Unrolling the thread in the labyrinth of successful/active ageing.

The policy problem of digital divide among the Young Elderly in Sweden and in Greece:

A Comparative Analysis within the European Framework.

Abstract

This research intends to explore [1] the relationship between the young elderly (65-74 years old) and use of technologies, and in the same time to examine [2] the concept of acting ageing and how the existence of digital divide blocks the positive results that technology can actually bring to this particular group. Research shows that people who “keep in touch” and engage themselves with new technologies manage to create a responsive and comfortable domestic environment in their daily routine. The entire paper is structured on a comparative analysis perspective, by setting side by side two completely different countries: Sweden and Greece, with the intention of explaining their core differences in the access/use of ICTs for young-old individuals. In order to discover the real impact that ICTs have on “young elderlies”, I will conduct a number of in-depth interviews in Stockholm (Sweden) and in Athens (Greece), so as to hear the “voices” and the ideas of those, who are in the first stages of old age (after retirement) and their actual difficulties in following the fast pace that technology signifies for all of us. Aside from the interviews, I will also take into consideration the relevant bibliography (books, journals, articles, and other publications) together with the statistical data that European Union (EU) collects for the previously mentioned countries, regarding the young elderly IT users.

Keywords: Young Elderly, Active ageing, digital divide, ICTs, Internet, IT users.

1.  Introduction

The significance of new technologies in improving the quality of life, social interactions, health and assistance/care of old people seems to be these days a quite popular topic on the academic and political agenda. These technologies (computer and Internet access) provide a “milieu”, where people easily connect, communicate, exchange e-mails, share common interests, concerns and knowledge, establish relationships, entertain and more generally can intermingle with each other, irrespectively of their geographical position, their distance and first and foremost their age. Different people, from every corner of the planet, are able within a few seconds to join in a wide digital network, simply by pressing some buttons on their keyboard. In this way, time and space lose their classic meaning and the world turns indeed to a ‘global village’ (Marshall McLuhan, 1962 and 1964).

Even with the advent of these tremendous technological changes (especially the Internet), some groups remain -in a sense- imprisoned to the ‘Dark Ages’ of digital exclusion. An illustrative example at hand is older people, who in many cases are portrayed as “digital laggards”, when compared to younger individuals. To this direction, the European Union, under the influence of WHO’s concept of active ageing, promotes the implementation of various policies for making possible the active involvement and participation of older people in society.

2.  The Concept of Active Ageing: Theoretical Framework

In the mid-twentieth century there has been a growing attention to the process of aging and particularly to old people, chiefly on the other side of the Ocean (United States). Progressively, gerontology made its appearance as a distinct scientific discipline. The term gerontology is a combination of two different words, the Greek word “γέρος” (gerōn, geront), which means “old man” and the word “λογία” (logy), which means the “discussion about a specific issue”. Consequently, gerontology is the study of elderly and of their problems. However, the field of gerontology is in point of fact broader and brings together professionals from different scientific backgrounds. The topics that gerontology dealing with, in a major way, are the next ones:

•Body changes, like those that affect the proper functionality of the body e.g. ability to move.

•Mind changes, including the changes related to mental and cognitive functions.

•Social changes, for instance how an individual interacts with others and with society, as a whole.

As more and more scientists become actively involved in the study of aging, there has also been a wide discourse about “who” is considered as a “successfully” aged person or put it differently, as an “actively” aged person. The use of the term “successful ageing” stems from the work of Rowe and Kahn (1987, 1997 and 1998), where they made a clear distinction between “successful” and “usual aging”. According to their model, individuals were supposed to follow lives that circumvent disease and disability, preserve high cognitive and physical capacities that facilitate social participation. All these prerequisites (free of disease and disability, free of mental illness and social engagement) must be applied altogether, so that someone to be considered as a “successful person”, in terms of ageing. For the largest part of people, the fulfillment of the directly above criteria is almost unfeasible.

On the contrary, the concept of “active ageing” has been mainly used by the “old continent” (Europe). Consistent with the definition that the European Commission (EC) gives “[a]ctive ageing means helping people stay in charge of their own lives for as long as possible as they age and, where possible, to contribute to the economy and society[1].” This definition has been influenced by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) conceptual framework. As stated by WHO “Active ageing[2] is the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age (WHO, 2002:12). The WHO's concept on active ageing is irrefutably very policy-oriented, by outlining three key points in order an individual to experience ‘active ageing’: health, participation and security.

For monitoring and measuring the goal of active ageing across the 28 EU Member States, the European Commission in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has been launched the “Active Ageing Index” (AAI). AAI pays attention to the extent to which older people can fulfill their potentials in various domains of life, such as employment, independent living, and participation in social and cultural activities. It also takes into account the extent to which the environment can play a central role for senior citizens and their ability to practice an active lifestyle. Correspondingly the Active Ageing Index supports a more multidimensional[3] approach of ageing, which is not restrained to “only a 'league table' assessment of active ageing outcomes, but also to formulate policy advice on the basis of the comparative position of countries with respect to active ageing indicators and different domains that comprise active ageing[4].”

Active Ageing Index (UNECE & EUROPEAN COMMISSION)

Source: Active Ageing Index, http://www1.unece.org/stat/platform/display/AAI/Active+Ageing+Index+Home, retrieved on 31.10.2016.

For the period 2016-2018, the D4 AG[5] overall objective is: “to create a more inclusive society, communities and R&D systems across Europe by empowering older people to actively participate in the creation of age-friendly environments through scaled-up inclusive solutions”[6]. To achieve the objectives defined for the aforesaid period, four broad policy directions were developed: (1) Innovative employment policies and the silver economy, (2) Technologies and social networks; innovation, accessibility and universal design, (3) Age-Friendly Tourism and its impact and (4) Inclusive Smart Cities.

