e-Governance is basically carrying out the functions and achieving the results of governance through the utilization of ICT (Information and Communications Technology). It ensures government to be transparent in its dealings, accountable for its activities and faster in its responses as part of good governance.

However, with rapid changes in the technology and digitization by the day, many of the aged and senior citizens are finding it challenging to cope up. Elderly people are increasingly getting marginalised due to digital illiteracy, a new survey has revealed.

According to the Agewell Foundation Survey, approximately 85.8 per cent respondents were found to be digitally and computer illiterate, out of which 76.5 per cent were elderly men and 95 per cent were elderly women.

Body:

The challenges increasing Digitization and increasing e-governance has posed on the elderly are:

• Digital Illiteracy:
  • With Digital India as one of the flagship programs of the government, most of the services from online payment of utility bills to pension to PDS to Banking to Insurance has gone digital. Digital illiteracy is a bane to the elderly who find it difficult to use the facilities.
• Digital Divide:
  • It increases the “ever-widening generation gap” between the younger and older generations. This is seen in the form of accessibility, affordability to the digital devices and digi-world.
  • 4 per cent digitally illiterate respondents claimed that they consider themselves as marginalized and under- privileged lot of society in new settings, which is governed by modern IT and internet.
• Poverty:
  • Instances in Jharkand where elderly couldn’t receive their PDS grains due to failure of Aadhar Verification because of missing finger-prints of senior citizens.
  • Almost 70% of women are part of the unconnected population in the country.
  • The gap between the haves and the have-nots is persistent and becoming increasingly problematic.
  • Recent natural disasters have shown that being disconnected has devastating consequences for the elderly and their families.
• Trust Deficit and Fear:
  • Many older persons live in fear. It is doubled in case of using computer and digital devices due to perceived complications, cyber threats, loss of hard-earned money etc.
  • They feel that there is no reason to use the mobile Internet. This is a generation that has not grown with mobile technology and is usually aversed to new technical skills.
• Reducing personal ties:
  • A whopping 85 per cent rued lack of communication with younger members of their families, due to their “more demanding lifestyle and inability of older family members to understand the modern digital language of communication
  • A lot of older people feel, in the digital age, that they are not relevant or included.

Positives of Digitization for elderly citizens:

• Participation: It has enabled them to participate in the economy, earn by offering consultations from their life experience and wisdom, which is extremely valuable for us to progress as a society. Perspectives, guidance and mentoring from the elderly we believe, need to be integrated deeply into what’s taught in schools and colleges.
• Connection: Enables them to restore connections to their family members who are separated geographically or have travel constraints.
• Information: Enables them to use the internet, gain information on their body, health conditions, find people who have answers to their questions and start conversations online.
• Inclusion: Can reap the benefits of Government schemes like pension, banking, e- living certificates, direct transfer of pensions to accounts etc.

Way forward:

• Provision of Customer service centers at the rural areas for digital assistance of the aged.
• Digital financial literacy will help in financial inclusion, which is abysmally low among aged women.
• Digital literacy among the elderly would help the population in getting government benefits on financial inclusion schemes, chatting with friends and relatives, internet banking, online payment of utility bills, getting gainful engagement, online entertainment, among others.
• Encouraging digital inclusion is not only about being socially conscious, but it also means being profitable. There is a need for tailor-made products specifically to the needs of the senior citizens
• They will have more opportunities to communicate with family, access public services, and receive the latest safety information during a crisis.
• We could also have online platforms that encourage seniors to come forward and share their life lessons and insights.

Conclusion:

Helping seniors connect online will allow thousands of people to engage with their communities to plan for extreme conditions, rather than being passive bystanders.