Assessing the Role of Age, Education, Gender and Income on the Digital Divide: Evidence for the European Union

This paper assesses the digital divide between and within the 28 member-states of the European Union. The analysis comprised four socio-demographic contexts: age, education, gender, and income. Because of the digital divide's complexity, a multivariate approach was applied - factor analysis with oblique rotation, which resulted in two distinct dimensions: e-Services and Social Networks. To test the significant differences of European Union positioning and European Union disparities, Multivariate Analysis of Variance and Squared Rank Test were computed. Findings show that e-Services adoption is influenced primarily by the education level of individuals, while Social Networks adoption is more affected by individuals' age.

Automated summary

The study evaluates the digital divide within and between the 28 member-states of the European Union, identifying education and age as primary factors influencing e-Services and Social Networks adoption. Findings suggest that the European Union's positioning and disparities are significantly influenced by these socio-demographic factors.