Why empowering seniors to use smartphones is important?
Although we are in 2018 seniors are a bit distant to mobile technology, mostly for cost and usability reasons. Less than 20% of users older than 60 years own a smartphone.
Some years ago the internet was discovered and spread. Our lives changed once and for all. Today for first time in human history due to internet access, the vast majority of the people around the globe have similar access to information and education, democratizing how societies live and develop. Smartphone are the main gates to internet as they are the most widely distributed internet capable devices. Except of internet access, smartphones are the best portable tools we have for utility or recreation. Therefore empowering seniors to use smartphones is important.
With more and more people having internet access one trend is certain: services will go more and more online. For cost reduction and efficiency we are moving to a world where self-administrative digital tools will gradually take the place of the traditional ways to interact with institutes, governments, banks and service providers. Instead of having to go to offices for accessing services, people will be serviced online. And some of the everyday tasks will be done only online with e-commerce, e-banking, e-administration taking the place of the traditional services. This transition will take years but we need to start working the digital empowerment of people worldwide. Seniors need to go online and to go mobile.
Access to smartphones is a major but not the only factor affecting digital empowerment of seniors. We need to reconsider connectivity requirements on global level, security and privacy factors. A significant challenge is the cost to buy a smartphone and to have an internet connection because although the prices drop this is still an unmet demand. Another significant factor is the educational level of seniors, as the ones who have higher they usually have already a tighter relationship to technology.
There is also the responsibility and challenge to explain and present the benefits that arise from digital services and gradually help seniors to take advantage of digital means not only as consumers but as active members of the digital economy. The challenge will be for all of us to digest the huge amount of information and process it to improve our lives, businesses and relationships.
Always there is more than one aspect, technology has also an “evil” face. Digital citizens need to be educated on defending themselves from privacy and security threats that come together with digitalization. Moreover, many technological means have been intrusive and consumers are constantly bombarded by advertising and other hidden messages. We need to defend ourselves from being patronized and used but take advantage of the great gift of technology.
Empowering seniors to use smartphones is important.
At Katsuna we are offering our two cents.
