IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THE USE OF ICT TOOLS BY RURAL POPULATION FOR VARIOUS PURPOSE

Abstract

The degree of impact of a new global challenge (pandemic COVID-19) on the dynamics of the process of informatization of rural areas has been studied. Based on the data of the Federal Statistical Observation on the Use of Information Technologies and Information and Telecommunication Networks by the Population, as well as the Russian Monitoring of the Economic Situation and Health of the Population, a comparative analysis of the provision and use of information and communication technologies by the rural population was carried out, including in age and qualification sections, during pre-Covid and pandemic periods. It has been established that the COVID‑19 pandemic contributed to the intensification of the informatization process in rural areas. The pandemic period is characterized by an increase in the rate of provision of the rural population with computer equipment, means of accessing the Internet, an increase in the need of the rural population for high-speed Internet, as well as an increased growth in the rural user audience, especially in older age categories.