The Networked Nation Manifesto published on 12th July 2010 highlighted the number of people in the UK who are missing out on opportunities that the internet brings. The UK digital champion Martha Lane Fox produced this manifesto and has announced plans to try and get everyone in the UK of working age online by 2015. This is spurred by the fact that if everyone who is not online took advantage of the opportunities the internet can bring, in the shape of access to jobs and consumer savings it could in turn save a lot of money for the UK economy. For example if just 3.5% of UK unemployed gained employment this would save £560m, and with 90% of jobs now requiring basic internet skills, getting everyone online could be an easy way to save some money.
The document not only ranks economic reason for getting everyone online, it highlights many social reasons, such as the statistics that show children from households with internet access do better at school than children from households without it. Also, the elderly tend to be the demographic least likely to access the internet but with old age being a prime time for loneliness and isolation, opening up the older generation to the social side of the internet could mean a lot to social services and concerned families around the country.
For online business this move can only be a good thing. More people online means more people to use online services and shopping outlets. Also if more elderly people get online, then this will open up what is currently a relatively small market with new online services created specifically for older men and women. It is likely that any services created with them in mind would need to be easy to use and as technologically friendly as possible.
While it may be impossible to get 100% of the UK population online, this manifesto may certainly lead to many more plugging in when before they may not have. For the success of the manifesto plan the proof will be in the pudding over the next few years; cost will of course be a factor with 50% of those not online earning less than £11,500/year. Martha Lane Fox hopes for this not to cost the UK anything, with investment coming from private and voluntary sectors, but with money levels in the UK circling the plug hole and what money there is being diverted away from things like schools, if people see any money being poured into internet access and don’t appreciate the benefits there could be some serious complaining on the way.
