New technologies: opportunity or threat for the rights of older people?

In just a few years, technology has gone from being unimaginable to becoming essential. Digitalization has transformed services, relationships and ways of living. But this transformation, far from being neutral, raises a key question: do new technologies really improve the quality of life of older people or, on the contrary, put their rights at risk?

It is true that digital tools can contribute to improving social care, communication or security. However, it is also being shown that uncritical application can generate segregation, isolation and loss of autonomy. Many older people wonder what the real objective of these technological impositions is: to reduce costs or to improve our quality of life?

On the one hand, we are moving towards a model of increasingly automated and remote services, where the user is pushed to “do it yourself” as a formula to contain costs. On the other hand, technology can — and should — be a tool to guarantee rights, dignity, autonomy and social cohesion. The difference lies in how it is applied and for what purpose.

It must be made clear that we, the elderly, are not against technology. What we are demanding is that it provides real advantages and does not become an excuse to cut staff, services or rights, nor a source of loss of privacy and independence. For this reason, careful monitoring is essential and that attention “returns to the hands of citizens”: that we are the ones who decide how and when we want to use it.

The digital divide remains a persistent reality. It is not just a lack of skills, but also an inequality in access to and use of digital technologies. It is often taken for granted that the entire population is fully digitalised, but INE data belies this: only around 60% of people aged 65 to 74 use the internet, mainly to communicate via WhatsApp or social networks. From the age of 75, this percentage decreases significantly: only a minority makes regular use of the internet, and participation in activities such as online shopping or banking services does not exceed 7.4%. For many older people, digitalisation does not simplify daily procedures, but adds new obstacles, generating anxiety and concern. Added to all this is digital vulnerability, which makes this group a particularly exposed target for fraud and cyber attacks.

Digitalization is unstoppable, as is the aging of the population. That is why we must seize the opportunity to address the digital divide from a rights perspective: training, support and accessibility; guaranteeing autonomy and self-determination; ensuring real consent and the right to reject certain technologies; defining red lines and directly involving older people in the design and development of innovations.

Ultimately, technology will only cease to be a threat if older people are an active part of the process. The digital divide is, in fact, “the gap of gaps”, because it accentuates all other forms of exclusion. Using it well is a matter of social justice.