Age UK analysis of internet use

Released On 26th Sep 2023

New Age UK analysis has revealed that 46% of over-65s in the UK cannot complete eight key tasks to use the internet safely and successfully[i]. These include starting and logging into a device, opening applications, searching websites, changing basic settings, connecting to Wi-Fi and changing and keeping passwords secure.

The charity says this shows that the headlong rush towards ‘digital by default’ is excluding millions of older people from being able to access and use the essential public services they need – including some for which they are the target audience and principal users.

Age UK's findings coincided with the launch of its new campaign, #OfflineandOverlooked, designed to persuade Government to ensure that everyone is able to choose to access and use public services offline – by phone, letter or face to face as appropriate – rather than constantly being forced down a digital route.

According to the charity, this would end the discrimination against millions of older people who are not online or digitally savvy, that means many currently struggle to do routine things like make a medical appointment, order a blue badge for their car or pay to park it.

A total of 2.7 million over-65s in the UK do not use the internet at all, equivalent to around one in five (22%) of this age group[ii]. This includes almost 500,000 over-65s who had used the internet in the past but don’t do so now, showing that, in the charity's view, as we age it is not unusual to scale down or cease our online activities altogether.

Age UK warns not everyone is online while others only use the internet in limited ways and not always in ways that are safe. Among over-65s in the UK[i]:

Almost one-in-four (23%) are unable to turn on the device and enter any account login information as required.
Almost three-in-ten (28%) are unable to find and open different applications/programmes/platforms on their devices (e.g. opening a web browser, messaging applications).
One-in-four (25%) are unable to keep their login information and passwords for a device and any accounts secure (e.g. not shared with anyone or written down or left prominently near a device).
One-in-four (25%) are unable to update and change their password when prompted to do so.
Around one-in-five (24%) are unable to open an Internet browser to find and use websites (e.g. Safari, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge).
Around one-in-five (26%) are unable to use the different settings on their device to make it easier to use (e.g. adjust font size, volume settings, brightness of screen, voice activation or screen readers).
Around one-in-four (21%) are unable to use the available controls on their device (e.g. mouse, keyboard, touchscreen, trackpad). Around one-in-three (35%) are unable to set up a connection to a Wi-Fi network on their devices (e.g. when at home, work, out in public or visiting family and friends).

Among older people in England who wished to use the internet more frequently, Age UK’s research found[iii]:

Around 69% of people aged 65 and over do not have good enough IT skills to do so.
Around 37% of people aged 65 and over said they didn’t trust the internet.
Around 9% of people aged 65 and over said health reasons prevented them from doing this.
Around 25% of people aged 65 and over do not have good enough equipment and/or broadband access.

Age UK’s new research supports the charity’s call for older people who cannot, or do not want to use the internet to have access to services and support in another way that suits them.

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, said, 'The figures we are releasing should be a wake-up call for policymakers, because they show the alarming extent to which the rush towards ‘digital by default’ is excluding our older population. It is well known that millions of older people are not online and that’s bad enough, but now it is also clear that even among those who are online in this age group, the majority only have relatively limited digital skills.

'The fact that so many millions of older people are unable to participate safely and successfully online is an inconvenient truth for governments and other organisations keen to slash costs by moving everything online, but it’s one we must confront and act on as a society. If we don’t, we are essentially saying it’s okay for legions of older people not to be able to do ordinary things like book a medical appointment, organise a blue badge for their car or pay to park it and surely that is totally unacceptable.

'At Age UK we think it’s time that everyone has the right to access public services offline. This is not being luddite, far from it – as a charity we run some brilliant digital inclusion programmes around the country – but rather a recognition that online methods simply are not working for millions of older people now and never will, and they should be able to choose to access public services in more traditional ways – by phone, letter and face to face, as appropriate.

'That’s why, at Age UK we are launching a new public campaign, #OfflineandOverlooked, with two key asks:

'All public services, including the NHS, council services and other nationally provided public services, must be legally required to offer and promote an affordable, easy to access, offline way of reaching and using them, funded by central Government.

'The Government should lead on the development of a long term, fully funded national Digital Inclusion Strategy, to support people of all ages who want to go online to do so.

'We are launching an online and offline petition and we hope that millions of people of all ages will sign up and join us in our campaign.

'We should be using digital tech to expand choice for people, not restrict it, but unfortunately the statistics we are drawing attention to today mean "digital by default" hard wires discrimination against our older population and that's totally unacceptable.'