Older Aussies are tech savvy – but worried about online safety

Research has revealed older Australians are more tech savvy and connected than ever before – and certainly more than they’re given credit for. But at the same time, they’re wary of scammers and concerned about their digital security.

New research by not-for-profit aged care provider Benetas has confirmed that technology use among senior Australians aged 65 and over is widespread.

The Benetas Digital Inclusion & Cyber Safety Among Australian Seniors Research Study surveyed just over 1000 older Australians via online panel to learn about their current tech use and explore any cyber safety concerns they may have.

Older Aussies are online

Overall, the survey found 85 per cent of older Australians enjoy the internet and use it regularly, but 76 per cent are concerned about online privacy and perhaps more concerningly, only 10 per cent felt ‘very confident’ in their abilities to stay safe online.

As a demonstration, 34 per cent of over-65s had never booked a holiday or restaurant online and 19 per cent had never shopped online.

But 81 per cent said using the internet was important for keeping in touch with family and 76 per cent regularly search for information online.

Email was the most commonly used (98 per cent) form of online communication, with mobile phone use at 94 per cent and 93 per cent sending text messages.

But there are gaps in knowledge

Eighty per cent were concerned about the security of their personal information when using online services and 17 per cent reported that they had lost money in an online, email or text message scam.

Elyssia Clark, general manager of customer, insights and marketing at Benetas, says the research confirms that technology is very much part of older Australians’ lives.

“There are flow-on benefits for keeping connected with families and friends, but technology use has also resulted in 80 per cent of older Australians being concerned about the security of their personal information when they are online,” she says.

“In fact, we found privacy and security concerns are the most common limitation to using technology, well above physical, financial or language related limitations.”

She says it’s extremely positive that more than half (55 per cent) of older Australians say they would like to improve their knowledge further so they can do more things online.

There was strong interest in learning more about avoiding online scams (58 per cent), how to recognise phishing emails or texts (49 per cent), safe online banking practices (45 per cent) and password security (40 per cent).

Sixty-six per cent of people aged 85 said they feel they need more online training. This age group was significantly more likely to mention a lack of skills, physical limitations and a lack of access as being reasons for not using technology more often.

Only 39 per cent change their passwords regularly and just 10 per cent of people surveyed had received any cyber safety training.

But the good news is older Australians are also doing many things right, such as using anti-virus software (78 per cent), ignoring unsolicited messages or emails (82 per cent) and using strong passwords (75 per cent).

Ms Clark says Benetas will use the findings to further its own training programs.

“We are using the insights and findings from our research to develop a cyber safety training program that caters to the needs of older Australians and helps keep them and their families safe online.”

How often do you use the internet? How would you rate your abilities with online security? Let us know in the comments section below.

Also read: How to keep yourself safe from money recovery scams