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Make It Digital: The digital divide and challenges for individuals and society

27 May 2026

Venue: Online

Workshop

Speakers:

  • Dr. Lasse Marz (Bielefeld University)
  • Dr. Béatrice d’Hombres (Joint Research Centre, European Commission) 
  • Dr. David Consolazio (European Values Study, University of Milan) 
  • Dr. Ruxandra Comănaru (European Social Survey, City St George’s, University of London) 
  • Dr. Yuliya Kazakova, PhD (Generations & Gender Programme, NIDI, Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute) 

What does it mean to live in an increasingly digital society? Although access to digital technologies has expanded considerably across Europe, new forms of digital inequality continue to emerge. Differences in digital skills, artificial intelligence literacy, patterns of social media use, and exposure to digital stress shape how individuals benefit from technological change. 

This workshop explored current research on the digital divide, with particular attention to digital skills, AI-related competencies, social media use, and their consequences for wellbeing and social inclusion. Participants were introduced to key findings from the Infra4NextGen project and examined how digital inequalities intersect with broader demographic, social, and economic factors. 

The workshop combined expert presentations with hands-on exploration of European comparative survey data, including the European Social Survey (ESS), CRONOS-3, the European Values Study (EVS), and other major research infrastructures. Participants learned how these resources can be used to investigate digital transformation and generate evidence relevant for both research and policymaking.

Participants were invited to: 

  • Explore contemporary research on the digital divide and digital inequalities. 
  • Understand the relationship between ICT skills, AI skills, and societal outcomes. 
  • Examine the impact of social media use on wellbeing, loneliness, stress, and social participation. 
  • Learn about major European comparative survey infrastructures and the Infra4NextGen data resources. 
  • Develop and carry out a small research project using cross-national survey data. 
  • Present findings and discuss their academic and policy relevance.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the workshop, participants were able to: 

  • Explain the concept of the digital divide and its different dimensions. 
  • Understand emerging challenges related to artificial intelligence and digital skills. 
  • Assess how social media use can influence wellbeing, loneliness, and emotional distress. 
  • Navigate and use European research infrastructures including ESS, EVS, GGS, Eurobarometer, and CRONOS-3. 
  • Access, download, and analyse comparative survey datasets. 
  • Formulate research questions and conduct evidence-based analyses using European social survey data. 
  • Produce and communicate policy-relevant findings on digital transformation and its societal consequences.  

Outputs & Materials:

Webinar recording (YouTube):  
 Presentation slides available on Zenodo:  
  • Marz, L., d’Hombres, B., Consolazio, D., Comanaru, R.& Kazakova, Y. (2026, May 27). Make it Digital: The digital divide and challenges for individuals and society [Workshop, Presentation]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21338162 

 This event was organised by ADP – Slovenian Social Science Data Archives.

About the speakers

Lasse Marz is a Research Associate in the field of social structure and social inequality in the Faculty of Sociology, Bielefeld University. Marz has co-authored two reports for the Infra4NextGen project: The Digital Divide across Europe and Skills, Use and Attitudes towards Artificial Intelligence in Europe.

Dr. Béatrice d’Hombres has been the Project leader of the Survey Methods and Analysis Centre (SMAC) at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission since April 2017. During this time, Dr. d’Hombres has also served as the Project Coordinator within the Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (2021-22) and Coordinator of the Centre for Research on Impact Evaluation, CRIE (2013-16). From 2010-13 Dr. d’Hombres was a Researcher and Policy Analyst as part of the JRC Econometrics and Applied Statistics Unit. Dr. d’Hombres also served as an External Consultant for the World Bank (2010).

Dr. David Consolazio is Assistant Professor at the Department of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Milan. Within the Infra4NextGen project, he works mainly on the Make it Digital and Make it Healthy pillars. David’s research interests lie at the intersection of sociology, epidemiology, and urban studies, focusing on the interplay of individual and contextual-level factors in shaping health and social outcomes, with particular attention on the social determinants of health and residential segregation phenomena.

Dr. Ruxandra Comănaru is a research fellow at the European Social Survey HQ based at City St George’s, University of London. She is primarily working on the Make it Green pillar within the Infra4NextGen project, as well as coordinating the collaboration between the other strands of the project. Ruxandra’s research interests include the design and adaptation of surveys for mixed modes of data collection, with a focus on enhancing the methodological accuracy of self-completion methods. She is also interested in questionnaire design, translation and cultural equivalence of research concepts.

Dr. Yuliya Kazakova is a research fellow for GGP based at the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI KNAW). Her work centres on the Make it Equal and Make it Strong pillars in the Infra4NextGen project. This involves close collaboration with leading European academics, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre experts, and the Youth Board to engage young Europeans in data-driven discussion on key issues for future generations. Yuliya’s research interests lie in the field of health economics together with the evaluation of public policies with a particular focus on childhood health, childhood poverty and maternal employment.