Germans: we dont care for digitalisation Covid 19: Imma about to ruin this whole country's career

She's damn good at her job.

An important factor that's missing: Germany has the highest average age in the world, tied only with Japan. In Germany, if the boomers don't like it, it isn't done.

that's a little bit sad, i came from Brazil to Berlin, and it's weard to say that back in Brazil people starve, but have better internet than in berlin. LOL

I recently moved from India to Germany and when I went to buy a SIM card, I was looking out for unlimited 4G internet plans as usual. The o2 guy looked at me puzzled and asked, 'Why would anyone need unlimited internet on a mobile phone??'

I am happy that my fax machine can finally do UKposts.

I am working in Digitalization in Franfkurt and the key reason it's taking so long is because people are averse to Change. Germans love to maintain the status quo from same Chancelor for 20 years to same shops in the Christmas market every year ! In the end it's not about the technology but people.

The telephone lines in our street date back to the third Reich ... so does our internet speed ... in a German city of 300.000 inhabitants ...

Reasons (from my point of view being a German): 1. The country is run by old companies and old people that have no clue about modern stuff. 2. Germany lives in a bubble, somewhat disconnected from the rest of the world with outdated information. 3. The law says, you have to keep a physical copy of all kinds of paperwork for at least 10 years, as far as i remember. 4. Germany has an old and traditional society with very little movement, young people can hardly progress and change things. 5. German laws are still dating back to way back when, so being legally save with new stuff and tech is hard to achieve. 6. Germans have problems understanding the difference between costs and investment. A lot of people see an investment as costs. 7. The success of the german industry and the wealth of "the good old times" makes people blind to see, that the rest of the world has already passed many German standards by far. A lot of Germans (unfortunately mainly those who run things) are stuck in their believes from the past. 8. Big and old companies are slow to move and change. Politics and Companies are so mixed up and depending on another, so that neither of them loose power and influence. Both are not interested in new companies and new politics rising and taking away their power and influence. Progress is getting delayed and no-progress is getting excused, so that old industry and politics can slowly adapt and keep their power and influence. For me, that is why young politicians and start-up companies having hard times in Germany. 9. German society almost can be compared to the indian caste system. Social mobility is almost none existent (www.dw.com/en/germanys-social-mobility-among-poorest-worse-than-in-the-united-states-oecd/a-44245702). That in conclusion means, it is not necessarily the smartest people that own, run and decide things, but those that were just born in the right place. 10. There are many other complex reasons for this country, however, as for me the combination of the mentioned points 1-9 already should make clear, even if i am only half correct, that in modern times and globalisation, this is toxic for the majority of the german citizens and their future. For the "old money" however, there is no disadvantage, they probably can just move if things are getting too tight. As long as the majority of people are still believing, that they are doing good, nothing will change. Young people and poor people that want change have no lobby and no voice. "Every nail that sticks out has to be tapped into the row". - It's not all bad alright, i admit, but this country is far from that perfect, as foreigners often paint a picture of it. Japan is indeed similar, as i see it, since everything said above probably matches there too. Germany and Europe and Japan needs to re-invent themselves before it is too late, but with all the old folks on the money and power, there is a long way ahead of us. Thanks.

German IT supporter here. What I was able to observe regarding the companies is that companies led by younger people are up to Date, have social Media, data security, Digital archives, Home Office and much more. Most of the time the companies are led by older people though, which dont understand the pros and cons of digitalisation and dont want to learn it. The Company worked for the last 50 years so it will work in the future. They use computers, but dont know how to use them and make sometimes fatal mistakes that can ruin them. The reason? When you try to explain the Situation they only hear the cost for "unnessessary" things. I have seen not just one Company go bankrupt because of it. Another Thing why we have so much Paper: we must have a physical archive of pretty much everything in the Company. I am not Sure if it was 10 or 20 years, but its way too long. A Well managed Digital archive off site would use less space, less Paper and had less cost. As for schools: they are seriously lacking behind, not because All the teachers are stupid (some are), there are quite capable people. School dont get nearly enough money to digitalize everything, so they are stuck with computers for a few rooms.

Basically we Germans have more electronics in our cars than our homes. I find it really odd to be honest, since I'm studying informatics and therefore love technology. Our government isn't really capable of pushing though the digitization. We only get slow internet improvements and our internet bills are far to expensive compared to other countries

I was expecting a snarky comment about Google street view :)

I like the way you project facts with humour! Great work.... keep it up

I was waiting for the Overhead-Projektor to be mentioned when talking about german schools.

