Statistics Austria:

Only every second person over 75 uses the internet

Only half of domestic senior citizens over 75 are online.

(Bild: ©Pixel-Shot - stock.adobe.com)

Just over half of 75 to 84-year-old men and women in Austria participate in digital life. This was the result of a study of senior citizens in the period from April to July 2023, as announced by Statistics Austria on Wednesday. More than half stated that they had used the internet in the three months prior to the survey. In the 16 to 74 age group, the figure was 95 percent.

The analysis by Statistics Austria, which was commissioned by the Federal Chancellery, also showed that the internet use of older people is strongly linked to education, gender and type of housing. Among people aged between 75 and 84, people with higher educational qualifications are more likely to be online and more men than women. While nine out of ten older people with a university degree (88%) were online, the use of the web was significantly lower among older people with a high school diploma (68%) or apprenticeship/BMS (56%) as their highest qualification. Internet use was lowest among people with no more than a compulsory school leaving certificate (33%).

"Digital divide still deep"
"The digital divide between the 75 plus age group and younger people is still deep," said Tobias Thomas, Director General of Statistics at Statistics Austria. According to the survey, almost all 16 to 44-year-olds in Austria used the Internet (between 98 and 100 percent). With increasing age, however, Internet use began to fall steadily. While 93% of 55- to 64-year-olds were still using the Internet, only 79% of 65- to 74-year-olds did so. Among 75 to 85-year-olds, the figure fell to 54%. However, the detailed analysis by Statistics Austria showed that 64% of 75 to 79-year-olds still went online, compared to just 43% of 80 to 84-year-olds.

Older men used the digital world significantly more often (67%) than women (44%). It also emerged that senior citizens living in multi-person households were significantly more likely to be online (61%) than those living alone (40%).

(Editorial notes: From April to July 2023, around 4400 households and around 6400 people took part in the survey by means of telephone interviews or web questionnaires. The reporting period for households was the time of the survey and for individuals the time of the survey or the last three or twelve months before the time of the survey).