Bridging the Age-based Digital Divide

An Age-Related Digital Divide

There has been much said in the press and academia about the so-called ‘digital divide’; the divide between those who have access to technology, computers and the Internet and those who do not. A digital divide exists between industrialised and developing nations but there is also a dichotomy within individual societies, with older demographics invariably being disadvantaged by the digital divide (Jimmoyiannis & Gravani, 2010). The situation is likely to worsen as the proportion of elderly in a society becomes larger. It is estimated that by 2020, 20% of the population in the US will be 65 years and over while 24% of people in Hong Kong will be over 65 by 2025 (Bartlett & Phillips, 1995). Social commentators have been quick to point out that the information society is also an ageing society (Bernard & Phillips, 2000). According to Selwyn, Gonrad, Furlong and Madden (2003, p. 562), the ageing of technology users has led to the “discursive portrayal of ‘silver surfers’, a popular but nebulous description of the burgeoning group of confident and competent older ICT users.” Given that computer and Internet usage are negatively correlated with age, the utopian vision of ‘silver surfers’ may be an over-statement.