Elderly Forgotten? Digital Exclusion in the Information Age and the Rising Grey Digital Divide

Abstract

Background: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is being spread at an unprecedented rate across the globe. Yet, new research suggests that digital divide is not only continuing but also deepening at the same time. After access to basic ICT equipment, it is now the lack of skills and quality of hardware and software that leads to a continuing digital divide. Digital divide which is specifically related to elderly is known as grey digital divide. Objectives: The focus of this paper is to review and analyze recent relevant research on grey digital divide which is fast emerging as a major challenge in the era of ageing. A side objective is to raise implications for theory and practice discourses to minimize grey digital divide. Method: Literature on digital divide and grey digital divide is reviewed to gather relevant knowledge on the grey digital divide. The articles were filtered according to the relevance for grey digital divide in the present age. Literature review spanned over a 5 years’ timeline to discuss the current trends on the topic. Results: Results indicate a rising problem of ageing, mainly in developed countries. Grey digital divide constitutes a major challenge for elderly to participate and benefit from the digital revolution. Elderly face problems for basic tasks such as booking tickets or renewing bus cards to claiming old-age benefits because most of the systems are digitized. Another challenge is the social exclusion faced by elderly because they cannot connect with peers through digital networks due to lack of digital skills. This situation is also observed in developing countries, although in developing countries elderly get immediate help from family members due to the family system of joint living. Implications and future directions: A practical implication of this research can be a full-scale fieldwork in different countries of the world to further understand the grey digital divide. Joint collaboration between ICT and healthcare industry may result in revolutionizing of ergonomic ICT products and services which are elderly-friendly. It would be interesting to know how culture impacts grey digital divide across various countries.

Mobile phone access and preferences among medical inpatients at an urban Canadian hospital for post-discharge planning: A pre-COVID-19 cross-sectional survey

“…These findings are in line with other studies that report women to be disadvantaged in terms of mobile internet use and less likely to own a mobile phone (38,39). They are also in line with Gordon and Hornbrook, among others, who point to a digital divide between older and younger populations regarding device ownership and health information preferences (40)(41)(42). Contrarily, in a study conducted in Kenya among HIV participants, women had equal or more participation than their male counterparts when using a text messaging based mHealth tool (43).…”

Canadian Older Adults’ Intention to Use an Electronic Decision Aid for Housing Decisions: Cross-sectional Web-Based Survey

“…A study of low-income American older adults in 2020 showing that only half of the participants used the internet and of these, less than half had high eHealth literacy scores [ 44 ]. Older people are disproportionately affected by the “digital divide” [ 64 ]. Future research on eDAs could focus on the relationships among content, design, health literacy, objective eHealth literacy levels, and older adults’ intention to use them.…”

Intimate partner violence and its correlates in middle-aged and older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-country secondary analysis

“…Unfortunately, middle-aged and older people experiencing IPV during the pandemic also had reduced access to IPV support services (35) and general mental health resources (36). Low digital connectivity among this age group has also made many remote service replacements inaccessible, leaving them without access to necessary support (37).…”