with the 4G network, and 31% with 5G. “In this regard, age is a determining criterion: 41% of 18-24 year olds and 42% of 25-39 year olds are equipped with a smartphone allowing access to 5G, but only 22% of 60-69 year olds and 16% of those aged 70 and over”, specifies CREDOC. We learn in passing that the smartphone is the means most used by the French to access the Internet (48%).
Equipment
On the equipment side, the report first highlights that the proportion of French people owning a mobile phone or a smartphone stagnated in 2023 compared to 2022, with a rate of 95% and 87% respectively.
Although the proportion of mobile phones and smartphones has not changed from one year to the next, the figures still show an increase in interest in refurbished and second-hand items. Indeed, CREDOC indicates that these devices will be owned by 19% of respondents in 2023, compared to 17% in 2022.
The developments are more likely to be found in computers and tablets, which have seen their equipment rate in France drop from one year to the next. They have in fact increased respectively from 89% in 2022 to 87% in 2023 and from 57% to 53%. CREDOC nevertheless underlines that a category of products gained ground last year in French homes: connected speakers, increasing from 27% to 29%.
The barometer also reveals that the French have on average ten digital devices, and that at least two are not used. Finally, 37% have a connected object, 20% use generative AI (43% among 18-24 year olds), 72% consult social networks daily and 56% have at least a subscription to an SVOD service.