The durable divide: who remains at the margins of the digital society?

Digital societies require that citizens are active users of online services as a basic means for everyday communication and in-clusion. Yet even in highly connected countries, a substantial minority remains digitally marginalized, either as infrequent internet users or as complete non-users. This study examines the social composition of this digital margin in Switzerland compared to the digital core of continuous users. Based on a mixed-mode, representative population survey (N = 3,030), de-scriptive analyses and visualizations show that older, less edu-cated, lower-income, and lower-status individuals are dispro-portionately found at the margins, with age as the most salient factor. A multivariate classification model confirms these pat-terns. Overall, the results underscore the enduring link be-tween social position and digital marginalization. Despite near-universal internet access, digital inequalities remain a durable feature of social stratification rather than a transient effect.