Helping India’s elderly cross the digital divide as the country ages
India boasts more than 560 million internet users, making it the second largest online market in the world. Yet there are vast disparities in use, by age, socio-economic status, gender and areas where people reside. The penetration rate for smart phones is about 54%, but only around 5% for those 55 years and older.
Over the next 30 years, the elderly population in India will soar to more than 300 million. As services of all kinds increasingly gravitate to digital platforms, Indian policymakers need to give greater attention to the low level of connectivity among older seniors. Access to the internet and digital literacy are becoming vital to civic participation and the ability to access healthcare, social and economic services — which are increasingly computerized and digitalized. Greater familiarity with digital tools will also reduce dependency, increase autonomy and boost self-worth among India’s fast-growing elderly population.
Barriers to digital literacy
A 2017 survey in the National Capital Region (NCR) found that 86% of senior citizens did not know how to use digital technology or computers. This lack of knowledge — also common to other parts to India — can be attributed to a variety of factors, including lack of reliable internet access, cost of internet service…
