The 'Thumb Generation' finds its place in digital.life

ITU's new Internet report explores the landscape but asks 'who's the real me?'

Hong Kong, 6 December 2006 - The eighth edition of the ITU Internet Reports, entitled "digital.life" reveals a radically changing society. Now the thumb is empowered, the report reveals, through communication by SMS on mobile devices. Digital technologies have been vital to the distribution of knowledge and information. The simplest SMS messages, thumbed on handheld devices, have been powerful enough to help bridge divides and impact global markets.

The report covers chapters on 'going digital', lifestyles, business, identity, and living the digital world. Written by a team of analysts from ITU's Strategy and Policy Unit (SPU), "digital.life" has a consumer focus and examines how human lives are being continuously shaped and re-shaped by advances in digital technologies.

As our lives become increasingly mediated by digital technologies, the development of human identity in a digital world presents a new set of challenges. Concerns over privacy and data protection are not being sufficiently addressed by current online identity tools, and the consequences of theft or misrepresentation of digital identities are becoming ever more serious as our dependence on information and communication technologies (ICTs) grows. The report explores the concept of the digital citizen, and examines the need for improving the design of identity management mechanisms for a healthy and secure digital world.

Digital technologies are fast becoming indispensable. A growing array of devices and technologies are on offer today, making users much more mobile. While it took around 21 years to reach the first billion mobile users, the second billion signed up in just three years. It is not surprising that in today's world, digital business is big business. The clearest evidence for this is at the macro-economic level, where the contribution of ICTs to the general economy has grown rapidly, regardless of falling prices. The ICT market was worth more than US$3 trillion worldwide in 2005.

Mobile, broadband, user-generated content, and IPTV are some of the technologies highlighted as the underlying enablers of new lifestyles. The report, part of a series written yearly by ITU, explores the changing nature and role of the digital individual and of digital identity (both abstract and practical) with examples and scenarios. "digital.life" shows human lives increasingly entwined with technology enabling virtual identities to be constructed and digital personae to exist recreationally, commercially and sometimes maliciously.

The role of digital technology in the developing world is examined and there is discussion into how digital access can be extended to underserved areas and how policy-making might need to be adapted in the light of rapid media convergence.

Prepared for ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006, the world's leading ICT event, held in Hong Kong from 4 to 8 December, this report provides research, overview and analysis to fuel many of the discussions underway amongst the industry leaders in attendance.

More information about digital.life is available online here.

For more information, please contact:

S. Acharya
Chief, Media relations and public information
International Telecommunication Union
Mobile: +852 66 23 43 99
E-mail: pressinfo

Lucy George
Tel: +852 66 23 43 63

USA
Kalindi Multani
Tel: +1 212 453 2147

South America
Evelyn Zapata
Tel: +1 305 520 9029

Asia-Pacific
Carl Wong
Tel: +852 25 30 04 07

France
Odile Bibollet
Tel: +33 1 47 42 92 82

Germany
Ortrud Wenzel
Tel: +49 89 230 31683

UK
Lucy Meacher
Tel: +852 66 23 43 64

About ITU