Although seniors represent the largest age group and one of the fastest growing populations in the United States, people over the age of 65 have one of the smallest and slowest broadband adoption rates.
Last month, the Benton Foundation and Connected Living – a company that provides technology training and support to seniors living in public housing and senior living communities – hosted “Getting Seniors Online,” a daylong forum dedicated to discussing ways to help senior citizens get on the winning side of the digital divide. Several senior citizen advocacy groups, such as Older Adults Technology Services (OATS), AARP, and the Alliance for Aging, also participated in the event.
“Age is a determinant factor in Internet adoption,” said Dr. Thomas Kamber, OATS executive director. “Seniors need to understand what the relative advantage of using the Internet is.”
Kamber, who also believes that getting seniors online is a social justice issue, is absolutely correct.
In its 2011 report, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration indicated that only 38.5 percent of people age 65 and up adopted broadband in 2010, which is the lowest rate as compared to any other age group.
But why aren’t more senior citizens adopting broadband?
Why More Seniors Are Not Online
In a 2010 Broadband Adoption and Use in America report, John B. Horrigan cited that the top three reasons people generally do not adopt broadband are cost, relevance, and the lack of digital literacy. However, at the “Getting Seniors Online” event, some of the panelists revealed that the barriers to broadband adoption for seniors go a bit deeper.
Christopher Baker, senior strategic policy advisor at AARP’s Public Policy Institute, suggested that in terms of the affordability of broadband, cost goes beyond monthly bills. It may also include sacrifices seniors may have to make to adopt broadband.
“Affordability isn’t just do you have the money to pay for it,” Baker said, “but it’s also ‘do you have to give up half of your medicine to pay [for broadband]?’”
Another barrier preventing seniors from adopting broadband comes from the security breaches they see and hear on the news, according to Samantha Becker, University of Washington Information School’s U.S. Impact Study research project manager.
“We need to teach them how to use the Internet safely,” she said.
Connected Living also discovered that another major obstacle seniors face is not only the lack of digital literacy, but also traditional literacy.
Using an NTIA Broadband Technology Opportunities Program grant, Connected Living helped train over 2,500 residents from more than 20 low-income senior housing buildings in 10 Northern Illinois cities to use and adopt broadband. During their evaluation presentation, Connected Living’s President Andrew Lowenstein and Northern Illinois University Professor James Ciesla indicated that only 80 percent of the seniors who participated in the initiative had at least an eighth grade education.
How to Get More Seniors Online
When it comes to convincing seniors about why they should use broadband, Alliance for Aging President and CEO Max Rothman and his program eWired conceptualized broadband as another mode of transportation.
“People are getting out more when they are able to use computers,” Kamber agreed.
Wayne State University Assistant Professor of Nursing Dr. Kay Cresci also believes that other programs attempting to encourage more seniors to use and adopt broadband should follow Connected Living’s lead by working with seniors, as opposed to working for them. She also suggests taking into consideration what senior citizens want to do online.
Charles Benton, Benton Foundation CEO, also suggested that government and the private and nonprofit sectors work together to achieve universal broadband and end the digital divide.
Overall, not only can senior citizens make an impact increasing the nation’s population, but they can also be important to the growth of broadband usage and adoption in the U.S. Finding solutions to get more senior citizens online can help them match or surpass the broadband penetration rate of their younger counterparts and close the digital divide.
-
Tiffany K. Bain is a 2011 public relations graduate of Florida A&M University. She currently serves as the Minority Media & Telecommunications Council’s Research Associate. She got her start in the industry in 2007 as an Emma L. Bowen Foundation intern at the nation’s leading cable provider.
-
-
-
