Virtual social networks and the Internet, and their use by the elderly

Abstract

Welivein asocietyin which the Internet has become so integrated that it is part of the most everyday acts. Technologies are supposed to make an important contribution to improving our quality of life, although this does not always seem to be the case. Some seniors resist their use, perceiving that technologies make life “more complicated” for them. However, there is no way to escape their presence or that of the Internet. We know that this process is irreversible. As such, they have no choice but to adapt to this situation. A relevant aspect for the life of the silver population is to know and analyze how ICT or RICT affect them and how they use them. Therefore, the objective that we set in this work is to know some relevant characteristics in relation to the use of the Internet and virtual social networks by the elderly, as well as the influence they are having on the lives of these people. The methodology followed has been the analysis of a selected bibliographic review on this topic which, in turn, has allowed us to elaborate a series of our own reflections. The data presented have been extracted from sources such as ONTSI, INE, European Commission, AIMC, the Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, etc. From there, it was possible to obtain a series of contributions of interest, for instance that, in 2020, 93,2% of the Spanish population used theInternet in a period of three months, this percentage being higher than the EU average, while among the elderly between 65 and 74 years of age, it drops to 69,7%.