Older adults’ digital inclusion: New challenges for Lithuanian social policy

Mykolas Romeris University, Vilnius, Lithuania

^* Corresponding author: irene@mruni.eu

Abstract

Lithuania, as most of the EU countries, has an aging population. At the beginning of 2019, there were 552.4 thousand elderly people (aged 65 and older), or 19.8 per cent of the total resident population. Each seventh man and each fourth woman were aged 65 and older ‘(Official statistics portal, 2019). The aim of the paper is to investigate possibilities of Lithuanian social policy to meet older adults’ digital needs for better inclusion and active ageing. Paper is based on secondary data analysis including legal documents (EU and National Programmes, Strategies, Orders), scientific research, statistical (of older adults’ population) and other data (results of national research). A significant proportion of older adults lack the skills to use digital technology, which are essential for successful functioning in society. The rapid development of technology and the recent Covid-19 pandemic have accelerated the transference of many services on the Internet. The importance of the use of technology for older adults was particularly evident during the Covid 19 pandemic. Various research works revealed that the telephone, and less often the computer, had become the main working tool for a significant proportion of close care workers. This situation points to a new need for the development of digitised social services and a new approach to social policy.