The number of elders is presently estimated at over 130 million. With longevity and better health care, this number will increase to 194 million by 2031, and reach about 319 million by 2050. We can ill-afford to neglect the critical needs of so many people, comprising a fifth of our total population by 2050. If they are not to be left behind, it is essential that we facilitate their on-line access
Few things have changed our world and lives as much as the Covid-19 pandemic. From months of “house arrest” during lockdowns, to work-from-home, from becoming masked warriors fighting the virus to on-line everything, we have had to quickly learn, adapt and change. Some of these, including remote working and on-line interaction, are likely to become permanent features of our life, with businesses too having changed and moved to this new paradigm. Covid has also brought home the terrible inequities in our society, creating awareness and a degree of empathy for the disadvantaged that was missing earlier.
Economic inequity has also amplified educational inequity. The move to on-line teaching has led to a very large proportion falling way behind their classmates because they are unable to participate properly in on-line learning. Lack of access to smart phones or computers and poor internet connectivity have compounded the disadvantages of their economic status and low parental education. This is in addition to missing the essential learning which comes from peer-interaction and socialising: an outcome of governments’ insistence on keeping schools closed.
Students (the disadvantaged among them, in particular) have, doubtless, been seriously affected. There is, though, another group whose travails are hardly recognised: the elders.
An overwhelming majority of them cannot afford a computer or a smart phone; of the remaining, a large proportion does not have the necessary skills, having spent most of their lives in a non-digital environment. It is, indeed, but a minuscule percentage that has the affordability, access and skills to navigate the new on-line world, and to reap its benefits.
Yet, it is elders who, more than the rest, can greatly benefit from the on-line access. This is especially so for those whose physical movement is constrained for health reasons. In addition, with stay-at-home guidelines for the 60+, their only access to the outside world is through electronic means. Ordering essentials like medicines or groceries, remote health services, shopping, bank transactions, socialising through video calls, watching streaming services: all these require access and e-skills. Without these, elders are handicapped. Even in a post-Covid world — whenever that may be — many of these services will continue to be on-line, for reasons of cost or convenience.
The number of elders is presently estimated at over 130 million. With longevity and better health care, this number will increase to 194 million by 2031, and reach about 319 million by 2050. We can ill-afford to neglect the critical needs of so many people, comprising a fifth of our total population by 2050. If they are not to be left behind, it is essential that we facilitate their on-line access.
In this, Governments (at Centre, State and local level) have the primary responsibility. They might do well to take the cue from Vice President Venkaiah Naidu. Launching the Senior Able Citizens for Re-Employment in Dignity (SACRED) portal a few months ago, he laid great stress on the need for imparting digital literacy to the elderly. A focussed programme, possibly as part of the National Digital Literacy Mission, may give this effort the necessary momentum.
The responsibility, though, cannot be solely of the Government: the community and their own families have a big role. However, beyond these, and especially in rural areas, civil society organisations (CSOs) must play an important part. One example is the Digital Literacy programme of HelpAge India (HI). It empowers elders by introducing them to the on-line world through workshops across the country, which provide them digital training, besides counselling for financial planning, and education and awareness on their rights and entitlements.
CSOs have last-mile reach, and they could — in partnership with appropriate Government agencies — take digital literacy into even the remote corners of the country. Further, CSOs have a natural bent to look for new solutions, and they could find innovative ways to ensure digital literacy of even those who are conventionally illiterate. Having done this, they could partner with State and Central Governments to scale up the programme and reach millions of elders.
It is vital that while teaching transactional skills — or even for those who already have them — awareness and training is imparted regarding basic aspects of cyber security. Today, with increasing amount of cyber crime, this is a necessity, especially as one begins to do more financial transactions in the digital mode. Therefore, this must be an integral part of any digital literacy programme.
Clearly, there is urgent need of an intensive programme of e-enablement of elders, with two components: training and access. The former has been discussed above; on the latter, Government must look at ways through which it can provide a laptop or smart-phone to all elders who cannot afford them.
Together, these will not only empower elders but will also help to reduce the load on their caregivers. In fact, a successful programme can help transform elders into “home managers”, taking on the responsibility for the family’s shopping, bills payment and banking needs, among other things.
For elders who are on their own, basic digital skills will greatly improve their ease-of-living and help them become more independent. It could also open new avenues for livelihoods and income, for example, through on-line classes for cooking or other skills that elders may possess. Such a programme must, therefore, be high on the agenda of the government, which can best implement this in partnership with CSOs.
(The writer is an author. His latest book is “Decisive Decade: India 2030, Gazelle or Hippo”. He chairs HelpAge India, and is associated with a number of other CSOs in the areas of education and development.)