eco survey: The majority of Germans would like to see greater use of digital tools to combat the corona pandemic
13.04.2021 15:31
Digital technologies and applications have been supporting the economy and society in times of the Corona crisis for over a year now and have been met with great acceptance by the population, according to the results of a representative survey that eco - Association of the Internet Industry eV commissioned from the opinion research institute Civey in April has.
Germans consider digitally supported work in the home office (63.4 percent), apps for contact tracking (52.7 percent), the introduction of a digital vaccination card (47.3 percent) and the possibility of distance learning via digital devices to be particularly useful in combating Corona to allow learning platforms to take place – so-called homeschooling – (42 percent).
However, significantly fewer people consider the currently increasingly discussed use of digital check-in solutions for restaurant visits (33.8 percent) or for events (29.1 percent) to be useful.
A majority of Germans would also be willing to use digital applications more if they contributed to further Corona opening steps in the future. Almost 70 percent of those surveyed said they wanted to use appropriate digital tools for this purpose.
The high willingness to use digital solutions is evident across all age groups. Approval is highest among 18 to 29 year olds at around 74 percent - followed by the Alster group 65+ with almost 71 percent.
Strong support for home office, contact tracing and digital vaccination certificates
“Without digital tools and solutions, our work and social life would have been a total failure in the Corona year,” says ecos CEO Oliver Süme. “And in the future, digitalization will continue to be an important building block in combating the pandemic. A large part of our society also knows this and wants to actively participate in it – a clearly positive signal in these times.”
eco CEO calls for a nationwide strategy for the use of IT solutions
However, Germans are less optimistic about a possible end to the Corona restrictions. Almost half of those surveyed are of the opinion that this could be shortened through the widespread use of digital technologies. However, skepticism remains high among many citizens.
Süme therefore appeals to politicians not to get lost in the small details, but rather to develop a nationwide strategy for the sensible use of digital solutions in close collaboration with the IT industry. This is the only way to cushion further consequences of the Corona restrictions for the economy and society and to realistically plan possible opening steps. Süme: “The technologies required for this have long been available – now it is up to politicians to use digital solutions in a targeted manner.”
eco launched digital political election barometer for the 2021 federal election
The representative digital political election barometer, which the eco association has published on the website in the course of the upcoming 2021 federal election, enables a digital policy assessment of the federal government in real time eco.de/wahldigital-2021 launched in collaboration with Civey.
During the online political party check Digital politicians also want to answer questions about digital sovereignty, digital education & administration, sustainable digitalization and IT security.
background
The opinion research company Civey surveyed around 2,500 people between April 8th and 9th, 2021 on behalf of eco. According to the initiators, the results are representative. The statistical error of the overall results is between 3.3 and 3.5 percent. When asked “Which digital applications and solutions do you consider to be particularly useful in combating the corona pandemic?“A multiple answer was possible.