Insee Focus · January 2024 · n° 318

Digital practices have been lastingly transformed by the health crisis

Between 2019 and 2021, certain digital practices experienced a rapid upsurge following the restrictive measures adopted during the health crisis caused by the Covid-19 epidemic. Online communication surged, particularly the use of email by the elderly. These online communication practices remained established in 2023.

Between 2021 and 2023, around 60% of people aged 15 or over made an online purchase in the three months preceding the survey, compared with 53% in 2019, before the confinements. As the practice was already well established among younger or wealthier people and managers, new buyers during the health crisis were more numerous among people aged 45 to 59, those having median incomes, and white-collar and blue-collar workers. However, some of these new buyers turned away from e-commerce afterwards. More people took online training in 2023 than in 2019, although fewer than during the peak in 2021.