Digital exclusion – how often are seniors exposed to it and why is it such a serious problem (part 3)

Digitally diverse seniors

In terms of using the Internet, the senior group is internally diverse. It is influenced, for example, by place of residence (urban/rural, large cities/other centres) or age, and to a lesser extent by gender. Seniors living in multi-person households are slightly more likely to use the network than those living alone (and it is for the latter that the psychosocial effects of digital exclusion can be particularly severe).
According to the Central Statistical Office report published in 2/2021, the most common reason for seniors not using the Internet was a lack of skills, followed by a lack of feeling the need to use the Internet frequently. However, the pandemic reality has changed at least the latter. In this reality, as Dr. Rafal Bakalarczyk, an expert at the Senior Policy Institute, writes, that needs grow into necessities, and this manifests itself on many levels: official matters, shopping, information, interpersonal contacts, or health issues.

What do seniors use the Internet for?

According to declarations, most often for obtaining information. Slightly less often for interpersonal communication. Relatively few seniors use online banking and e-administration. However, this is all data from before COVID-19, which must have affected both the scale of Internet use by seniors and the structure of the reasons they choose to do so.

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Source: https://www.myphone.pl/wykluczenie-cyfrowe-seniorow/