You forgot something. Anything you don‘t have on paper with a signature is worthless. I wanted to show that I paid something at the DMV on my phone: „What shall I do get a stamp on it and put it away? Get me a paper copy and come back.“

One week of quarantine did more digitalisation for germany then the politics of the last 20 years

Germany already has a great public transport system, so I can see why they don't really use Uber!!

I left Germany in 2012 when I was told that a much needed internet tower was going to be built near my old office. I returned this August 2021, and the internet company has only installed the tower. No antenna attached yet. Allegedly, it's going to be installed this November. Right. Of 2041 maybe.

It's weird Brazil gets shamed by other countries in many aspects but when we get to the digitalization chapter we are VERY forward... it's been more than 10 years that I don't step into a bank/bus/traditional hotel/printing services/phone to book something and so on...

Dang another video in 2 weeks that's awesome

I like that old lady's word "it doesn't concern me much but I know it is important". Just because it doesn't matter to you doesn't mean you should discard it. No wonder Germany is highly developed nation.

The aluminum hat is great :-)

UGH! Every single time when I'm in Germany, the first time I'm in a restaurant and want to pay, I get a: "Nein, nur bargeld" reply. It is sooooo frustrating coming from a country where I don't even remember the last time I paid something in cash. Even in Italy nowadays it's easier to pay by card than in Germany.

Excellent piece! Thank you Rachel! This is not a culture of " the old ways" it is about finding a balance with the appropriate use of technology .

I'm surprised when that man said Indonesia has a better signal than there in Germany, I thought we had one of the worst!

2 years ago I was in a hotel in Holstein. The Internet was so slow it was useless, and there was no mobile coverage. I asked the receptionist if there was a breakdown of some sort. She answered no but recommended me to do like locals and climp a small hill. Then i might get coverage so I could make my call😃

In germany nobody at charge understands that you have to do admin stuff to make things like WLAN, tablets, interactive whiteboards in schools work. The huge amount of money for digitalization plans you often hear in the news is just for buying new hardware, not for administrating these things. So usually 1-2 teachers do that stuff in their free time, if the school is lucky to have some. It is the same as if teachers would be expected to do secretary or cleaners work. But again nobody in charge gets it that you have to manage these things.

Data protection and security are not barriers to digitilization, but a necessary part of it. When companies name it as a hurdle, that's because when it's and easy reply which showcases a lack of competence/investement/interest on the side of the company.

The Boradband is a still a problem in many cities. We have connection Problems when a lot of households enter the net. We have broken cables if a tracktor or truck drives over a road. In schools we still don'r have the money to modernize them. We used overhead projectors and if we added digital products they were also outdated or flat out stolen by students. Many teachers can't user modern technology and the average age of teachers seems to be in the 40-50. Funkloch are real a problem. I can't move to by the train without losing connection for 50% of the ride. As a german i like the video.

Im from Chile 🇨🇱 and noticed we are more digitalized than Germany!! But somehow, I love they are still fond to certain old school habits.

UK is way way ahead of Germany. Many shops, cafes and restaurants in UK dont even accept cash anymore, only card or mobile app payment. Also doctors prescriptions are digital as standard. Contactless card payments for public transport are mainstream. Most government business can be done online. And there is no rubberstamping pieces of paper either. UK government departments (and businesses) hardly even know what a "rubber stamp" is.I doubt they even have them. And of course, with a few exceptions - notably NHS - no fax machines either. Schools too have wifi and email as standard. Das gehört zu Basics, as the Germans like to say. But doesnt apply in Germany!

Germany doesn’t like Digitalisation. COVID: *i'm about to end this man's whole career*

In the UK if you want to cancel a subscription or a service you can simply cancel online at any time and your service will end the day before your usual payment date, at worst you may have to give a months notice. In Germany you have to give mostly 3 months notice and very often you will be asked to post a written and signed letter! It’s crazy, I can’t think of one service in the U.K. which requires 3 months notice and a signature to cancel.

Surprising...! I study Telecommunications in Poland and I was thinking about continuing my studies in Germany, because tech Unis are very good there, but now I am thinking... Well, I could be the change for your country in some way, if I would work there as engineer :)

You are awesome...perfect presentation

I've always wondered in a country that produced cars, modern coffee makers and the best economy in Europe why the internet is so slow and paying by CC is not as widespread.

"Progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged" - D.Umbridge

Well as a visitor I purchased a pre paid SIM card, for my smart phone when I arrived in Germany. I got phone calls and text okay but the included data was minimal compared to my home country Australia. The plus side I got around mobile roaming fees, by using a local sim card

When you live in Germany and have to pay 18€ monthly for... Idk what was that for again? Definitely not good internet :/

Super amazing and informative video! Could you possibly also add German subtitles? Some super important vocabulary on these intresting topics would help all German learners around the world! Schönen Tag noch!

I like her. It is rare that I have to smile about my country. Thank you, Rachel!

Im old school so this is def my country. Also as a historian I depend on hard copies as backups. I also scanned a lot as well for a mutual off site digital back up.

The "aversion to digitalisation" is quite applicable to Malaysia as well. We are so accustomed to asking for tons of photocopied copies of important documents when applying for many types of services and have high preference for cash transactions.

As part of the army putting efforts to put Germany on the digital map of the world I think that the reason is complex, goes through culture, socio-economic factors and environment and human factors. People need to start to think clearly and not over complicating but try to strip down complexity to barebone concepts, derive basic guiding principles and then take a deep dive in the challange again.

Very interesting Eye opener

3:24 is that a way of saying they fear radiation from mobile phones can lead to cancer but make it sound silly?

That intro though! *chef‘s kiss*

One thing is also availability and cost. A friend of mine in Paris pays a half the cost for a 4x faster home internet and the same on mobile for a 30 times bigger data cap.

I love the faxmachine in my office. In opposite of my Intenetconnection and my mobile-net it is always working.

Now with the lockdown, my husband's school actually managed to install a file sharing programme ahead of schedule. *cue the confetti* Still no online classes, though.

Rachel! ❤️

She's amazing 💜

Yepee, Raechal ......

One thing I find frustrating about Germany is the lack of NFC payments, I use mobile payments everyday in Ireland because they are accepted everywhere and while I get that cash is more secure, contactless is just more convenient.

Going a year abroad in sweden realy showed the horribly poor internet in germany. Theres LTE everywhere, only very rarely going under 20Mbit even on the remote countryside, while in Frankfurt Central Station I cant get any reception to load the train plan. Not even talking about the Highways and Traintracks. Our house in germany gets 50/10 copper line internet at best, and we can see the Frankfurt Stock market Server Farm from our house, while in Sweden the student home has 750/450 internet in every room.

In some areas its advancing fast. Look at banks for example, branches are being closed in great numbers. Still many places tho where its not possible to pay with card.

Nice looking hat. 😀 True content.

As always, thank you Rachel for another Mad 😊 article about Deutschland 🇩🇪

I love your videos! You need an extra Chanel just for you! =)

It is fun watching this

🇩🇪🇮🇩❤️ Just be patient, bro, I'm from Indonesia

I'm from Germany I grow up with all the technology. I don't get why it is so hard for us to step up our game and go digital. I don't want to write letters but for most things I still need to write them. Seriously I have an email address for 15 years. Why is this so hard? We will loose out in the near future.

Faxes are legally recognised as originally signed documents, so they do have a right to exist, for example for patent application.

I am binge watching your videos Rachel, partly because I am planning to get a PhD there but mostly because I have a huge crush on you !

Future is digital, Germany has been doing economically well thanks to its industrial powerhouse and wealth but it will lag behind if it didn't keep up with technology and also decreasing young population is not a good indicator.

3:18 "Half of the German population is afraid of radiation" *starts beat boxing*

I hope we finally take up the speed.

Important note on faxing: It's useb because it is legally secure, so you can prove that you sent something in a lawsuit for example

Raechal ...... best one !

Thing about Uber is that their progress was set back, when the business model was outlawed because it's drivers did meet the high standards of Germany in regards to taxi service. But now it's running an aggressive advertising campaign

I live in the city centre and sometimes I don’t get signal on my phone. As soon as the train crosses the city limit, there is no signal or internet. Well, I cross into Switzerland and yes, I get clear signal on a mountain top! 💁🏽‍♂️🙄😂

I’m not sure how long, but at least 20 years we have internet banking in The Netherlands. Everyone does their banking via internet, The last 10 years I only went to the bank (building) once, and that was for a mortgage. I live in a town of 20,000 people and we haven’t got a bank in town anymore, every bank closed their branch offices. You have to travel to the city to go to a bank, and that’s 45min by bus. And hardly anybody pays in cash anymore, I don’t have any cash on me anymore, don’t even have a wallet anymore. Even on outdoor markets you pay contactless or by PIN card (we don’t use credit cards in our country, only debit cards). In Germany you sometimes cannot pay with PIN/debit card, only with cash, even in some supermarkets. It’s so crazy, going back in time.

