Professor Elin Thygesen at the Centre for e-Health, University of Agder, has been researching the area for several years. She is keen on targeted moves to include more digitally.
“This article was first published in the handbook “How to Include Everyone in Our Digital Society?” which was a collaborative project between Kakadu, the Norwegian Directorate of Health and Ryfylke IKS
How can digital outsourcing be prevented?
I think it's important to recognize that digital otherness is something more than being online or not. There are many degrees of outsidership and one can experience outsidership in some venues and not in others.
It is also important to view digital outsourcing in a larger socio-economic perspective as we see that this form of outsourcing is related to other forms of outsourcing. Therefore, digital outsourcing is a complex phenomenon that requires effort on many levels.
The development of user-friendly digital solutions (universal design) and competence building measures is important and perhaps what is most often thought of. At the same time, it is also important to consider that not everyone has the opportunity to adopt digital solutions. It is therefore necessary that society makes it possible for them to have access to the information and services to which they are entitled. It can be by retaining access analog services or by facilitating the opportunity to get help (for example, by relatives, neighbors, and health care providers).
Today, for example, many helpers venture into gray areas when assisting with financial transactions. Changes are needed both in legislation and in technological solutions that can make it easier to assist those who, for various reasons, are not digital.
How can seniors be motivated to develop their digital skills?
I think it is important that one must directly see the value of using digital solutions in order to be motivated at the same time that training-
opportunities must be readily available and that the costs are not too high.
Many seniors have this motivation and actively seek help from their immediate family or participate in various training offers, but surveys (cf the survey Digital competence in Norway from 2021) also show that there is some if not want to develop their digital skills. Some may think that they have a spouse, children and grandchildren to help them and that for that reason they do not need training, others simply cannot bear it.
How to motivate this group, I have no easy answer. A motivating factor for some may be when they discover that they are being left out in more and more areas as more and more functions of society are digitized, but in order for them to actively step in to do something about it, probably more things need to be in place, such as easy access to training and follow-up. I also believe that it is important to work with attitudes, that is, to show concretely the importance of digital competence for having access to information and statutory services.
What needs to be taken into account when seniors develop their digital skills?
It is especially important not to go too fast, that is, to have plenty of time and work incrementally. In addition, it is important to have a lot of repetitions. Seniors need more time for the skills to sit. It is also important that they get help quickly when there is something they cannot do. I also find that many people have little confidence and faith in their own skills. Therefore, it is important to show respect and normalize trial and error.
How can sectors across the board contribute to skills development among seniors?
A little difficult to answer this briefly, but one area for cooperation across the board may be reaching out to people who would not normally sign up for different training offers. For example, health and care services will often be in contact with seniors who are in need of assistance and can assist in finding appropriate training offerings (often run by volunteers) for those who want it. Otherwise, there are many good examples of cooperation between the public sector and NGOs and/or volunteer centres. Here, for example, the public sector can provide premises for courses or other activities.
I also think that a solution that could give people digital help in the home could have helped reach out to more seniors. It applies both to those who would not otherwise participate in training offers, but it would also have helped many when they are stuck. Today, many people do not know who to contact when problems arise, or if they contact suppliers or private actors it can often be very expensive. A form of digital home help/digital response team as a low-threshold offering could have been rigged as a collaboration between the public and voluntary sectors.
What does it take for digital services to help make people's lives easier and more social — not harder?
Also a difficult question, but I think that it is important to continue the work on making the digital solutions more user-friendly (which assumes a large degree of user participation). In addition, it is important to continue to develop different training offers, but perhaps to provide more varied offers based on different needs.
As mentioned in the points above, I think it is necessary to convey the value of some digital solutions to motivate people, but also to put in place arrangements that make it easier to be a helper so that those who cannot use the solutions themselves can access through others. Otherwise, it is important to ensure that those who 'venture out' have easy access to help and support, for example with a digital response team or by establishing easily accessible digital 'help desks' in key locations in cities or towns.
