The internet's growth in the past two decades has reshaped how Americans live — how we communicate, how we shop, how we consume information and how we enjoy entertainment. But too many people find themselves on the outside of this digital revolution.
Unfortunately, one of the populations with the most to gain from the internet, older adults, is the least likely to be connected.
The digital divide, the gulf between those with broadband and those without, is as old as the internet itself. Over the last 20 years, internet adoption has consistently lagged among low-income households, rural communities and communities of color.
Today, concerted efforts from the private and public sectors are beginning to close those gaps.
Since 2010, the Obama Administration has invested $7.2 billion to build-out broadband infrastructure to rural and underserved communities. Private sector initiatives, such as Comcast’s Internet Essentials and similar programs from CenturyLink and Cox, have brought broadband services to millions of low-income Americans. The administration’s ConnectHome program is now engaging even more providers to build on these promising results.
Bridging divide would hold huge benefits
However, broadband adoption among older adults — and for low-income seniors in particular — has proven a much more stubborn problem. According to the Pew Research Center, only 47 percent of Americans over the age of 65 have a home broadband connection. Among older adults with incomes below $30,000, that figure drops to 25 percent.
These low adoption stats are particularly troubling because few populations stand to benefit more from the internet than older adults.
Online shopping may be a convenience for many, but it’s a lifeline for older adults with mobility challenges. For the aging population more prone to social isolation, connections forged through social media can drastically improve quality of life. And internet-enabled advances in telemedicine can enhance health and wellness and allow more older individuals to “age in place” at home, rather than in assisted living facilities.
Web of obstacles
However, a web of obstacles keeps a majority of older individuals from embracing these life-changing possibilities.
Cost can be a factor, but it’s far from the most significant barrier. Research shows that the unfamiliarity, skepticism, and even fear that some older adults have about the internet are much bigger hurdles. More than a third of surveyed seniors don’t feel the internet has anything relevant to offer, while more than 75 percent say they would need help learning how to use an unfamiliar new digital device.
Any effort to close the digital divide among older adults must acknowledge and address these barriers head-on.
How to bridge the digital divide
Fortunately, there’s a roadmap to follow. Successful broadband adoption initiatives aimed at other underserved groups have proven that comprehensive education, community outreach, and skills training programs are a powerful combination that can successfully chip away at entrenched barriers
One such program, Internet Essentials, has initiated a wrap-around model that marries low-cost broadband service and hardware with extensive training opportunities and community outreach to families with school-age children. Partnering with civic groups, schools, and churches, the program has help to connect more than two million low-income consumers since 2011.
Earlier this year, Comcast announced pilot efforts in California and Florida to extend the program to low-income seniors, forging new partnerships with non-profits and municipal agencies equipped to help older adults build the digital literacy skills they need to participate online.
This is an important step in working to close the digital divide within the older community, using a hands-on approach that has already produced results among other underserved communities. Others in the private sector are offering digital literacy and training programs for older adults and others in the community, such as AT&T’s DigitalYou program. We look forward to more private sector broadband adoption plans that will help get low-income seniors online, with the skills they need to succeed in the digital world.
Policy change needed
If policymakers are truly committed to closing the digital divide, they’ll need to place a much greater focus on the adoption gap among older adults. To date, a relatively small percentage of federal broadband funding has been targeted toward programs focused on educating, training and connecting older adults, despite the enormous potential for improved adoption rates and enhanced quality of life.
Efforts to close the digital divide will not succeed if we fail to recognize the importance of getting our older community online. Older adults may not be digital natives like their grandchildren, but investments in digital literacy training programs can close this skills gap and give older adults the comfort and confidence to join the rest of us online.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Debra Berlyn
Quelle/Source: azcentral, 10.12.2015
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