The Ichikowitz
Family Foundation has released detailed findings from its African Youth
Survey 2024 about digital connectivity, a theme of critical importance to the
rising generation. While improving, access to the Internet remains a barrier,
but it is the perceived surge in fake news and concerns about how artificial
intelligence (‘A.I.’) could be misused that worry young Africans when it comes
to technology, the survey found.
Commissioned by
the Ichikowitz Foundation, a leading African nongovernmental organization
(NGO), the African Youth Survey offers an unprecedented sounding as to how
Africa’s youth sees their current situation, highlighting today advances made
particularly in the arena of digital connectivity over recent years, as well as
forecasting the challenges lying ahead.
Some key
findings from this year’s survey include
o
Three-out-of-four
(75%) young Africans polled say “fake news is a serious problem in my community
today,” which impacts safety, sovereignty (i.e. influence being asserted from
foreign nations), social accord and democracy;
o
71%
fear that Artificial Intelligence (‘A.I.’) will make it easier to create and
disseminate fake news, while more than a third of respondents (38%) worry A.I.
may do more harm than good – although over half (51%) ultimately see it as a
positive force;
o
Facebook
(56% say its their primary source) and WhatsApp (41% say the same) are the
second and third-ranked news sources for young people today, still trailing
television (64%), but leapfrogging radio (39%), newspapers (14%) and even
long-trusted friends and family (30%); and…
o
More
than two-thirds (68%) of young people spend three hours a day or more on their
cell-phones
Four-of-five
young Africans polled continue to view internet connectivity as a fundamental
human right; this sentiment, which has returned to pre-COVID levels, is
particularly strong in Nigeria (93%), Rwanda (92%), Côte d’Ivoire (91%), and
Ghana (90%), where over nine-of-ten youth endorse this view.
However only
two-of-three have regular, private, internet access. Nonetheless, access to
digital connectivity is expanding in terms of reach and affordability, as the
survey found, and the demand for faster growth is strong.
Notably, 41% of
respondents consider the price of data in 2024 to be “fair”, or even “a
bargain,” which is ten points higher than when the survey was last fielded two
years ago. The percentage of those who cannot afford digital connectivity at
all has also fallen markedly, from 23% in the 2022 survey, to only 10% this
year.
But at the same
time young Africans are getting online in greater numbers, obstacles such as
corruption and well-paying jobs persist, clouding their perceptions of their
future opportunities.
Ichikowitz
Foundation Founder and Executive Chairman, Ivor Ichikowitz, stated that, “It is
fascinating to compare and contrast the results of this year’s African Youth
Survey with the recent soundings from powerful influencers and organizations
across the world in prognosticating the future of the continent. Google, for
example, has just declared the next ten years as Africa’s ‘digital decade,’
driven by developments in artificial intelligence (‘A.I.’), cloud computing and
digital infrastructure.”
“While challenges
such as Fake News persist and may even increase in nature and resonance,
Google’s statement is accurate – Reduced costs, increased competition leading
to greater ease of access to data is empowering Africa’s next generation to
harness their technological prowess, embrace STEM education (sciences,
technology, engineering, mathematics), and rightfully take for themselves the
opportunity to compete with their counterparts in the Global North for the jobs
and careers of the globalizing future.”
Other Key
Findings on Digital Connectivity
· 77%
of the African Youth Survey’s 2024 respondents believe internet access should
be freely available in all major cities, while 76% say it should also be
expanded to the remaining, rural parts of their country (where access is most
likely to be limited);
· Meanwhile,
40% of young Africans say they spend “about the right amount of time online,”
while 29% believe they spend too much time looking at screens, and another 24%
whish they spent more. This differs markedly from a survey in the United States conducted by the Pew
Research Group that found more than half (55%) suggesting that they spend
“about the right amount of time online”, but more than a third (36%) fear they
spend too much, with access to the Internet being a critical component to this
distinction;
· Three-in-five
say that online dating apps allow them to meet people they would have never met
before and over half say they would be open to meeting others through online
dating. However, a similar proportion say that online dating is ruining social
norms and traditional dating, and just under half say their family would be
accepting of someone they met through online dating;
· Overwhelmingly,
young Africans spend most of their time online using social media apps, 74% of
respondents said. Trailing behind these are multi-media apps (39%),
productivity apps (32%), commuting apps (30%), photo apps (28%) and news and
information apps (22%).
“As we mark
African Youth Day, this survey again points to vital metrics of how we are
doing when in comes to keeping pace with technology in contrast to the rest of
the world, as well as flagging areas requiring direct address - contemporary
areas like bridging the data divide and tackling the as yet unabated spread of
Fake News, ultimately in doing so ensuring our youth are going to have the
future they deserve,” Ichikowitz continued.