I'm working in the IT so this episode hurts me because I know i have to deal with this stone age stuff :/

Love the Aluhut!

It's only the government, the industry and all public facility who is not able to digitalize. In private life the germans live digitally for 15 years now....in my case it's 20 years.

I can remember the brand “Siemens” which made digital mobile phones (Handy) and then disappeared. Pity.

Great video, but what exactly does Uber have to do with digitalization necessarily? I don't think that was the best example, especially since we do have a lot of public transportation readily available in bigger cities.

Amazing! So progressive and backwards at the same time! The German paradox! It was the same in the 20s between the wars! Nothing changes!

Super Duper !!!

I watch ur videos only because of her, Well done!

Unfortunately the discussion about internet speeds tends to forget the population who needs it for work and where the connection is not usually made wireless. I'm still stuck with 1,2mb/s and can't get something better. It is laughable and limits the work and quality of work I can offer and get done. Putting new G5 senders everywhere is not fixing that.

I'm sure half of the people from the video had Facebook accounts and Payback cards, yet they rate data privacy with a 9 or 10.

Watching this during corona... Online school is not doing great

maybe because of too strict on the regulations that holding them back

Lol starting 20 seconds are hilarious

I was in Stuttgart a couple of years ago and there were electric scooters. I started to rent one. I downloaded the app but not knowing the rules and regulations I decided against using it.

the problems of Uber in Germany are not due to digitalization issues, but due to legal ones. It is not allowed in Germany to have a car service without specially trained drivers. But Uber tried to hire "normal" drivers and got fined for that. With the extra cost for those specially trained drivers, Uber is no longer competitive enough to survive against taxis and other forms of transportation.

I guess Germans in general are just the opposite of Asians in data privacy. In Indonesia, it’s very vital to use cloud services to support working related activities. And not to mention, we start to leave the hassle of using cash for daily transactions. We pay by phone using QR or cards, but we still use cash for many circumstances too, such as paying your “Nasi Goreng” from the street food vendor on the street. Lol

I'm pretty sure partying like in the outro is against the Straßenverkehrsordnung! 🤣

Digitalisation is so possible, especially when government designs private domaines that allow a closed system where no sensitive information can be compromised. Austria is moving fast towards digitalisation now, and most communication is through e-mail, online appointments etc. Germans are just inconveniencing themselves. It’s mad. No wonder people are going crazy through the bureaucracy and leaving. It’s all too much. Germany must close most of those Meldeamts they have and use that money to go digital.

love them, makes me want to go and live there 4ever =)

Which area of activity in Germany has the least digitization? The courts and legal profession. Despite the best efforts of the government to force the issue, it’s not even possible to send an e-mail to a court!

I like people to think critically about radio and electromagnetic radiation, so far we have not yet had any meaningful studies about it and there are cases of cancer that have occurred due to frequent phone calls and which have also been found in court to be due to phone calls

remember when google said they were scanning books.. pity they haven't put them into audio books.... too.. so...

Well, the thing about fax and mail is: Fax and mails are legal documents, things businesses can rely on. E-Mails aren't. In a legal process they might not be taken into account.

A huge problem within the german society is that people are so stuck up and reluctant to change. They think "if it works, why should i change something?" yet exactly this mindset halts technological advancements. It's so annoying. And yes, i am a german, so i can say that through experience. Makes me more and more wanna go to the US and actually live in a progressive society...

I went from laughing to crying in a second at the intro.

No Doubt you can thank - Merckel!!!!!

Deutschland hat die Digitalisierung schon längst verschlafen und kann sein Rückstand kaum noch aufholen, das traurige daran ist das es die Deutschen nicht wirklich interessiert selbst nicht die Jugend. Den Deutschen ist glaube ich bis heute nicht klar das deren Wohlstand davon mehr oder weniger abhängig ist und das jedes Land das sich stark digitalisiert hat sich aktuell wirtschaftlich am besten entwickelt. Und Deutschland wird in Zukunft wegen der verfehlten Digitalisierung wirtschaftlich gesehen von viel kleinerer Bedeutung sein als heute in Europa.

Japan is another country that still use a lot of fax and old fashion mail. It also still mainly use cash and Facebook never took off in Japan because of privacy issue. There seems to be a pattern here...