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News Release
Broadband silver surfers are well off
25 January 2010
Inderscience
The UK's "silver surfers" are more likely to be educated and well-off, according to a study published in the Inderscience publication "Electronic Government, An International Journal".
Information and communications technology (ICT) is viewed as critical tools for the future prosperity and growth of economies. There is a strong drive from both the public and private sectors to have ICT adopted and used in our daily lives. Official UK figures suggest that while internet and mobile phone use is increasing among all age groups, it was not so pronounced in the older groups, the so-called silver surfers. This is particularly important given that the population as a whole is aging with the number of over-60s being higher than the number of children in the UK. This is a point that has been raised by Ofcom, the BBC and the Office of national Statistics.
Now, Jyoti Choudrie, Susan Grey and Nicholas Tsitsianis of the University of Hertfordshire, Business School, in Hatfield, UK, have, in ongoing research, explored the adoption of high-speed internet, broadband.
The team surveyed 650 people and obtained data on 123 over 50s via email, interviews and an online survey. "We used the postal service as well as online questionnaires," explains Choudrie, "We sent the questionnaires to all types of people. The ones who answered online, of course, were familiar with the Internet. Also, we asked whether someone was using the Internet. If they were, then they proceeded to the next questions. If they were not, they quit."
They found that the majority of silver surfers were educated and well off and that technical factors and jargon, such as ADSL, megabits per second, were not of primary importance in whether or not someone was using the internet.
Disabilities, resistance to change, accessibility, price, awareness and interests are amongst the factors that will lead to this divide. "Our research identifies and explains using primary research the current users, and what are the tools (for instance, brochures) being employed to inform older users. We view this research as important as it could encourage those older users who may have been considering using the internet to adopt and use the internet," Choudrie says.
The team adds that, "While the above offers a UK perspective, such trends are also emerging in Europe where internet penetration is lowest amongst the elderly, lowly educated or low income people, confirming that socioeconomic factors are important when considering aspects of the digital divide." Governments across the globe, including the UK are trying hard to overcome the digital divide. In the UK, the appointment of a champion for Digital Britain and a champion for older people are amongst key instruments being utilised to overcome this divide, Choudrie adds.