1. IFA 11th Global Conference Prague
Analog and Digital world’s collide
Sue Hendy COTA & Kate Crawshaw Ellis Jones

2. • Australia is ageist
• Age and capacity linked in thinking

3. • Older people experience age discrimination in
many ways
• Manifests in all facets of life :
education
health services
employment
public attitude

4. Background
• COTA provides an Information Service
• Interested in usage and perceptions
• Used Seniors Festival as opportunity
• Paper based and on line survey
• 174 Victorians responded
• 1.4m Victorians over the age of 55
• Assumption older people not online

5. Main activities on line
• Two thirds over age 85 perform online
banking
• over 20% of 75-84 use social media interacting
around hobbies
• 37% 65-74 mostly social media

6. Concerns about going online
• Age has no/little impact about going online
• 90% of 65-84 felt the internet relevant
• Less 20% 85 felt text was too hard to read

7. Who do you interact with?
• Multiple stakeholders
• Family & friends most prevalent on social
media
• 50% 65-74 engage with organisations on social
media
• 22.9% interact with product & service related
pages

8. Like most about access to Internet
• 25% 75-84 improved social life on & off line
• 50% made it easier to conduct business,
paying bills & buying products
• 100% 85 had better access to information

9. Access to Internet makes you feel?
• 51.2% 75-84 felt more included
• 7.3% feeling stressed
• 1.3% felt isolated
• 83% felt more informed
• 33% felt empowered

10. Outcomes
•Shows increasing usage
•Not connected issues remain
Next steps
•Redo annually
•Expand to Australia wide
•Add more questions