Nov 17

Nov 17 Interesting insights into the digital divide

Specific statistics vary somewhat, but the one thing they all consistently show is that digital exclusion, which is defined in these three ways

Access – people who are digitally excluded because they have no access to the internet at home or elsewhere.

Ability – people who lack the digital skills and/or confidence to navigate the online environment safely and knowledgeably.

Affordability – people who struggle to afford access to the internet, and either go without it, or experience other financial strains to retain access.

affects a larger proportion of people over 65 than those under that age.

I went to a presentation yesterday by emporia, a company that is one of the biggest suppliers of mobile and communication devices specifically designed for older users and people wanting more simple-to-use digital devices, in Austria and Germany.

They have recently expanded into the UK market and it was fascinating to hear about the very detailed research they’ve done into our digital usage and the ways that attitudes towards ageing and being referred to as older, differ between the continent and here.

Older people and our gadgets

Whilst many, and let’s be clear, it’s still the majority of, older digital users are well able to make use of their devices, whether that’s a smartphone or tablet, as we age there’s no question that we are slower to adapt to changes either in the operating systems or when it’s necessary to upgrade or change a product we’re used to using.

And emporia’s research, and product sales, show that a surprising percentage of older phone users are still doggedly attached to their flip, or feature, phones - the ones that simply make calls and send and receive texts.

That may seem charmingly retro or whimsical, but as more and more of our lives become reliant on the functionality of a smartphone, for everything from parking to paying for products and services (I’ve been in two coffee shops recently that were no longer taking cash, you could only pay by card or phone), it’s increasingly going to put people who don’t have and use one, at a potentially isolating disadvantage.

Surprising statistics

A couple of statistics that related to the effects of retirement on people’s technology usage particularly stood out from the presentation. One, about the amount of time spent watching Sky TV was so unexpected, I just had to share it with you.

After retirement, time spent viewing Sky drops off substantially it seems, but then picks up again 8 or 9 years later. Why you wonder (well I did)? Apparently that tends to be when retired people stop travelling quite so much!

But I deviate (how unusual. Not) The other retirement-related insight is that once people stop working, their technology usage time drops from approximately 4 hours per day to an average of just 20 minutes.

You might say it’s a good thing to spend less time looking, or having to look, at a screen of some sort, but that reduction means that people quickly become less familiar with how the technology works, and correspondingly less confident about using it. And that, in turn, leads to a disconnection which, again, can contribute to isolation.

Don’t Do call us older

Another learning from the presentation was, as I mentioned earlier, the difference in attitudes on the continent, and in Germany and Austria particularly, towards being, and being referred to, as older. Simply put, our European neighbours don’t have a problem with it. They don’t see it as either deregatory or something to be hidden or ignored. They are proud of their seniority and happy if products and services account for it in their offerings.

I’m sure you won’t be at all surprised that that’s not the case in the UK. Referring to older age in any way is pretty much guaranteed to put off the very customers who might most benefit from the devices that could make their/our lives easier and more enjoyable.

And who knows how many other useful products and services that applies to. It’s just one of the things that infuriates and saddens me about our collective aversion to the boon of being lucky enough to reach older and old age.

You’ll be glad to know I’m not about to bang on any more about that particular bugbear. But please do feel free to dip into this blog on being proud of our ageing bodies, this one on turning 60, and this one busting some of the myths about ageing, for some more of my ageing-related thoughts. Which I very much hope you’ll agree with.

Over to you

What I am intrigued to know more about is your take on technology. What devices do you use? How long do you spend on them? How you manage to keep up to date, if you do. If you could take just a minute to answer the following 8 questions, that would be brilliant. I’ll compile your responses into another blog another time. And who knows, maybe I can persuade a company like emporia to do some kind of special offer for all you lovely Heydayers. I can but try!

You can put your answers in the comments or email them to me at diane@thesearetheheydays.com. Thank you.

1. What digital devices do you use?

2. What do you use them for? Work? Pleasure? Day-to-day activities like contactless payment?

3. Approximately how long each day do you spend on your devices?

4. On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being very difficult and 10 being very easy) how easy or difficult do you find your devices to operate?

5. Roughly how often do you upgrade your devices?

6. How easy or difficult (again on a scale of 1 to 10) do you find it adapting to a new device or upgraded operating system?

7. When you do upgrade or change any of your devices, how do you decide what to change to? Who do you consult? How much of a factor is cost? Or ease of use?

8. How old are you?