Older Adults Online: Measuring Internet Access and Use

The Digital Equity Act (DEA) of 2021, a part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), establishes programs that aim to ensure that all people “have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of our digital economy.” Identifying older adults (those 60 years and older) as a “covered population," Congress charges states with crafting and implementing appropriate strategies to address older adults’ connectivity needs and demonstrating the impact of the work of getting and keeping them online. This guidance on metrics and measurement will help states comply with the statutory requirements and also suggest how to use data in a meaningful way to mark forward motion and identify ongoing connectivity gaps and hurdles. Armed with these tools, states can then direct programming accordingly.

This guide provides:

• an overview of requirements about indicators and measurable objectives;
• an analysis of state digital equity plans, presenting overall trends and highlighting promising strategies that states can adopt;
• a look into the available federal datasets and how states can best leverage them to meet their digital equity goals; and
• guidance on how states can collect and use data to assess the technological needs of their older adult populations and provide evidence of the impact of digital inclusion work.