In recent years, there's been a clear shift in the way Dutch people use the internet. Increasingly, we access the net from mobile devices: phones and tablets. Average website visit durations are declining and most of our time is devoted to apps. A number of significant exceptions stand out, however. One is the government's internet presence. Use of government websites bucks all the general trends.
Government sites still used the traditional way
Where government websites are concerned, usage patterns are very traditional. For example, the majority of people who visit overheid.nl, the Dutch government's flagship site, are using a PC or a laptop (16 per cent). Very few use smartphones or tablets (1 and 2 per cent, respectively).
Apps perform little better
While top apps such as Facebook reach more than half of all internet users, the penetration of all government apps together is less than 5 per cent of the smartphone market and 1 per cent of the tablet market. Most of the apps that have established a niche away from social media come from the education sector. Examples include Magister and Digischool. One non-educational app that's done well is Burgernet.
Stats don't mean that the government is getting it wrong
So, is the government getting it wrong? Have the authorities failed to keep up with trends in internet use? Apparently not. The government publishes a huge amount of information on line, including legislation, court rulings and so on. It's simply easier to browse material like that on a PC or laptop. Users therefore prefer accessing government resources from traditional devices.
Don't lose contact with the smartphone generation
Nevertheless, there is a worry that the government might ultimately lose digital contact with the younger generation. After all, the younger generation is very much the smartphone generation. At the moment, however, there's no sign of that happening. Although young people spend less time using PCs and laptops than their elders, the number of youngsters who regularly use traditional devices remains fairly steady.
