Source : Laura Grigg \ Age UK

Published on 23 August 2013 12:30 AM

Older women are the least likely group in society to use the internet, despite potentially having the most to gain from it, new statistics from the ONS reveal.

Nearly three quarters (73%) of women aged 75 and over, or two million people, have never been online despite it offering them advantages including being able to keep in touch with friends and family more easily.

Older men, whilst not as likely to be online as their younger counterparts, are more likely to use the internet than older women, with 59%, or 1.2 million, having never used the internet.

Separately it is also estimated that 46% of women in the same age group admit to feeling lonely– something which could potentially be addressed by using technology.

For example, new research shows that older people who are offline are twice as likely to say they are lonely compared to those who are online.

Despite these benefits, many older people are not aware of how the internet could improve their lives.

Are there lessons for the UK in Finland’s ‘internet bus’?

The Guardian recently carried an article about an ‘internet bus’, or Netti-Nyse in Finnish, which travels around the city of Tampere in Finald teaching citizens IT skills. It has been organized by the local government and since its inception in 2001 has taught 30,000 local residents essential online skills, given that Tampere is considered one of the country’s high-tech cities as it is home to companies like Nokia.

Given that the UK government is working on making its services Digital by Default and yet many people do not have the required IT skills to be able to make use of them, this is an idea that could be certainly looked into. The first bus, now out of use, cost £87,000 to convert – the money came from the city, as well as private firms who sponsored the initiative and provided computers and software.

According to the Guardian, the second bus “cost around £295,000 — about 70% of these costs were covered by the eTampere programme and the rest was shared between the Ministry of Education, regional funds and business partners.”

Elina Harju and Anne Kastarine, who work for the Learning Bridge Project Education Export Network in Tampere, Finland, and who wrote the article, have said that “the most important part of what we do is to create an informal atmosphere inside the bus. According to participant surveys, learners feel that they are getting the support they need; they are treated well and have a good time.”