The senior citizens of India are not tech savvy, says a study released by Telenor. Titled as ‘The unconnected senior citizens of Asia’, Telenor conducted a study among four major countries of Asia -- India, Thailand, Bangladesh and Malaysia, the data of which indicates that the senior citizens of these nations constitute as little as two percent of the active mobile users, with still fewer using smartphones.
According to the study, six percent of the total mobile phone users in India are over 50 years. Among the 50 years old crowd, only one percent use the mobile internet. For Uninor customers, around 10 percent are over 45 years old.
Moreover, the study pointed out that the penetration of smartphones are less among the elderly. Most of them use basic featured phones.
“The Internet can be a vital way of maintaining civic participation and even receiving basic citizen services in the near future, and thus the findings should be of interest to multiple stakeholders, from policy makers to corporations, families, and individuals. This is particularly true as several Asian societies anticipate increasingly aging populations: we must work to achieve connectivity for all, not just the young,” Sigve Brekke, Executive Vice President and Head of Asia operations, Telenor Group commented.
