Why it takes more than a smartphone to create digital inclusion

In a world where virtually everything we do, from learning, working, booking a doctor’s appointment, to banking or applying for benefits happens online, it’s easy to assume the UK is a fully digital nation. After all, lots of us carry a world of data in our pockets.

Yet the reality is far more complex. More than 19 million people across the country are considered digitally excluded and while smartphones have phenomenal capabilities to connect us to the digital world, these alone are not the qualifier for being digitally included.

For too many families, a phone is the only device they have available to get online, not by choice, but by cost. Laptops are not only expensive to buy, but costly to repair and often out of reach in households already stretched by the cost of living crisis. A recently conducted survey by the Digital Poverty Alliance and RM Technology saw 57% of low-income families struggle to afford a device or reliable internet, cutting millions off from participating in essential services which have all moved online.

The gap between owning a smartphone and being truly digitally included is vast. Being “online” isn’t enough if the only screen you can access fits in the palm of your hand.

The smartphone trap

Smartphones, while incredibly powerful tools, were never designed to replace laptops for tasks that require more than messaging, scrolling, or checking your travel routes. Being a tool for social inclusion doesn’t equate to a tool for digital inclusion and completing school assignments, applying for jobs, managing benefits or navigating complex government services all demand larger screens and the reliable software to keep data protected online.

Writing an essay, completing a job application or attending an interview on a phone with limited data is significantly more challenging than doing so on a larger device designed to perform these functions. But for many, this is not just a hypothetical, it’s a daily reality.

Millions are finding themselves locked out of opportunities, not because of lack of motivation or skill, but because the only device they own simply isn’t fit for purpose. The misconception that widespread smartphone use equals digital inclusion is, in reality, disguising the fact that device poverty is a barrier in its own right.

Degrees of device poverty

The device gap is particularly stark in education, with around 26% of young people in the UK lack access to a laptop or similar device at home. During the pandemic, this translated to children struggling to keep up with remote lessons taking place via tiny screens, often sharing a single phone between siblings.

While the emergency shone a spotlight on the issue, it wasn’t one isolated to the pandemic and has long-term consequences for those trying to get ahead in their education while being digitally left behind, despite so many services moving online – and staying online.

Despite growing academic demands and increasingly digital course curriculums, only 10% of UK universities currently offer extended laptop loan schemes. The result is that opportunity to further your education is rationed by affordability. Research shows that 98% of families and students believe having access to a personal laptop is essential for success in university applications and studies. Yet, 67% note the lack of a device of reliable internet has not only disrupted their studies, but even influenced their decision to apply for further education at all.

These consequences inevitably ripple into the workforce. Employers consistently report a digital skills gap, with 61% noting shortages even in entry level roles. The government’s own agendas place innovation and digital fluency at the heart of national growth strategies but without intervention on digital access, the next generation face exclusion from the very tools designed to level the playing field. Device poverty doesn’t just disadvantage individuals, it undermines the UK’s ambitions for a competitive, skilled workforce.

Digital inclusion requires the big screen

We cannot continue to treat smartphones as a catch-all solution to digital poverty. If we are committed to building a fair society, digital access must be considered as fundamental as access to basic utilities because, in a digitally dependent society, that’s what connectivity has become: a basic utility. That means creating practical, sustainable solutions to ensure everyone has the tools they need, not just a phone, but a functioning device that enables full participation in digital life.

There are encouraging examples. Device redistribution schemes, which refurbish and rehome unwanted laptops, have already changed lives in communities across the UK. Some local initiatives provide access to shared devices in schools, libraries or community centres, offering a vital bridge for those otherwise excluded. But these efforts rely upon charitable goodwill rather than guaranteed provision, directly determining the radius of their impact. 

As access to healthcare is a fundamental right to meet a basic quality of life, so is digital access. Someone’s ability to get online shouldn’t be a question of luck, geography, or affordability but the direct consequence of a national level commitment to digital inclusion. The answer to achieving national digital inclusion doesn’t lie in the palm of your hand. By necessity, it’s bigger, broader and built on a commitment to accessibility to tools that truly open doors.

Elizabeth Anderson is CEO of the Digital Poverty Alliance.

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