The Rise of Digital Immigrants The Rise of Digital Immigrants: Beyond A Pandemic
Digital Immigrants and Cyber Security
Despite the slower pace at which they are adapting to digital technologies, Digital Immigrants, who are mostly elderly persons, are the most frequent targets of fraud scams, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. There is a higher propensity for the older generations to be prime targets of fraudulent schemes attributed to health and anti-aging products, home improvements, investments, banking or wire transfers and insurance.
The Rise of Digital Immigrants: Beyond A Pandemic
By Fabiola Amedo
“We are not in normal times.” You are probably tired of hearing this phrase as much as I am.
Before the COVID-19 narrative and the endless clichés surrounding the use of phrases such as “new normal”, “social/physical distancing”, “quarantine”, etc., numerous pre-millennials - Generation X, Baby Boomers and earlier - may have never bothered to ask about Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts or Whatsapp video calls. A few people who match this description may have just crossed your mind.
In Ghana, just three weeks of a partial lockdown of Accra, Tema, Kasoa and Kumasi, brought us to the realization that the need for connectivity was very much inherent in the older generation as much as it was in their younger counterparts. The first quarter of 2020 saw Telecommunications companies such as MTN, record a 19.4% increase in data revenue due to the significant spike in active data users and smartphone adopters, according to their Quarter 1 results, released on April 29, 2020. As at October 29 2020, the company reported a 20.7% growth in data revenue ascribed to similar reasons. Others such as Vodafone Ghana, launched a virtual assistant, TOBi to provide 24-hour customer service to enhance customer engagement during this period of COVID-19 and beyond.
Emerging from the devastation caused by a pandemic, is a growing community who are claiming their fair share of the ‘Digital Pie.’
Latest CJEU, EFTA and ECHR
CJEU decisions on progressive tax on turnover and fines related to advertising tax
On March 3, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rendered its decisions in three cases, (C-482/18), (C-323/18) and (C-75/18), each of which concerned aspects of Hungarian law. The CJEU decided that the EU freedom of establishment does not preclude Member States from levying a progressive tax on turnover, the actual burden of which is mainly borne by companies controlled from another Member State. The Court also ruled that Hungarian advertisement tax penalty regime disproportionately affected companies located in another EU Member State and was therefore contrary to the EU principle of freedom to provide services.
For more information, please refer to Euro Tax Flash Issue 426.
Digital Immigrants
Digital Immigrants are widely described as the older generation (aged 41 to 65 years) who were born before the proliferation of digital technologies and the internet. Though generally associated with an older age group, the term could also refer to millennials and Generation Zs who may not have been exposed to digital technologies due to their socio-economic disposition; or those who are now learning how to use them.
Digital Immigrants can be categorized into 3 sub-groups namely, Avoiders - who generally stick to traditional media and refuse to adapt to new technology; Reluctant Adopters - who are aware of the technology but adapt slowly; and finally, Eager Adopters - who are enthusiastic about new technology and the opportunities thereof. Juxtaposed to the Digital Immigrants, are the Digital Natives, whom Prensky, a renowned thought leader and writer ahead of his time, describes as the younger generation, who are the “native speakers of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet.”
The intersection of Natives and Immigrants increases the Inclusive Internet Index and creates a multiverse of opportunity for all stakeholders.
