User groups in the digital society in Germany 2013-2016

Figures are based on the German-speaking residential population aged 14 years and older with a household landline connection. Survey participants were selected in a standardized random process according to industry standards.

Some figures were taken from previous publications.

The source adds the following information on the individual user types:
- Outside skeptics: older users, mostly female with a low formal education and not well equipped with digital devices.
- Domestic occasional users: most likely female users who have a low to medium formal education and who are only superficially familiar with new technologies.
- Reflected professionals: most likely male users who are well educated and who deal with the internet in a proactive and critical manner
- Passionate onliners: mostly male users with a high formal education in whose life the internet is so important that they can hardly imagine a life without it.
- Cautious pragmatists: mostly female users with a medium income who use the internet in a careful and considered fashion, who perceive security risks more often than the average user and who often feel overwhelmed.
- Smart mobile users: mostly male users, predominantly with a medium or high income, who use the internet via mobile devices the most, compared to other user types. This is the group with the highest daily internet usage.