Silver Surfers Driving Web Growth

Just 11 per cent of one person households over state pensionable age had internet access at home in 2000. Now the figure stands at almost 40 per cent Photo: Bloomberg

By Matt Warman, Consumer Technology Editor 

Nearly half of the over-75s, however, reported difficulties in using computers and mobile phones, while a third of 65-74-year-olds said they too struggled with mobile technology.

The number of broadband connections in Britain grew by three per cent in the last year, but by nine per cent among 65-74-year-olds and eight per cent for over-75s. Nearly one in six, however, still say they do not intend to get web access in the next year. A fifth said the same in 2009.

UK Digital Champion Martha Lane Fox said: “The internet offers users a huge range of benefits for this age group – from keeping in touch with family and friends, to making savings online to even getting your shopping delivered to your door.” She urged younger people to help older friends and relatives to get online.

Helena Herklots, Services Director at Age UK, added that “digital inclusion has a key role to play in battling social exclusion.”

Ofcom’s report shows that the generational divide in attitudes to technology is also narrowing rapidly. More than half of all 65-74-year olds now have a computer at home for instance, as do 29 per cent of those over 75. Older people, however, are still less likely to switch mobile phone network or use the internet on a mobile phone.

Although 40 million Britons have used the internet, a further 9 million have never used it. These tend to be disproportionately the elderly or socially deprived. Lane Fox’s government-backed organisation to promote internet use, Race Online 2012, Microsoft and a number of other bodies have launched a campaign for Christmas that aims to get more users onto the web by providing refurbished computers and training courses.

Ofcom’s report also found that 73 per cent of people now have broadband at home, compared to 45 per cent in 2006. Nearly one in five, however, were dissatisfied with the speed they received, compared to the advertised speed for which they were paying. Last week, Ofcom released a report which found that Britain’s infrastructure for high-speed broadband, both through fixed line and mobile phones, lagged behind other European countries, although it said plans for the future should make up the deficit.

http://SocialBusinessToday.net - The Best in Social Business