The pandemic has accelerated the digitalisation of many day-to-day activities, the way of working and even how we interact with each other. The so-called information and communication technologies (ICT) offer us numerous advantages, such as better access to information, immediacy, reductions in costs and time, or an improved connectivity between people. But.... Did you know that digitalisation is not the same throughout the world, or for everyone? There is an imbalance called the digital dividewhich affects different social groups of the population, but one in particular: our elderly. Below, we tell you what the so-called digital divideis,how it affects this part of the population and, above all, how we can help them.What is the digital divide?We understand the digital divideas the inequality in the access, use or impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) between different social groups, whether they are geographical, economic, cultural, relating to disabilities, gender or age. Nowadays, in light of these points, we can talk about two types of digital divide:The access divide: refers to the impossibility that some groups face in accessing this resource. Although there are a wide range of causes, it is usually related to socio-economic differences between people and between countries, since digitalisation requires costly investments and infrastructure.The use divide: refers to the lack of digital skills which prevents people using ICT, both for personal and professional use.The digital divide in the elderlyNowadays, technology affects nearly every aspect of our day-to-day lives. This change, which began with the arrival of the internet, has been gradual over the years. However, the pandemic caused by Covid-19 in 2020 advanced the transfer of most activity to onlineenvironments, including some essential services like health or finance. The elderly were faced with this change without being prepared and this further increased the digital dividethat already existed in this sector of the population.In Spain, the biggest digital divide is amongpeople over the age of 65. The Barometer of the Democratic Union of Pensioners and Retired People of Spain (UDP) highlights the dimension of this digital divide:40.5% of the elderly say they have never accessed the internet. This is due to several reasons:They have been thrown head first into a complete digitalisation. Services that they thought they could use normally have become digitalised and they can no longer access them.They haven’t received any technology training in the past.Disinterest in learning, as they didn’t think they would need technology training to perform their everyday activities in the future.They don't have access to internet or technological tools, such as computers or smartphones.
