Activation by technology: Young people’s use of digital tools provided by the government

Abstract

Modern welfare agencies are increasingly offering clients digital tools in their service delivery. Since young people are prolific users of digital technology, this trend should be to their advantage. However, the quantitative study presented in this article investigates how citizens under the age of 30 use public digital services, compared to those over 30. The study found that clients were less active than older clients in using a digital plan while receiving support from the government. Accordingly, they may be less able to receive help from public agencies when it is offered digitally. Yet, the choices made by caseworkers in how they prioritized clients for more personal support may have reduced the risk of this disadvantage.