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Age UK Barnsley support 'Offline and Overlooked' national campaign

Published on 16 October 2023 08:57 AM

Age UK analysis reveals that almost 6 million people (5,800,000) aged 65+ are either unable to use the internet safely and successfully or aren’t online at all.

Startling new analysis carried out by Age UK reveals that almost half (46%) of over-65s in the UK are unable to complete all eight of the most fundamental tasks required to use the internet safely and successfully.

The comparable figures for people aged 65 to 74, and for those aged 75 & over, are 30% and 69% respectively. 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.

The number of older people online has increased substantially over recent years, but there is still a sizable minority who are not online.  In fact, 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.  It is also notable that this includes almost 500,000 over-65s who had used the internet in the past but don’t do so now, showing that as we age it is not unusual to scale down or cease our online activities altogether.

That’s why Age UK have launched a new public campaign, #OfflineandOverlooked, with two key asks:  

  1. 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.  
  2. 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. [The last such strategy was produced in 2014].

To sign Age UK’s Offline and overlooked petition go to: https://tinyurl.com/OfflineandOverlooked. People who are not online can also sign (or request a petition sheet to get loved ones to sign) by writing to: Freepost, Age UK campaigns.  

Commenting, Age UK Barnsley Chief Executive Debby Bunn said:

“We know that many older people in our communities are at risk of being left behind by digital exclusion, and need an offline option to lead full, independent lives.

“We are proud of our positive working relationships with Barnsley Council and the NHS – who work hard to ensure that non-digital options are available for older residents – but we are aware of the need to always ensure that ‘digital by default’ doesn’t exclude those who aren’t online.

“Age UK Barnsley are also working with older residents through our Digital Project to provide the necessary skills and knowledge to use technology and the internet safely and with confidence.”

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  • Age UK Barnsley is an independent local charity committed to supporting older people in the Barnsley area.
  • We are a brand partner of the national Age UK charity but are fiercely independent and focused on delivering high-quality, inclusive services for residents and communities in Barnsley.
  • You can find out more about the services we provide on our website: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/barnsley/our-services/