Today is the ninth annual Silver Surfers’ Day – a national day dedicated to promoting the use of digital technologies by older people – which promises to be bigger and more inclusive this year than ever.
It’s the inspiration for 1,500 digital education events up and down the country, exclusively for people aged 55 and over who are new to the internet. The events will see community venues like schools, libraries and churches open their doors to give brand new silver surfers a taste of what the digital world has to offer.
As the world becomes increasingly digital, and online technology becomes more and more important in our everyday lives, it’s crucial that no section of society is left behind. Incredibly, 10 million people in the UK have never used the internet and many of those will be older members of the population. These people are missing out on benefits including saving an average of £560 per household each year by paying bills and shopping online.
In the eyes of many older people, technology develops so fast it’s difficult to know where best to begin. Silver Surfers’ Day – which we wholeheartedly support – is a great way for them to dip their toe in these waters and make a start on getting online.
Coinciding with Silver Surfers’ Day – and aimed at the same section of the population – UK Online Centres have launched their latest campaign, called Face Your Online Fears. Via an online game, players are encouraged to overcome the three most common fears older people have the internet – online security, online shopping and the online generational gap.
We’ve blogged before on our support for digital inclusion projects like these. We’ve already put our name to Race Online 2012 and the ‘Pass IT on’ drive. The overall objective for Race Online 2012 is to get four million new users online by the London Olympics in 2012, and we hope to account for 100,000 of these through community education and training.
We passionately believe it’s never too late for anyone to learn new skills and embrace digital technology. If you (or someone you know) are aged 55 or over and can’t make one of the events but would still like to improve your online confidence, remember you can visit your local UK Online Centre any time and get free help and support with using the web.
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Jim Hanson
I’m currently giving computer & internet tuition to a lady of 91 years old. Is that a record
TalkTalk Blog Team
That is impressive – I hope she gets good use out of it. As for the record, I’m not sure. There is always Ivy Bean, who’s 104 and a regular tweeter.