Older adults’ internet use is shaped by choice, not age alone

It is tempting to think that older people spend less time online chiefly because advancing age makes technology more difficult to operate.

However, new research indicates that the situation is more nuanced. For people aged over 50, variation in internet use appears to be driven less by age alone than by factors including cognitive ability, education, employment status and, in many instances, individual preference.

Computing researchers at Lancaster University led the study in partnership with University College London (UCL).

Drawing on responses from more than 6,000 participants in the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA), the researchers examined how frequently older adults access the internet and the reasons some people use it less often.

More online than expected

One of the most notable results is that internet use among older people in England is considerably higher than many may assume.

ELSA data show that more than 90 percent of adults aged 50 and above use the internet regularly, either every day or every month. This finding challenges the longstanding perception that later life is largely lived offline.

Nevertheless, the research identified a distinct age-related digital divide. Internet use does decline with increasing age, with the reduction particularly apparent among the oldest groups.

Regular users accounted for 97.7 percent of people aged 50 to 64. The proportion decreased to 91.1 percent among those aged 65 to 79, before falling more markedly to 65.7 percent for adults aged 80 and over.

Age therefore remains relevant, but the researchers sought to establish what factors were actually underlying this trend.

Looking beyond age

To investigate this, the team assessed a broad set of potential influences: sex, marital status, wealth, education, employment status, health conditions, mobility, physical impairments and cognitive ability.

Rather than simply examining whether older people use the internet less, they explored which factors appeared to account for the gap.

Education, employment status and cognitive ability emerged as the strongest influences. Across age groups, these three factors appeared to be central to the frequency with which older adults went online.

“Our study empirically refutes the common assumption that functional decline is the primary reason for older adults not using technology. We find that cognitive ability, employment status, and education are more influential factors,” said lead author Bran Knowles from Lancaster.

For many years, conversations about older adults and technology have often portrayed lower use as a direct consequence of ageing, primarily as a narrative of decline.

The study indicates that, while health and mobility problems are linked to internet use to some extent, they did not appear to account for the age-related decrease in the way many might anticipate.

The value of lifelong skills training

The results also reflect what older adults report themselves. When questioned about why they did not use the internet more, many cited insufficient skills rather than limited access.

This is an important detail, as it suggests that the main difficulty is usually not physically connecting to the internet. For those who would like to use it more, confidence and practical knowledge may instead present the greater obstacle.

The findings therefore highlight the importance of lifelong digital skills training, rather than treating the provision of devices or internet connections as the principal answer.

At the same time, the research uncovered a further finding that makes the conventional account more complex.

When older adults were asked why they did not go online more frequently, the most common overall response was not a barrier. They simply did not feel there was any need to use the internet more than they already did.

This substantially shifts the nature of the discussion, indicating that reduced internet use in later life can sometimes be an intentional choice. Personal choice matters as well.

Lack of skills and lack of interest

The results suggest that the age-based digital divide requires a wider discussion. Naturally, support remains important for people who believe they lack the skills to use the internet and want to do more online.

However, the agency of older people must also be recognised. If some individuals decide to step back from technology as they age, this should not automatically be viewed as exclusion or failure.

“Older people use the internet a lot across all age cohorts and are generally content with how frequently they log on, providing similar reasons for not using the internet as the rest of the population,” Knowles said.

“The data could be showing us that there’s a tendency toward voluntary disengagement from technology in later life – perhaps a reprioritization in how to spend one’s time.”

“Given that the vast majority of older people are reasonably regular users, and not using the internet more is for most a matter of choice rather than due to other barriers, should we really be talking about the age-based digital divide simply in terms of exclusion, or should we also be talking about how aging well may involve disengaging from the internet and doing other things?”

Rethinking digital support

This does not mean digital inclusion has ceased to be important. Regular internet access is becoming ever more essential as public services, healthcare systems and routine shopping increasingly move online.

“It is encouraging that internet use is becoming more common even among people in their 80s and 90s. This is increasingly important as government and local services, access to healthcare move online, while many goods and services are cheaper on the internet,” said Andrew Steptoe from UCL.

Even so, the researchers argue that technology designers and service providers should give greater thought to supporting people who choose to spend less time online.

This might involve creating systems that do not presume constant engagement, or ensuring that vital services remain available through alternative channels.

“It is important to provide assistance to individuals facing barriers to using the internet and wanting to use it more, but this doesn’t appear to be the case for the vast majority of older adults,” Knowles said.

“Our findings indicate that, for the most part, non-use is an expression of personal preference in older age in which case designers should explore how technology design can support this choice.”

The research has been published in the ACM digital library.