Digital Technology Usage and Skills Development: An Exploratory Analysis of 116 Survey Respondents published

Digital technology has become an important part of education, employment, entrepreneurship, communication, and everyday life. As more activities move online, having relevant digital skills is increasingly important for students, employees, freelancers, business owners, and people currently seeking employment.

This analytical project explores digital technology usage and skills development among 116 survey respondents. The survey was designed to examine how people use digital technology, whether they participate in online earning activities, the digital skills they currently have, how they learn those skills, what skills they would like to develop, and the challenges that prevent them from improving their digital abilities.

The project forms part of an exploratory data analysis (EDA) exercise, where survey information is organised, summarised, compared, and interpreted to identify useful patterns.

Important Data Note

The original survey responses were no longer accessible when this analysis was prepared. Therefore, the numerical dataset used in this article is a reconstructed analytical dataset based on the original survey structure and the confirmed total of 116 respondents.

The reconstructed figures are used to demonstrate the analytical process and should not be interpreted as the original measured responses. This distinction is important because analytical work should clearly separate verified observations from reconstructed or illustrative data.

Survey Population

The survey consisted of 116 respondents representing different categories of people. For the reconstructed dataset, respondents were grouped into five categories:

Students: 48 respondents (41.4%)
Employees: 25 respondents (21.6%)
Business Owners: 17 respondents (14.7%)
Freelancers: 14 respondents (12.1%)
Unemployed: 12 respondents (10.3%)
Total: 116 respondents (100%)

Students represent the largest group in the reconstructed dataset. This provides a useful basis for examining digital technology from an educational perspective, while the inclusion of employees, freelancers, business owners, and unemployed respondents provides a broader view of digital skills across different situations.

Daily Digital Technology Usage

One of the major questions in the survey focused on how much time respondents spend using digital technology each day. The reconstructed distribution was grouped into four categories:

Less than 2 hours: 12 respondents (10.3%)
2–5 hours: 35 respondents (30.2%)
6–9 hours: 43 respondents (37.1%)
10+ hours: 26 respondents (22.4%)
Total: 116 respondents (100%)

The reconstructed data suggests that daily technology use is common among respondents. The largest group falls within the 6–9 hours per day category.

This does not necessarily mean that all of this time is spent on productive activities. Digital technology can be used for education, work, communication, entertainment, social media, research, business, and other purposes.

The important analytical point is that high technology usage does not automatically mean high digital skill proficiency. Someone may spend several hours online every day while still having limited technical or professional digital skills.

Online Earning

The survey also examined whether respondents had used digital technology to earn money online:

Online Earning - Yes: 52 respondents (44.8%)
Online Earning - No: 64 respondents (55.2%)
Total: 116 respondents (100%)

In this reconstructed dataset, fewer than half of the respondents reported participation in online earning activities. This highlights an important distinction between digital technology usage and digital economic participation.

A person may use a smartphone and internet connection every day without using those resources to generate income. Moving from consumption of digital services to productive digital activity may therefore require additional skills, training, access to opportunities, and confidence.

Digital Skills

Respondents were asked about digital skills they had learned or developed. Because respondents could have more than one skill, the reconstructed skill totals are presented as selections rather than mutually exclusive categories:

Microsoft Office: 67 selections
Graphic Design: 43 selections
Digital Marketing: 36 selections
Video Editing: 31 selections
Data Analysis: 24 selections
Other Skills: 18 selections

Microsoft Office has the highest reconstructed number of selections. Graphic design and digital marketing also appear relatively common, while data analysis has fewer selections.

The distribution demonstrates that digital skills cover a wide range of activities. Basic productivity tools may be common among respondents, while more specialised technical and analytical skills may require additional training.

Sources of Digital Skills

Another part of the survey examined where respondents learned their digital skills:

YouTube / Online Videos: 61 selections
School / University: 45 selections
Training Centres: 38 selections
Friends / Colleagues: 29 selections
Online Courses: 27 selections
Self-learning / Practice: 24 selections

Online videos appear as the most common reconstructed source of learning.

This suggests that accessible online resources play an important role in digital education. However, self-directed learning may present challenges because learners may have difficulty determining what to learn, finding reliable resources, receiving feedback, or progressing from basic knowledge to practical competence.

Structured training can address some of these gaps by providing a curriculum, instructor guidance, practical exercises, and projects.

For example, Early Code Institute describes its educational approach as practical and project-based, with an emphasis on helping learners acquire applicable technical skills that bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world employment.

Desired Digital Skills

The survey investigated the digital skills respondents would like to learn in the future:

Software / Web Development: 58 selections
Data Analysis: 47 selections
Digital Marketing: 39 selections
Graphic Design: 34 selections
Video Editing: 32 selections
Cybersecurity: 29 selections
UI/UX Design: 25 selections

Software and web development received the highest reconstructed number of selections. This indicates an interest in skills that can potentially be applied to technology careers, freelancing, entrepreneurship, and digital product development.