Irish Examiner view: Digital by default can exclude older people 

Communicators must ensure nobody is left feeling inadequate or disenfranchised

Older people often feel 'digitally excluded' in spite of their increasing use of online tools.

Within our series on ageing in the pandemic, there has been a theme about the most effective forms of communication between State and citizens. 

It has been a source of irritation to many that the presumption has increased that digital should be the predominant means of interacting with older people.

While a common cliché might be that your granny is more at home serving up a pot of Barry’s Tea than initiating a Google search, Age Action says the proportion of people aged 60-74 going online has more than doubled since 2018.

What is beyond argument is that the complexities of managing web-based rules and regulations — as anyone who has had to fill in a passenger locator form and upload their Covid test results via QR code will surely attest — can challenge even people with an average range of IT skills. 

This is exacerbated by poor interface design and ambiguous language.

The consequence has been a rise in the number of older people who feel “digitally excluded” to around 500,000.

This is frustrating for Government and its technocrats and their digital-by-default aspirations which, while making life more convenient for the powers that be, leaves many people feeling inadequate and disenfranchised. It needs to stop now. 

Digital-first should not mean digital-only. 

One of our correspondents this week, Nuala, 78, from Swords in Dublin spoke feistily of her ability to keep in touch via her iPad and natural resourcefulness. 

And there are many like her. What communicators need to ensure is that we don’t forget about, and diminish, the others.