Britains admit they can't live without the internet – but pensioners can?
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Hot on the heals of the research report by UKOM last week covering the rise in those switched on to the internet – a new report titled “Minimum Income Standard report” released by released by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has hit the headlines. The social research charity which gauges what members of the public think people need to achieve a “socially acceptable standard of living” has found that:
A computer and home internet connection are now considered essential for all non-pensioner households, according to the groups involved in the research. In 2008, they were only considered essential for families with school-age children.
It is an attempt to determine what, aside from physical necessities such as food, warmth and shelter, people need to allow them to feel part of society and this research now states that in the last 2 years a tipping point has been reached where internet access in the home is deemed as essential.
The report goes on to state:
Participants argued stongly that internet access at home has become essential to have the opportunities needed to participate in society – and was needed for example to access job opportunities and get discounts on services. Pensioners in the review groups agreed the internet is growing in importance, but disagreed that home internet access is part of a minimum living standard for them. Computers and the internet are therefore included in the 2010 budgets for working-age but not
for pensioner households.
Looking further into the report:
However, the research suggests that people on low incomes are at risk of suffering in today’s economic context:
New spending needs emerge in a changing world. In 2010, the essential need for a computer and home internet access impose significant extra costs on low-income households.
From the full report more details emerge about the issue of pensioners use of the internet:
In 2010, there was a range of individual perspectives on whether computers are now essential for households. The prevailing feeling of the groups was that every household including adults of working age should now be able to access the Internet, but that for pensioners it is not yet a necessity.
From research taken from the group above retirement age the report states:
Groups of older people, on the other hand, used a different set of rationales to the working age groups, and overall did not feel that a computer or an Internet connection is at present essential for pensioners. As in 2008, individual pensioners took a variety of views of the Internet, some being enthusiastic advocates, others thinking it was useful but not essential and some expressing hostility to its role and influence. As in the previous research, the pensioner groups rapidly reached a decision that Internet access in the home was still not a minimum requirement for pensioners, and that those who did wish to use it could do so in places such as libraries.
It would be intereting to get your views on this report so please add to the comment and make your point of view heard.
Read the full repot here
July 6th, 2010 kate | 1 Comment »
August 5th, 2010 at 7:32 am
I’ve been out of touch with this column and have just popped back. I’m surprised there are not comments on this. I’m particularly surprised that pensioner groups should apparently have reached the conclusion that pensioners wishing to have internet access can do so in places like libraries.
I don’t think that is enough to make progress in digital inclusion of the older age groups. I wonder if the groups making drawing that conclusion were users themselves – probably a mix of both.
I do feel very strongly that immediate availability, and familiarity, are the keys to easy and productive use of the internet.
And if the stories one hears are true, such as those of councils and government bodies proposing to make services available only via the internet, pensioners will certainly need to be at home with their computer and their papers to sort themselves out. But cost is certainly a problem.