• The main obstacles are concerns about data security, lack of knowledge and fear of making mistakes
• Only a minority are keen to try out new technology straight away
• Saturday marks the start of Digital Day Week, aimed at boosting digital participation

Doing your banking online, booking appointments with public authorities digitally or shopping on the internet – for many people, this has long been part of everyday life. However, 38 percent of the population are reluctant to use such digital services.

This reluctance is particularly pronounced among older people: almost half of those aged between 65 and 74 (47 per cent) feel uncomfortable using digital applications, and the figure rises to 45 per cent among the over-75s. These are the findings of a representative survey of 1,003 people aged 16 and over conducted on behalf of the ‘Digital for All’ initiative to mark National Digital Day.

Frequently cited obstacles are a lack of technical knowledge and uncertainty. One third (33 percent) find digital applications too complicated, 29 percent do not feel competent enough and 22 percent are afraid of doing something wrong when using them. However, the main reason for not using digital technologies is concern about data protection. Around three quarters of those surveyed (76 percent) say they do not use digital technologies because they are concerned about the protection of their personal data – an increase compared to the previous year (70 percent). This concern affects people of all age groups equally.

At the same time, there is definitely openness to digital developments. Forty-one percent say they like to try out new technologies right away, while 34 percent wait to see what others’ experiences are first. Some are much more cautious: another 18 percent only use digital solutions when absolutely necessary, and only 5 percent reject new technologies completely.

‘These figures show how wide the gap between desire and reality still is when it comes to digital participation,’ says Linda Machwitz, managing director of the ‘Digital for All’ initiative. “To ensure that everyone can benefit from digital progress, we need offerings that are secure, understandable and, above all, accessible – regardless of age or prior knowledge. Digital Day brings these offerings together and makes digital technologies and digital knowledge accessible to people in their everyday lives.”

The nationwide Digital Day on 27 June is Germany’s largest campaign day for digital participation. Starting on 21 June, numerous activities will take place over the course of a week, inviting people to learn about digital technologies, overcome their fears and strengthen their digital skills.

• Filter bubbles & fact checking: How we protect truth in the digital democracy | Bergstraße District Adult Education Centre
• Your city centre. Your idea | City of Aschaffenburg The citizen participation festival ‘Your city centre. Your idea.’ invites all citizens of Aschaffenburg to submit ideas for beautifying the city centre with a focus on sustainability. The aim is to use an innovative digital participation process to collect feasible and creative solutions, evaluate them together and finally select an idea for implementation.
• Your city centre. Your idea | City of Aschaffenburg
• The citizen participation festival ‘Your city centre. Your idea.’ invites all citizens of Aschaffenburg to submit ideas for beautifying the city centre with a focus on sustainability. The aim is to use an innovative digital participation process to collect feasible and creative solutions, evaluate them together and finally select an idea for implementation.
• DemokratieVision – a creative project for everyone! | Association for the Promotion of Media Literacy and Digital Prevention
• With the ‘DemokratieVisionen’ project, the Association for the Promotion of Media Competence and Digital Prevention invites people of all ages to creatively engage with their understanding of democracy – whether at school, university, in retirement or in their private lives. The information event will present the project idea, opportunities for participation and background information. The aim is to make democracy visible and tangible.
• Workshop ‘Loneliness, social media and the danger of radicalisation’ | Future Worlds of the Stuttgart Youth Centre Association
• An interactive workshop in which young people discover the effects of social media on loneliness and radicalisation. In small groups, participants analyse TikTok comments and work out how these can reinforce feelings of isolation and promote radicalisation. The aim is to identify problematic content and respond to it constructively in order to shape the digital world in a positive way.

On the action map and in the action overview, actions can be filtered by location, topic and target group, among other criteria. For more information about Digital Day and the latest figures on digital participation in Germany, subscribe to the press releases at https://digitaltag.eu/presse.

Digital Day is backed by the ‘Digital for All’ initiative, a broad alliance of more than 25 organisations from civil society, culture, science, business, welfare and the public sector. The initiative’s common goal is to promote digital participation in Germany.

AWO Federal Association | Federal Working Group of Senior Citizens’ Organisations (BAGSO) | Federation of German Industries (BDI) | Bitkom | Federal Parents’ Council (BER) | German Research Foundation (DFG) | German Library Association (dbv) | German Federal Youth Council (DBJR) | German Caritas Association | German Cultural Council | German LandFrauenverband (dlv) | German County Council (DLT) | German Nature Conservation Union (DNR) | German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) | German Association of Cities | German Association of Towns and Municipalities (DStGB) | German Adult Education Association (DVV) | German Red Cross (DRK) | Diakonie Germany – Protestant Social Welfare Organisation | Hartmannbund – Association of German Doctors | German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) | TÜV Association | Association of Municipal Enterprises (VKU) | Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv) | United Services Union (ver.di) | Central Association of German Skilled Trades (ZDH) | Central Welfare Office of Jews in Germany (ZWST)

Note on methodology: The information is based on a survey conducted by Bitkom Research on behalf of the ‘Digital for All’ initiative. A total of 1,003 people in Germany aged 16 and over were surveyed by telephone. The survey took place between calendar weeks 17 and 21 of 2025. The survey is representative. The questions were: ‘To what extent do the following statements about digitalisation apply to you or in your opinion?’, ‘How do you personally deal with new digital technologies?’ and ‘If you do not use certain digital devices and applications, what are the reasons for this?’