The digital divide among the senior population is narrowing year after year. Since 2020, the number of digitalized people over 55 years of age has grown by almost one million each year and there are now 12 million, 73% of the group. This has a lot to do with the incorporation into this population group of people with higher levels of training and more accustomed to the use of technologies, but also with the interest and dynamism of a generation of older people who are participatory and are not willing to remain isolated nor to stop intervening, buying or interacting in the society in which they live, even through screens.
This is clear from the IV Senior Consumer Barometer prepared by the Ageingnomics research center of Fundación Mapfre (in collaboration with Google), which offers an x-ray of the habits of the more than 16 million Spaniards over 55 years of age, who represent a third of the total population and one in three self-employed workers.
Today they are already a much larger group than young people in the world of work. According to data provided by Ageingnomics, there are 4.6 million active seniors, of which 4.1 million are working, compared to 3.8 million active young people (2.9 million of them with work).
There is more data that gives an idea of the weight that seniors are acquiring in Spanish society and the changes that people who are approaching or have entered retirement age are contributing: they are responsible for 60% of spending, 25% of GDP and 40% of the electoral roll. In fact, 30% of deputies, 40% of regional councilors and 30% of mayors of large cities fit into the senior category.
And very far from stereotypes that represent them as elderly, poor, fragile or passive, they are an economic and social driving force, the majority have a healthy economic situation, they own a home, they are economic support for other people around them, they are active, they take care their diet, they travel for leisure, they get informed, they consume online and they do not spend the day in the medical clinic, at least until they reach very advanced ages.
Because one aspect confirmed by the data from the survey carried out by Ageingnomics is that seniors are not a homogeneous group. They are clearly differentiated by their economic level, education, place of residence and, above all, age.
In terms of digitalization, for example, among young seniors, between 55-64 years old, 80% use the Internet daily, while among those who have already turned 85 that percentage drops to 8.6%. The most common online activities among Spanish seniors are banking, reading the press, making occasional purchases or booking tickets or trips, and getting information through social networks. What they use the least are dating or car-sharing apps.
José María Pérez, director of Insurance at Google Spain, explains that among the senior group there is a 50% greater probability of finding an avid reader of political news than in the rest of the ages and it is 19% more likely to find a reader Avid for economic news. The search engine's trend analysis also detects that there are more book lovers in this age group than in the rest.
Ortega, for his part, stressed that at the rate at which they are joining the internet (one million more per year) "the digital gap between seniors and the rest of the population will have disappeared."
The generational change is also observed in the way and autonomy with which people consider aging. Iñaki Ortega, co-director of the report, explained at a press conference that if four years ago eight out of ten people wanted to stay at home until the end of their days, now that percentage is 45%, so there are already more than half of those who assume that they may have to change their address if their needs change or to avoid loneliness and be closer to family or friends.
But again in this case the life approach changes a lot depending on age. Among the youngest seniors, barely a quarter plan to always live in their current home, while among those over 70, two-thirds do not want to leave their home.
