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Published on 2024-10-19
52% of Spaniards consider mobile phones to be an essential technology, and 66% believe the Internet is also essential, according to the latest Technology Perception Study by the BBVA Foundation.
The study, conducted in 18 countries with a sample of 1,500 cases in each, provides a map of technology perception at the current moment and its evolution over the past fifteen years. It shows a growing generational convergence regarding the usefulness of main technologies, considered essential by citizens of all ages.
Regarding Europeans, Spaniards attribute greater importance to the Internet and trains, while they rank similarly or slightly below the average in other technologies studied.
The declared level of interest in technological topics across the 18 included societies is medium-high, while the perception of being informed about these topics also predominates.
The highest levels of interest and declared information are recorded in the United States and Turkey (6.1 and 5.9 respectively on a scale of 0 to 10 in both countries) and the lowest in relative terms, though above the midpoint of the scale, in Israel (5.4 and 5.2). Spain (5.9 and 5.4) aligns with the European average (5.9 and 5.5).
The Internet, made possible by a wide range of technological developments, has become an "essential" technological construct for over 60% of Europeans, Americans, Israelis, and Turks. The majority of citizens in all societies (59% in the USA, 57% across Europe, 62% in Israel, and up to 91% in Turkey) share the same opinion about mobile phones.
This perception of the importance that the Internet and mobile phones have acquired is observed across all age groups, including those aged 65 and over. Spaniards are slightly above other Europeans in valuing the Internet (66% consider it essential compared to 61% in the European average) and below in valuing mobile phones (52% consider them essential compared to 57% in the European average).
Unlike the Internet and mobile phones, personal computers divide opinions between those who consider them essential and those who see them as useful but dispensable technologies. Turks stand out from the rest by placing greater emphasis on considering information and communication technologies as fundamental.
DIFFERENCES IN TECHNOLOGY PERCEPTION ACCORDING TO AGE
Age introduces some differences in the perception of information and communication technologies, especially when it comes to personal computers and, to a lesser extent, the Internet and mobile phones.
66% of young people across Europe, 54% in Spain, and 73% of Americans consider personal computers essential, compared to much lower percentages (35%, 33%, and 34% respectively) among those over 65 years old.
In the case of the Internet, age also plays a role, though less significantly: 68% of young Europeans, 69% of Spaniards, and 70% of Americans consider it essential, compared to 50%, 57%, and 62% in older age groups.
Regarding mobile phones, the differences are smaller: 62% of young people in Europe, 56% of Spaniards, and 59% of Americans consider them essential, compared to 52%, 50%, and 60% in the 65 and over segment.
The percentage that considers personal computers and the Internet essential also increases among those with higher education levels, while, again, mobile phones tend to be perceived more homogeneously in most societies.
Only in Israel does age, and in the United States education, introduce more differences than in Europe in the perception of mobile phones. Regarding gender, barely any differences are detected in the analyzed countries. Only in Israel and Turkey are computers perceived as more essential by men than by women.
Across Europe, only 28% consider television essential and 31% hold the same opinion about radio, percentages that are even lower in Spain (18% and 23%, respectively).
While the percentage that considers television and radio as useless technologies is minority, it is higher in the United States than in other countries. Turks stand out for a more favorable perception of the importance of these technologies, mostly valuing television as an essential technology.
SPANISH PEOPLE WHO CONSIDER THE INTERNET ESSENTIAL HAVE INCREASED BY 300%
In the last decade, digital transformation has substantially changed the map of technology perceptions in Spain. The percentage of Spaniards who consider the Internet essential has increased by nearly 300%, and by 100% in the case of personal computers.
Regarding mobile phones, the perception of their usefulness has also increased, although not as significantly since the percentage considering them essential was already very high in 2008.
Parallel to the increase in the perceived usefulness of these technologies, there is a significant decrease in the cases of television and, more slightly, radio, although this perception mainly refers to traditional devices and not to the increasing consumption of television and radio content via the Internet.
Transportation-related technologies are perceived as essential by the majority, with the most accessible and least polluting collective means – the train – ranking first, followed by the car and the airplane. While the importance attributed to trains increases in the United States and Europe, the importance given to cars in Turkey and Israel and to aviation in Israel stands out.
Spaniards are above the average in perceiving trains as an essential technology (66% compared to 62% of the European average) and below in this characterization for cars (47% consider them essential compared to 54% of the European average).
While the valuation of trains as "essential" is more homogeneous across age segments and somewhat more uneven by education, there are more marked differences in the case of cars and, especially, aviation. These tend to be perceived as less essential by older adults and those with lower education levels.
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