It goes without saying that technology plays a pretty major role in our everyday lives. However, when it comes to the elderly population, some are more confident with it than others. An increasing number now use smartphones and are interacting on social media sites like Facebook a lot more than a few years ago. It’s important to note, however, which country they live in, regarding whether they a more confident with technology or not. Stairliftforcurvedstairs.com explore the latest figures:
Internet Users
When we stop and think about the internet and what it can do, many of us would find difficulty living without it. You probably use it to read the latest news, check the weather forecast or use it hourly at work. But, is the older generation as reliant on the World Wide Web?
Studies tells us that just over 40% of adults aged 75 and over had recently used the internet when they were sampled last year. This illustrates a 20% increase since 2011, showing how widespread the internet has become over the past seven years.
Compared to America’s elderly population, research reveals that almost two thirds of over 65s accessed the internet in 2016. There was also a 46.4% growth reported in US internet users over the age of 55 from 2014 to 2017, with around half of American seniors say that they now have high-speed internet at home. This is a 4% increase on 2013.
Of those aged 80 years and over, only 44% said they used the internet at all, with 28% of these having their own broadband service in their home.
In terms of mainland Europe, just under 30% of German over 50s stated that they accessed the internet via their mobile phone and in France, 48% of people aged over 70 were internet users in 2016. When compared to the 100% of internet users who were aged 12-17 it’s clear to see a significant generation gap when it comes to getting online. In Belgium, 35% of the population that were aged between 65 and 74 admitted that they had never used the internet at all.
Then there’s Canada, an aging country where under 14s are outnumbered by over 65s. In 2019, experts forecast that 53.4% of over 65s will be internet users. And, in the technological hub of Japan, 44.3% of over 80s who accessed the internet said that they did so at least once a day, along with 48% of those aged 70-79.
Smartphones & Tablets
Both smartphones and tablets alike are enjoying increasing popularity, owing to their smooth internet accessibility. Many of us have these tiny touchscreen devices at hand which can answer to our queries, connect us with friends and provide us with useful information at the tap of our fingers. Has the older generation realised the potential of these devices?
In the UK, figures revealed that nearly half of people aged 55 or over were using a smartphone in 2016. This seems like quite a significant figure, however, when you compare it to the fact that 97% of under 25s used a smartphone, it’s clear to see how age affects behavior.
A US-published report revealed that 32% of Americans over the age of 65 and 20% of those over 80 owned a tablet computer and 19% said they possessed e-readers.
For the older generation, it’s definitely worth their while to be proficient in using the latest gadgets, should they ever need to in the future. Around three-quarters of Americans over 65 said that the statement, ‘When I get a new electronic device, I usually need someone else to set it up or show me how to use it,’ describes them very, or somewhat well. Also, only 26% of older internet users said that they felt very confident.
Though it may be common to assume that older people don’t understand technological advances and are not willing to learn how to use devices, figures have suggested otherwise. In fact, 58% of adults aged 65 and over said that technology has had a mostly positive impact on society. Of course, it can depend on annual income and disposable income as to whether an elderly person owns a smart device — 81% of older Americans who earned over $75,000 said that they owned a smartphone while only 27% of those who earned less than $30,000 owned one.
Staying connected
For a sizeable number of young adults, the internet is their foremost means of staying ‘connected’ and keeping in touch with the rest of the world. Through Twitter and Facebook, people can read instantaneous news from their local area and worldwide. And, with downloadable apps, smartphone users can receive notifications of the latest headlines. Is the older generation accessing news in the same way?
Just over 20% of UK over 50s exclaimed that they receive their daily news from social media websites. This could mean logging onto Facebook to see what the latest statuses are or checking what’s trending on Twitter. In the US, this number rose to 26% with 70% of older Facebook users saying that they log in to the site daily. In fact, there has been a reported change in the demographics of Facebook users — with the number of 12-17-year-olds who use the site declining by 9.9% in 2017.
How do these statistics compare to continental Europe’s elderly population? In Germany, only 9% of those over 50 said that they get their daily news from social networks and 34% said that they get their daily news from the internet. In France and Italy, 13% of the mature generation stated that they went to social media sites for their news.
These numbers were somewhat high in Canada — with a quarter of those over the age of 50 relying on social media sites to see the latest and trending news headlines.
Banking
Overall, young people have welcomed technological advances when it comes to keeping their personal finances in check and making seamless payments out and about. With one simple tap of the debit card, something can be paid for instantaneously.
Back in Britain, figures have revealed that 20% of all of Barclaycard contactless card users are now aged 65 and over — suggesting that they are warming to recent innovations in card payments. More people are jumping on board too, 55% of over 65s have used the tap to pay service, up 3% from 2016. Saga supported this research too, saying that one in five over 50s use their contactless cards up to three times per week.
As demonstrated, the tech habits of the older people among us differs between nations. Eventually, it’s likely that the majority of the older population will understand the benefits of technology and come to accept it as a way of life. In the meantime, younger people should be educating their elders on how to use the devices and how it could enhance their daily activities.
