Whether it be for paying utility bills, booking holidays or simply finding out what’s going on in your local area – almost every business or organisation either deliberately or otherwise directs the public to their website for further information. But for many older people this can result in a digital divide. Many elderly people in Europe don’t have easy access to a computer, and have never even surfed the net, let alone paid a bill on it.
One of the real issues of concern is the fact that online customers can often get lower or cheaper bills for various goods and services. That simply isn’t fair. We do not live in a society with equal access to information, and it is completely wrong for one section – largely older – to be excluded from the marketplace in this way. The importance of having information delivered through your letterbox in writing that you can read at leisure is therefore of vital importance to many older people. Paper is patient with those that live on an unhurried side of life.
More information about elderly in Europe: http://www.age-platform.eu