‘It’s discrimination’: millions of Britons frozen out in the digital age

Many people in Britain can’t live without their smartphone and use it to manage all aspects of their lives, from banking to shopping and socialising. But what if the opposite is true, and this clever technology is erecting invisible barriers that leave you unable to do basic things such as pay online, contact your doctor, or even park. Age UK estimates that 40% of the over-75s don’t use the internet at all and are struggling to access basic services as a result. The Digital Poverty Alliance—a group of charities formed to tackle exactly this issue—estimates there are as many as 11 million people in the UK who are struggling to deal with the tech-only options that have become the new normal. However, while countless studies have shown how older people are increasingly being frozen out, or charged significantly more for the same services, little is being done to aid their plight, it argues.