Older people 'digitally isolated'

The proliferation of the internet has excluded older people from large parts of daily life, a study has found, leading to the generation being more and more isolated.

Some 10 million of those aged over 50 are not connected to the internet, half of the demographic, leading them to miss out out on financial, educational and social upsides of internet use.

The study, by Oxford University's Oxford Internet Institute, found reasons given by elderly people for avoiding the web included a fear of pornography, believing it only appealed to the young, and a lack of security.

Of the 2,013 people surveyed, 47.1% of the over-50s said they had never used the internet, compared with 9.6% of 25- to 49-year-olds. Only 51.5% of people over 50 said they had access to the internet, compared with 81.7% of 25-49-year-olds.

Tony Watts, from the Mature Times, said: "It's very clear that the digital divide is rapidly becoming a gulf, and there is a huge swathe of people who will become increasingly isolated and disadvantaged unless some radical action is taken."

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