HANDS-ON Experience Learning
EFFECTIVE DIGITAL COMMUNICATION
OPPORTUNITY
1
FEBRUARY 2023
Drive public innovation by reigniting civil society
EFFECTIVE DIGITAL COMMUNICATION STARTS WITH UNDERSTANDING YOUR AUDIENCE’S DIGITAL USE AND BEHAVIOUR
Like any innovator, civil society organisations have two main levers to drive change: technology and human behaviour. The way we communicate and how we access and process information about the world around us is changing as technology evolves in the 21st century. Those that fail to adapt to innovative new ways of communicating may struggle to keep pace. Consumer broadband consumption in North America reached a milestone in the fourth quarter of 2021 as averages hit 536.3 gigabytes (GB) per month – surpassing half a terabyte (TB), according to a new study. This figure represents an increase of 165% when compared to the previous average of 203 GB per month.1
Smartphone proliferation is bringing more people online globally from Soweto to South Carolina. This is having a profound impact on how we access and consume information, and affects our attention spans, memories and cognitive processes.5
Undoubtedly, this figure will be higher today. Back home, a similar picture is emerging. According to a survey of 18 to 26-year-olds in South Africa, young people spend a quarter of the day on their phones.2 This is not hard to believe considering that Internet access using mobile devices is the most common form of access to the Internet (69.4%)3 in this country.
So, what does this mean for civil society organisations focused on behaviour change? And what can they learn from other organisations utilising the power of digital technology? This learning brief explores these questions by centring the experience and learnings of the #keready campaign and other DGMT-funded initiatives, such as: Youth Capital, Nal’ibali, the Zero Dropout Campaign and Amplify|Mobilise|Change (AMC).
Although the use of mobile devices in rural parts (59.2%) lags urban (73.7%) and metro areas (73.4%), it keeps growing.4
1
Baumgartner, J. 2022. Average data consumption eclipses half a terabyte per month – OpenVault. LightReading, 3 Jan. https://www.lightreading.com/ cable-tech/average-data-consumption-eclipses-half-terabyte-per-month--openvault/d/d-id/775689
2
Nair, N. 2022. Young South Africans check their phones at least 30 times an hour: survey. Sowetan Live, 10 May. https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/s-mag/ living/2022-05-10-young-south-africans-check-their-cellphones-at-least-30times-an-hour-survey/
DRIVE PUBLIC INNOVATION BY REIGNITING CIVIL SOCIETY
3
Statistics South Africa. 2021. General household survey, p. 47. https://www. statssa.gov.za/publications/P0318/P03182021.pdf
4 5
Ibid. Wolf, M. 2008. Proust and the squid: the story and science of the reading brain. Thriplow: Icon Books.
1