It will be the annual Safer Internet Day on Tuesday next, the 11th of February, with celebrations and learning based around the theme ‘Too good to be true? Protecting yourself and others from scams online‘
Safer Internet Day is the largest event of its kind in the UK. It is a day primarily directed to younger people and keeping them safe online – and yet whilst that is clearly critical, the victims of online scams and harm are increasingly coming from the ranks of older individuals. There has been a disturbing rise in the issue of financial extortion and scamming of older people at a time when the drive to putting so many public services and access to diverse products has gone digital, when it is increasingly hard to live without being online for anyone at any age.
It is in the midst of this drive to digital that I frequently hear and see a silent crisis unfolding. The reality of digital poverty and exclusion for older Scots has never been as great as it is now. Its existence is not only one of concern in terms of financial harm and the need for societal safeguarding, but it is also a reality that challenges and undermines the human rights of older Scots.
I saw this recently when in the one day I witnessed an older person turned away from a café because it no longer took cash, and a few hours later another older person in a shop that demanded orders be placed using a keypad but which the older person with what I suspected was rheumatoid arthritis simply could not use. There are countless other instances where older people are increasingly unable to live the connected, independent lives they would want to. Even when someone has access to digital and online tools, there are so many instances of exclusion.
Digital exclusion is not merely a matter of lacking access to technology; it is a multifaceted issue encompassing affordability, skills, confidence, and motivation. It is also an issue to do with the fundamental inaccessibility of so many digital tools and devices for those with any sort of impairment, never mind those which worsen with age and frailty.
Audit Scotland’s recent report highlights that approximately one in six adults in Scotland lack the digital skills necessary for everyday life, with 9% of households devoid of internet access. This exclusion disproportionately affects those already facing disadvantage, including older individuals and those living in poverty. And yet the exclusion of such individuals is almost assumed to be a cost worth making.
The consequences are severe. Without digital access, many older adults find it challenging to engage with public services, maintain social connections, and manage their health and financial well-being. This isolation not only diminishes their quality of life but also places their fundamental human rights at risk.
The shift towards digital-first public services, while efficient, often overlooks the needs of those without digital access. This oversight can lead to the erosion of essential human rights, including the right to social security, education, and protection from discrimination. For instance, individuals unable to manage online benefit applications may face sanctions or delays, directly impacting their right to social security.
Moreover, the lack of accessible alternatives to digital services can result in older adults being unable to exercise their rights fully, leading to increased risk not least given the fact that many non-online points of access are hard to reach for individuals with issues of mobility and frailty.
We are, given this set of circumstances, not however without options for action and change.
We could as a society invest more in infrastructure – to really put some gas behind the claim that we want a digitally empowered citizenship. Heating and lighting are fundamental but so too is the ability to access the internet and use online resources. Yet recent budgets evidence a reduction in overall spend on technology and digital. We could give greater focus to ensuring affordable and reliable internet access, particularly in rural areas where connectivity is often limited and give enhanced cost reductions and savings to older Scots. We could by design build in and maintain non-digital options for essential services to ensure inclusivity. Indeed, when many of us lost our power and connectivity during the recent travails of Storm Eowyn we were reminded that not all of life and response should be dependent upon connectivity and Wi-Fi.
The Scottish Government’s Connecting Scotland initiative, launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, aimed to address some of the issues of digital exclusion by providing devices, internet connectivity, and skills support to vulnerable groups, including older adults. An evaluation of the programme revealed that lack of digital skills and experience was a prevalent barrier among participants, nearly half of whom were over 60. Specifically, 41% of respondents reported that they could not use, or would need help to use, the internet, while an additional 22% could use it with some difficulty. I would be very surprised if this were not the situation three years on, if not indeed a worsening trend.
What we also often forget is that as we age what might have been possible in our 50s and 60s becomes much harder due to issues of dexterity or memory loss when we reach our 70s and 80s and beyond. In other words, we should not assume that those who today in their 60s are digitally safe and knowledgeable will be equally the same in their 80s and 90s. Little research has been undertaken on how digital and internet use changes with older age and how we need to change and re-design products to take account of that.
Indeed, it is one of the issues I continually come across – a desire to be technically connected amongst older individuals – but an exclusion caused by issues of visual and aural impairment because the tech has not kept pace with ageing.
Designers and developers worldwide are actively addressing accessibility challenges to enhance technology use for older adults with visual, hearing, and dexterity impairments. These efforts are particularly significant in social care and health sectors, where accessible technology can greatly improve quality of life. It would be tremendous if Scotland – with its ageing population – was able to lead the way in some of these advances whether that might be in further developing voice controlled virtual assistants and devices, developing real-time text captioning, or most importantly developing alternative input devices to take account of the issues caused by dexterity change and frailty.
Technology has so much potential to enable and further enhance inclusion and independence, for all ages, not least older Scots. But we need to invest in tech and digital options that are not just the shiny new toys, but the workmanlike solutions to exclusion and inaccessibility. If we do not enable greater confidence and skill to grow amongst those who are excluded not least the older generation, then they will be at risk of even greater technological and internet harm.
Of course, for many grappling with modern technology, such as tablets and digital devices, is not always easy as an excerpt from ‘The Tablet’ by the British poet U A Fanthrope beautifully reminds us:
*”I am learning to use my tablet.
It is not easy.
The icons are small, my fingers are large,
And the screen is a slippery slope.
But I am determined.
I will not be defeated by a piece of glass.”*
Donald Macaskill
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
