Promoting digital inclusion among older people in Hong Kong: Challenges and prospect

Abstract

Most East Asian countries have policies to promote digital inclusion, or simply bridging digital gaps, especially among children of low-income families and persons with disabilities, for social development purposes. However, such efforts and impacts among older people are rather limited. Given the demographic characteristics of the older cohort in Hong Kong, in 2008 only 7% of those aged 65 or above were internet users, comparing to 33% of those in the same age group in the United States. This paper discusses a measure of digital inclusion among people from 6 major disadvantaged groups in Hong Kong (sample size = 2,312), and the experiences and results of training older people in using the computer and internet (sample size = 500). Issues and effectiveness of promoting older people in taking part in the information society are discussed. It recommends that in addition to tailor-made training for older people, software and hardware support, and community organizing to promote use among peers are important to promote awareness and interest in ICT usage.