Left Behind in the Digital Age: An Evaluation of Digital Awareness among Rural Elderly in Tamil Nadu

Elderly people in the rural areas continue to be substantially excluded despite the growing digitalization of public services including healthcare, finance and governance. This is because of lack of access to personal devices, lack of confidence and physical and cognitive constraints. This study examines the digital awareness of elderly persons, particularly those above 55 years of age in Nagakudi village of Tamil Nadu. Key barriers are identified by the study using qualitative techniques including informal interviews and observations during a digital awareness programme. The barriers include belief that digital tools and devices are irrelevant, dependence on younger members of the family and lack of support for learning digital skills. The findings highlight a need for context-relevant, need-based training and reinforcement. Engaging local adolescents as digital trainers and mentors, encouraging family members to support training of adults and using community spaces as digital learning spaces are few of the recommendations. In addition to adding to the expanding debate on digital inclusion, this programme evaluation findings provides insights for creating future initiatives aimed at older adults in rural areas.