Research reveals elderly multicultural Australians falling through the digital divide

Research released by the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria (ECCV) found multicultural seniors, who already faced language barriers to accessing important information and services, now also struggle with the need to operate online.

The Digital Divide: Impacts on older people from migrant communities revealed that this lack of access can have far-reaching consequences.

These ranged from poorer physical and mental health and less control over decision-making to increased risk of elder abuse, social isolation and a greater vulnerability to exploitation and scams.

ECCV chair Eddie Micallef said digital exclusion was now a critical issue for older people from migrant backgrounds.

“Digital illiteracy has become a new disability, especially for older people who are already facing barriers such as low literacy in English and their own language,” he said.

The report said that during the covid pandemic and associated lockdowns, increased reliance on digital communication heightened the barriers for older people from migrant and refugee backgrounds and increased their susceptibility to online scams.

Mr Micallef said this trend had continued, with many older people from ethnic communities struggling in the face of rapidly changing digital technologies and the growing need to connect online to access government services such as Medicare, do their banking, pay their electricity bills and even pay for car parking.

The report said the requirement to go online to manage life’s essentials had become ubiquitous, with seniors increasingly asked to log in, create an account, download an app, or navigate their way through English-language website pages to find their way to information in their preferred language.

This was compounded by the fact that not all multicultural seniors are literate in their own language, making access to text-based information problematic.

The report said websites were often incomprehensible to seniors because they used small print, used technical language or jargon, and were inaccessible to people who were vision- or hearing-impaired, which added to the stress faced by seniors trying to navigate the digital landscape.

Widening the digital divide was the fact that not all seniors had the capacity or financial means to obtain internet access, smart phones, laptops or other digital devices – or even email addresses.

“Very often, this presents a substantial impediment to connecting with the supports, services or information they need,” the report found.

While face-to-face culturally appropriate training in their preferred language was the answer for some members of the elderly migrant community, the report conceded that many older people would never become digitally literate.

The report said that for this group, personal contact with support workers and health providers who could speak in their preferred language was crucial, as was the provision of information through ethnic community members and leaders in places where people already met and felt safe and heard.

The report said lucky seniors had a digitally literate family member or friend who spoke their language and could help them.

Those who didn’t often felt ashamed or embarrassed to ask for help after a lifetime of managing their affairs independently and instead gave up, going without the services they needed.

“ECCV’s report makes a range of recommendations to improve digital inclusion, while advocating for the maintenance of critical human-based communication and support,” said Mr Micallef.

The report called for:

• proactive consultation with people from migrant and refugee backgrounds and their representative bodies for the development of the Australian Data and Digital Government Strategy

• the provision of essential information by engaging trusted community leaders and ethno-specific and multicultural organisations

• the promotion of information and services through ethnic media

• the co-design of digital literacy training programs with older people from migrant and refugee backgrounds

• the development, monitoring and enforcement of ethical guidelines for the use of AI in the care and support of older Australians.

ECCV said the research findings were supported by grassroots intelligence from migrant communities and the ethnic support sector.

Research showed that many seniors responded well to culturally appropriate face-to-face training and mentoring.

However, a significant number of older people needed alternative avenues for accessing information and services, such as paper, phone, or face-to-face options.

“Many older people will never become digitally literate, so we must continue to provide digital alternatives,” said Mr Micallef.

“We need proactive policies, programs and services that prioritise the human rights and quality of life of all seniors so that no one is left behind.”