The Importance of Educating the Elderly About Digital Literacy

The world has gone through a staggering series of changes since the half-way point of this last century. Information and communication technologies have drastically evolved the way that the world operates in and around every sector, personal, private, and governmental.

Being that these technologies have changed the face of how so much of the world operates, older individuals who have lived through the decades worth of transformation have a steeper learning curve. However, the rate at which more advanced technology is impacting daily lives can be harder for some to adapt to.

It is unquestionable that a certain percentage of “the elderly” (those persons 65 and older) have much more standing against them in terms of their capacity and ability to interact with modern systems. As a result, the impact of those ineptitudes creates consequences in a number of categories. It can be easily argued that there is a necessity and importance in the education of the elderly around digital literacy.

What is Digital Literacy?

The now popularized term is one that should be approached open mindedly, both because it is a very broad categorization, and because the term tends to insinuate certain levels of incompetence among otherwise healthy, intelligent people. That being said, a general definition of digital literacy refers to an individual's ability to use information and communication-based technologies in order to interact with the greater world by locating, digesting, creating, and sharing information.

The ability to do so requires not only cognitive capacity, but technical and social skills. Broadly speaking, the understanding has been offered as falling into three categories:

• 1) The ability to locate and consume content from digital sources.
• 2) The ability to create/recreate digital content.
• 3) The ability to understand how to disseminate that information to others. Some experts have gone so far as to state that the familiar term should be pluralized as digital literacies. The reason for that comes from the otherwise obvious fact that there are nearly countless ways, tools, systems, and hardware by which people can interact with digital content.

The following are some reasons as to why the education of the elderly in digital literacy is important.

Reasons for Digital Literacy

The world has long since migrated to an emphasis of digital formatting. The speed, ease, and transferability of information by digital means are just a few affirmations of such technological superiority, but while those points are valid, they do not discredit the necessity or need for greater digital literacy in certain demographics.

Being that so much of the world now operates in digital formats on smartphones, tablets, and computer-based systems, an inability to interact adequately with those systems creates a number of problems. Nearly every major industry has likely shifted to predominantly digitally based systems and as such industries which serve the collective populous — like healthcare, financial institutions, and educational institutions— demand a level of digital competence.

Without that literacy, it is improbable that such people can effectively manage and interact with those systems. Additionally, lack of digital literacy increases the likely hood of being susceptible to phishing scams.

Fake News

Being informed about the world is an important part of continuing to the greater community. What goes on in various social spheres can have drastic and lasting impacts on what policies are voted in or vetoed at local, state, and federal levels. Without the ability to access sound, well sourced information it can be very difficult to know what to support or oppose.

A study released by Princeton and NY Universities showed that, during the 2016 election, adults over the age of 65 were nearly seven times more likely to observe and share posts from domains that had questionable or outright false credibility. Ironically, and troublingly, that same age group has made up the highest voter turnout.

Social Isolation

Social Isolation is a genuine concern amongst seniors. Around 1 of every 4 adults over aged 65 are considered socially isolated which, according to the Center for Disease Control, is a serious public health problem. Setting aside the chance for cyber bullying, being that so much of the world and the ability to connect socially take place through digital means, and many of this generation struggle with the ability to access and use the internet successfully, there is a greater likelihood of loneliness.

That may not sound so bad until learning that social isolation increases the likelihood of premature death nearly as much as smoking and obesity.