även - Nordens Välfärdscenter

84
THE NORDIC CENTRE FOR
WELFARE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
RECOMMENDS:
1. Make it a national policy
to allocate the necessary
resources to the promotion
of the use of IT among
senior citizens. Digital
participation is a prerequisite
for a well-functioning
democracy – and the elderly
must not be sidetracked.
Increased use of IT will make it
possible for senior citizens to
participate in social life on equal
terms with others. Thus, they will
be able to take advantage of the
many benefits offered by the
Internet in form of access to all
sorts of information, services and
products, as well as being able to
communicate with public authorities,
friends and family, and get
useful contacts and information,
for instance on health issues.
2. The authorities must
ensure that existing and
new public and private
solutions will be made
accessible, so everybody
will be able to use them.
From the beginning,
involve the elderly in
the development of user
interfaces for the IT
systems of the future.
The inclusion of the elderly in
information society is a win-win
situation for everybody. It pays
well off to develop IT solutions
which may easily be used by the
growing numbers of old people,
who in the future, due to being
well-off, will be part of a growing
market. At the same time, the
elderly (like everybody else) will
be able to save money by shopping
online.
Inferior user interfaces are troublesome
for everybody, but often
impossible for many old people.
Therefore, businesses and institutions
have to ensure that the elderly
are involved from the beginning
in the development of future IT
systems. Thereby, one benefits
from the knowledge the elderly
have of their own needs and from
their ideas and wishes. At the
same time, one ensures that the
new IT solutions become more
functional, are easier to use and
thus get a far greater user group.
3. Use the institutions
and organizations familiar
to the elderly in the work
of spreading the knowledge
of and the use of
IT. Regard the youngest
generation as a resource.
Libraries, municipal and private
old people’s homes and user
organizations are natural cooperation
partners when it comes to
older people learning about information
technology. A physical
meeting place will have a positive
effect on motivation and learning,
as well as contributing to establishing
contacts between the elderly.
There are also several good examples
of young people being able to
contribute to the process in a
fruitful interaction with the elderly.
4. Ensure there is full and
free IT support for the
elderly, so they can get
support and guidance on
their own terms.
Many old people need temporary
support when they get stuck or
something unexpected occurs. Full
and free access to support will
reduce the insecurity of the elderly
towards the new technology and