Disadvantaged elders: Least likely to be online

[Commentary] Our previous article noted that only 57-59 percent of seniors currently use the Internet or go online, compared to 86-88 percent of all adults age 18+ (Pew Research Center, 2014). This age-based disparity has lessened recently, due in part to: 1) efforts throughout the nation to promote senior digital literacy, and 2) the initial “cohort effect” of tech-savvy baby boomers who began entering the age 65+ category in 2011. We also stressed the strong relationship between Internet use and socioeconomic characteristics – household income and educational attainment. Given that disadvantaged elders are a large proportion of offline seniors, special outreach efforts are required to help them cross the digital divide by addressing three major barriers: computer anxiety, assumed irrelevance of the Internet, and cost concerns. Senior Service America, Inc. (SSAI) provides one example of varied efforts around the nation to inspire seniors who are least likely to use computers. SSAI has conducted pilot projects for group “Taste the Internet” sessions using tablets. Age peers, most of whom are participants in the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), work with one or two offline seniors to show how easy it is to use tablets and to demonstrate various web-based functions and Internet content of interest to the seniors. Such sessions are labor-intensive but not necessarily costly.

[Cecilia Garcia, former Executive Director of the Benton Foundation, is a communications advisor with an extensive background in public affairs, television production and advocacy.
Bob Harootyan is the research manager at Senior Service America, Inc.]