Cell phone is the most used device by Internet users from DE classes for remote education and telework, reveals TIC COVID-19 Panel

The third edition of the Cetic.br|NIC.br study also provides data on user profiles, access barriers, most used tools, among others

During this period of social distancing, the cell phone has been the main device used for following remote education activities by Internet users aged 16 or older, especially in DE classes. This is revealed in the third edition of the TIC COVID-19 Panel, a study released today (November 5) by the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br), linked to the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br). According to the survey, a similar situation occurs concerning telework, which saw the prevalence of cell phone use among professionals in this social stratum. The survey investigated Internet use in Brazil during the coronavirus pandemic and, in this edition, focused on remote education and telework, practices that gained relevance during the period.

The TIC COVID-19 Panel had as parameters the indicators of the TIC Household survey, which allowed creating a comparison base with data collected before the pandemic. The estimates obtained in this third phase represent a contingent of approximately 101 million Internet users, which corresponds to 83% of users aged 16 or older, the target audience of the survey. Data collection was carried out between September 10 and October 1 of this year. Check out some highlights:

Devices and barriers for remote education

Three-quarters of Internet users aged 16 or older and from DE classes (74%) access the network exclusively by cell phone, a percentage which is 11% among users from AB classes. Among Internet users aged 16 or older, who attend school or university, the cell phone also appears as the most frequently used tool (37%) to attend classes and remote educational activities. The use of the device as the main resource for participating in activities is higher among users from DE classes (54%) compared to the percentage of those from C (43%) and AB (22%) classes. On the other hand, the use of a computer (notebook, desktop computer, and tablet) as the main resource for following remote education is higher in AB classes (66%), being less accessible to students from C (30%) and DE (11%) classes.

"The lack of digital resources to access classes and remote activities is one of the main aspects that can affect the continuity of educational routines during the pandemic. The disparities in access to TIC among students of different socioeconomic profiles also create unequal opportunities for learning," says Alexandre Barbosa, manager of Cetic.br|NIC.br.

Regarding the barriers faced for remote education, in general, the difficulty of clarifying doubts with teachers (38%) and the lack or poor quality of Internet connection (36%) were among the main complaints attributed by students aged 16 or older who attend school or university to participate in classes or distance activities. Both were the barriers most reported by students from DE classes (41% and 39%, respectively). The poor quality of class content (31%) and lack of access to study materials (25%) were other difficulties pointed out by these students.

Reasons for not attending classes

The most cited reasons by respondents for not following remote educational activities were the need to seek employment (56%); taking care of the house, siblings, children, or other relatives (48%); and lack of motivation to attend classes (45%).

Among users from AB classes, the main reasons were not being able to or not liking to study at a distance (43%); taking care of the house, siblings, children, or other relatives (38%) and lack of motivation (35%). Meanwhile, among individuals from DE classes, the most pointed out issues were the need to seek a job (63%), taking care of the house, siblings, children, or other relatives (58%), and lack of equipment to access classes (48%).

Devices and tools used in telework

Approximately four out of ten Internet users who worked during the pandemic did telework, which corresponds to 23 million people. This occurred predominantly among individuals with higher education (65%), those belonging to AB classes (70%), and those 60 years or older (58%). A similar profile was observed among those who mostly used the notebook for their professional activities: 52% were from AB classes; 56% had higher education and 67% were in the same age group described above (60 years or more).

The opposite situation, however, occurred when the device used to work was the cell phone: 84% of Internet users from DE classes used smartphones for work activities; 70% with elementary education, and 56% aged between 16 and 24 years.

Regarding support from the organizations where they worked to carry out their activities at home, users from AB classes were the ones who received the most support, such as notebooks, cell phones, or technical support. In other strata, less than a third received support from companies. Generally, instant messaging applications were the most used tools for performing work activities over the Internet (86%), followed by social networks (63%), file-sharing platforms (63%), and videoconferencing platforms (62%).

The survey also pointed out that social networks and messaging apps had a strategic role in seeking alternative sources of income during the pandemic. The study found that the use of these tools for the commercialization of services and products intensified during the period. Among those who conducted sales of goods and services through messaging apps or social networks, the highest percentages were women (37% and 34%, respectively); with high school education (34% and 32%); and from AB and C classes (around 30%).

Among those who used apps as a source of income, more than half (53%) reported that this was an activity to complement income, while about a third (32%) reported that it was the only work performed during the pandemic.

"Alongside the limitations that unequal access to digital devices imposes, it is crucial to consider how socioeconomic disparities among individuals may result in a lesser utilization of functionalities offered by TIC for telework," reiterates the manager of Cetic.br.

For Marcio Nobre Migon, coordinator of CGI.br, "the efforts to maintain data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic not only demonstrate CGI.br and NIC.br's commitment to the regular production of statistics on the Internet in Brazil but, above all, provide important information about the pandemic's impact on network usage habits, which are relevant to public managers, the private sector, and Brazilian society."

The full data of the third edition of the TIC COVID-19 Panel can be accessed at: https://cetic.br/pt/tics/tic-covid-19/painel-covid-19/3-edicao/.

Watch the online launch where the main highlights of the study were discussed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tmsi-5hZLk.

Check out the highlights of the first edition of the study, which addresses Internet use during the pandemic for Internet activities, culture, and e-commerce, and the second edition, which provides data on online public services access and telehealth, as well as information about user concerns with data security and privacy.

 

About Cetic.br
The Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society, part of NIC.br, is responsible for producing indicators and statistics on the availability and use of the Internet in Brazil, releasing periodic analyses and information on the country's network development. Cetic.br is a Regional Study Center, under the auspices of UNESCO. More information at https://www.cetic.br/.

About the Brazilian Network Information Center – NIC.br
The Brazilian Network Information Center — NIC.br (https://www.nic.br/) is a civil, non-profit organization that, in addition to implementing the decisions and projects of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, has among its responsibilities: coordinating the domain name registration — Registro.br (https://www.registro.br/), studying, responding, and handling security incidents in Brazil — CERT.br (https://www.cert.br/), studying and researching network technologies and operations — Ceptro.br (https://www.ceptro.br/), producing indicators on information and communication technologies — Cetic.br (https://www.cetic.br/), implementing and operating Internet Exchange Points — IX.br (https://ix.br/), enabling the participation of the Brazilian community in the global development of the Web and supporting public policy formulation — Ceweb.br (https://www.ceweb.br), and hosting the W3C office in Brazil (https://www.w3c.br/). 

About the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee – CGI.br
The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee is responsible for establishing strategic guidelines related to the use and development of the Internet in Brazil, coordinating and integrating all Internet service initiatives in the country, promoting technical quality, innovation, and the dissemination of offered services. Based on the principles of multistakeholderism and transparency, CGI.br represents a democratic Internet governance model, internationally praised, where all sectors of society are stakeholders equally in its decisions. One of its formulations is the 10 Principles for Internet Governance and Use (https://www.cgi.br/principios). More information at https://www.cgi.br/.

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