Internet Access Among the Elderly Shows Steady Growth Over the Past Five Years

The number of elderly people accessing the internet has steadily increased since 2017. The percentage of elderly internet users rose from 2.98% in 2017 to 14.1% in 2021.

This increase in internet access among the elderly is evident year after year. In 2018, internet access reached 5.73% of the elderly population. This figure increased to 7.94% in 2019.

2020 marked the first year in which internet access among the elderly reached double digits. A total of 11.44% of the elderly population had internet access that year.

Citing a BPS report, the elderly adopt technology primarily to interact with family and for easier access to basic facilities and services, such as healthcare and food.

There are three main obstacles faced by the elderly when adopting information and communication technologies. These include intrapersonal barriers such as fear of making mistakes, structural barriers such as inadequate data package access or weak signal, and functional barriers such as the elderly's declining health preventing them from using technology.