The Elderly Digital Divide: Digital Exclusion Versus the Right not To Use the Internet

According to Pew Research Center, one in four adults over 65 does not use the Internet, and more than 35% lack a home broadband connection. This can be seen as the era of aging; another form of the digital divide is actively emerging. Without meaningful access and inclusion for the elderly, on the one hand, and opportunities for them not to use the Internet, on the other hand, existing inequalities are likely to increase, and new ones may arise. Many services are being run online, so those without access to broadband and devices cannot benefit from those services or participate in community activities that require access. As the Internet has now permeated almost every facet of our lives, this has brought forward several challenges, ranging from the need to close the ‘digital divide’, especially for vulnerable people, to the digitalization of public services. The latter has created a de facto obligation to use the Internet, disadvantaging those who cannot or will not use it. One way to address these challenges is to invoke the narrative of human rights. The paper aims to discuss how vulnerable groups may be disproportionately affected because of the barriers that they experience to use the Internet, and to examine the right not to use new and emerging technologies or even the right to be excluded from the information society.