Digital literacy as a foundation for quality of life as we age

An impressive process was launched in 2013 at an AARP convention in Atlanta. Groups of older adults were shown how to use tablets. A presenter demonstrated and 4H volunteers sat at tables with the attendees to show them how to use them.  The program was called Mentor Up – and the idea was that young people could/should volunteer to help older adults with a device that was unfamiliar and baffling. At that time, the iPad was just three years old. The older adults in the room almost certainly did not own one -- at that time, 26 million older adults were NOT online. So their surprise and delight at what it could do made an impression. The role of young people was equally impressive -- and should be a role model for today.

Fast forward to today – progress of sorts.  According to Statista, 90% of the 65+ population uses the Internet today. Do they use it effectively? Could they say if asked that they were comfortable online – or would they offer the theory, per the recent AARP survey, that technology did not seem to be designed with them in mind.  And can they actually find what they need and take advantage of the access they now have?  Consider the observation from Joseph Coughlin, MIT AgeLab about the importance of digital literacy today: “Viewing digital literacy and learning not as an unnecessary use of time but as an investment in independence and quality of life.” 

So what is digital literacy – and how to improve it?  Companies like GetSetUp, Senior Planet from AARP, and Cyber-Seniors have made businesses, for-profit and non, out of training older adults in the use of technology. The capabilities being trained include search engines, video calling and more. The AgeLab point about quality of life, though, makes it imperative to identify how  far beyond the basics people actually need – and also need to be continuously refreshed.  Imagine a chart that organized capabilities, for example into levels of digital literacy/capability. Here’s a first pass – thoughts? It could also include understanding tools for driving, managing television programming, dealing with appliances and smart home devices.  But that’s another day.  Does this thought process make any sense? Should training encompass levels of digital literacy? Apologies for the graphic simplicity.