Amidst all these European policy targets, one thing is plentifully clear. Technology is an integral part of our understanding of active ageing and falls into the forth domain of AAI called “Capacity enabling environment for active ageing”. With the use of IT tools, older people can have greater accessibility and usability of technology based services and products and, in general, they can equally take part in the society and economy, as well. Additionally, technology can offer a “new identity” to elderly, which will allow them to fully enjoy their rights, as active citizens and being more autonomous. That is, several governments in developed countries (and not only) take up policy programs that encourage the utilization of technology for older people.

Regardless of the definition that someone prefers to use (successful or active ageing) for describing the process of ageing, two things are of decisive importance to keep in mind with reference to the elderly:

a)  Older people are not a homogeneous group, but a group with its own idiosyncratic characteristics. A part of senior citizens is still suspicious of using computers and the internet (technophobia), while a growing share of old people has the tendency to frequently use technology, either because they have used computer before in their work place, or as people who wanted to expand their internet skills in later life.

Under the nebulous title “old people”, it is possible to find three different groups, the middle-aged (55–64) who are still working, the “young” senior aged (65–74) who in most cases, they are retired from work and the “old” senior aged (75+ years)[7]. However, as Peacock and Künemund (2007:192), support that nowadays “the so called young–old, for example, do not match the common societal images of senior people: On average, elderly people today are healthier, better educated, and wealthier compared to earlier cohorts”. Evidently, each age group is unique and should be handled in this fashion, despite the labels that society repeatedly puts on people of third age.

b)  The elderly are not transmogrified into different human beings, simply because they are getting old. The predominant stereotypes of the happy, genteel, calm and wise “granny” or grandfather are merely simplifications for interpreting a very complex social phenomenon (ageing). As Haim Hazan (1994, p. 30) stresses, the old people are usually presented by contemporary society, as possessing “a perspective on reality of an entirely different order to that of ordinary persons”. Strictly speaking, there is a salient predisposition to ascribe to seniors a sort of mythical dimensions. In reality, although, the elderly are people as we are, just with their own personal needs and worries.

3.  The Purpose of this PhD thesis and its Methodology

My purpose in writing this PhD thesis is to offer a comparative analysis between two divergent societies -Sweden and Greece-, within the European perspective, since both countries are part of the same European family (European Union). More specifically, the dissertation will attempt firstly to comprehend the role played by the ICTs in the everyday life of young-old people (aged 65–74), secondly to present the statistical differences that exist in both countries, regarding the access and use of ICTs for “young elderlies”, and finally to explain which factors seem to influence the internet access/use of young-old people and why there is still a considerable digital gap between Sweden and Greece on this matter. The table below gives a first idea of the proportion of the population using the Internet, by age, (2014 %) in European Union:

Proportion of the population using the Internet, by age, (2014 %)

Source:Eurostat,http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/images/4/44/Proportion_of_the_population_using_the_internet%2C_by_age%2C_2014_%28%25%29_PF15.png, retrieved on 31.10.2016.

In doing so, I will make a literature review in the course of which I hope [1] to obtain a further insight of the needs of this particular age group (young elderly), [2] to understand the way they use new technologies, and also [3] to present the opportunities which are opened to them from the adoption and use of ICTs, in conjunction with the potential difficulties/risks. The method that I will pursuit is summarized below:

1. Document analysis in combination with the use of statistical data, and

2. Collection of a number of interviews from the group of young-old people, in Sweden and in Greece, with the intention of hearing their thoughts regarding the use of new technologies, in tandem with their own perceptions on active ageing and digital divide. Within this specific framework, it is needed to elucidate the concept of “digital divide”. In the academic discourse the word digital divide remains quite fancy and attractive, that’s why quickly gained much of attention and many books were published under the ‘digital divide umbrella’. But what does it mean, in reality?

As a concept, it was primarily used with the purpose of addressing the gaps related to an individual’s access to a computer. At a later point in time and mainly due to the Internet’s global diffusion, the term also germinated with gaps relevant to the internet access (Alexander van Deursen and Jan van Dijk, 2010). Another key aspect of the definition is drawn from the book of Pippa Norris (2001), where the digital divide is perceived as a multidimensional phenomenon with three separate dimensions, namely:

1. The global divide that focuses on the differences of Internet access between developed and developing countries,

2. The social divide that emphasizes on the gap between information rich and poor in every single society and

3. The democratic divide which refers to those who do and those who do not prefer to use the new technologies, so as to engage themselves in the public sphere.

Interestingly, the digital divide as an issue is noticeable not only across nations but within nations, too.

From the standpoint of the Internet skills and digital divide, there are four skills which are required in order for a person to perform well in the online environment. According to the classification of Van Deursen and Van Dijk (2009 and 2010) the four types of Internet skills are:

·  Operational internet skills, which are related to basic skills in utilizing internet technology.

·  Formal internet skills, which set as a precondition the existence of advanced skills of navigation and orientation.

·  Information internet skills, which emphasize on the actions by which users attempt to realize their information needs.

·  Strategic internet skills, which are focused on the capabilities of a person to use the internet as a tool of fulfilling certain goals and for improving one’s position in society.

The value of the above classification in the digital divide research, is centered in the recognition of a second divide which includes differences in the skills of old people to use the Internet, and not basically to problems linked with their physical access to computers and the Internet (original digital divide).

In a brief account, there is not a single definition about digital divide. Quite the reverse, each researcher applies his own carefully chosen definition for conducting his scientific inquiry and for achieving solid results in his field.