Digicel is advocating for better safeguards and a more seamless transition to unlock the digital potential of Jamaica’s senior citizens.

As Senior Citizens’ Month draws to a close under the theme ‘Embracing Wisdom, Uniting Generations’, the role of technology in supporting this ideal cannot be overlooked. Technology now shapes the way we live, work, and communicate, and seniors are no exception to this digital revolution.

However, digital literacy for the senior generation continues to be an issue, leaving them more susceptible to cyber crimes such as lottery scamming, phishing, and other cyber scams.

Due to pandemic-driven shifts, increased Internet penetration, and expanded digital education for seniors over the age of 65, studies are beginning to indicate that the overall Internet usage gap between senior and younger adults is closing. Many seniors have already adopted basic digital tasks such as using messaging apps and social media and are prime for being introduced to digital support that can assist with their healthcare needs, comfort, and independence.

Elon Parkinson, head of communications and corporate affairs at Digicel, speaking with Our Today, explained the steps Digicel has been taking to include specialised assistance for seniors in their customer support systems. He said, “Digicel has been seeing a lot of success through events such as our road shows. When we visit locations in rural Jamaica, oftentimes seniors take the time to dialogue with our data doctors and other customer support to ask their questions and educate themselves.”

Digicel has also extended its Safer Internet Day initiative, a project that aims to make the Internet safer for children, to now include seniors by incorporating safe-internet-use education for them.

Digicel is calling on Jamaican policymakers to consider imposing stricter penalties for online hacks and scams that target seniors, as well as greater collaboration between public and private sectors to launch national campaigns to raise awareness about digital scams and fraud targeting seniors.

Digicel believes that stakeholders in telecommunications have a responsibility to advocate for and implement affordable access to digital education tools and has already implemented pricing plans to make services more affordable for pensioners.