The ‘digital divide’ is more complicated than we thought

It is easy to assume that older people spend less time online mainly because aging makes technology harder to use. 

But a new study suggests the picture is more complicated. Among adults over 50, differences in internet use seem to be shaped less by age itself and more by things like cognitive ability, education, work status, and, in many cases, simple personal choice.

The study was led by computing researchers at Lancaster University in collaboration with University College London (UCL). 

Using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA), the team looked at answers from more than 6,000 people to understand how often older adults use the internet and why some use it less than others.

More online than expected

One of the clearest findings is that internet use among older people in England is much higher than many people might think.

According to the ELSA data, more than 90 percent of adults aged 50 and over are regular internet users, meaning they go online either daily or monthly. That alone pushes back against the old stereotype of later life as mostly offline.

Even so, the study did find a clear age-related digital divide. Internet use still falls as people get older, and the drop is especially visible in the oldest age groups.

Among people aged 50 to 64, 97.7 percent were regular users. That figure fell to 91.1 percent for those aged 65 to 79, and then dropped more sharply to 65.7 percent among adults aged 80 and older.

So yes, age still matters. But the researchers wanted to know what was really sitting behind that pattern.

Looking beyond age

To answer that, the team looked at a wide range of possible explanations. They considered sex, marital status, wealth, education, employment status, health conditions, mobility, and physical impairments, as well as cognitive ability. 

In other words, they were not just asking whether older people go online less, but what factors seem to explain the difference.

What stood out most strongly were education, employment status, and cognitive ability. Those three appeared to play a central role in how often older adults used the internet across different age groups.

“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 a long time, discussions about older adults and technology have often framed lower use as a direct result of aging itself, as though it were mainly a story of decline.

This study suggests that health and mobility issues do have some relationship with internet use, but they did not seem to explain the age-related decline in the way people might expect.

The value of lifelong skills training

The findings also line up with what older adults themselves say. When asked why they were not using the internet more, many pointed to a lack of skills rather than a lack of access.

That is a striking detail, because it suggests the problem is not usually that people cannot physically get online. Instead, for those who do want to use the internet more, confidence and know-how may be the bigger issue.

That points toward the value of lifelong digital skills training, rather than assuming the main solution is simply giving people devices or connections.

At the same time, the study found something else that complicates the usual narrative.

When older adults were asked why they did not use the internet more often, the most common answer overall was not about barriers at all. It was that they did not see any reason to use it more than they already did.

That changes the tone of the conversation quite a bit, suggesting that lower internet use in later life may sometimes reflect a conscious decision. Choice matters too.

Lack of skills and lack of interest

The findings point to a need for a broader conversation about the age-based digital divide. Of course, support still matters for people who feel they lack the skills to use the internet and would like to do more online.

Yet, older people’s agency should also be taken seriously: if some people choose to disengage from technology as they get older, that decision should not automatically be treated as failure or exclusion.

“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

That does not mean digital inclusion no longer matters. As more public services, health care systems, and everyday purchases move online, regular internet access is becoming increasingly important. 

“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.

At the same time, the researchers say technology designers and service providers should start thinking more carefully about how to support people who prefer to use the internet less.

That could mean designing systems that do not assume endless engagement, or making sure important services can still be reached in other ways.

“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 is published in the ACM digital library.

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