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Manifesto for a networked nation
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Building a networked nation
Why Now?

The Summary

Forty million people in the UK use the internet, with 30 million of us doing so every day. As more people go online to do more, and organisations in all sectors privilege the web for their communications and interactions, we have reached a real tipping point:

 

The disadvantages of being offline are so great, and growing at such pace, that for reasons of social justice and economic necessity we must act now.

 

Below are a few examples of the types of services offline groups are missing out on which demonstrate how intertwined with the internet our social, economic and political life has become.

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The Detail

WHY MUST WE ACT NOW?

Forty million people in the UK use the internet, with 30 million of us doing so daily. The disadvantages of being offline are increasing as more people get online and do more online. We are now at a tipping point where even traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ organisations in all sectors are increasingly making the web their primary means of communication and interaction.

 

‘You can’t reach what you’re capable of achieving these days if you can’t use a computer. You can get by without it. You can disengage. But it’s a form of isolation. You’re cutting yourself off from the world.’
— Vivian John-Philip, Race Online 2012 digital champion

 

Many retailers and utility companies now offer online-only discounts, we have internet-only banks, and people get better deals when they compare prices online. Some airlines run virtually online-only booking, check-in and customer services. Many rail discounts require online booking. The UK Top 40 now includes download sales as music is available and bought more and more online.

 

Charities are increasingly offering advice and support services to vulnerable people online. Citizens Advice expects to help more than six times as many people (13 million) every year through its website — adviceguide.org.uk — than face-to-face in Citizens Advice Bureaux by 2014.

The Government is increasingly sharing information and data on the web as part of its commitment to greater transparency. One initiative is a plan to let citizens suggest where efficiency savings should come as part of the current Spending Review.