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Social, community and sports groups across Jesmond have become familiar with meeting online during this latest lockdown, but concerns remain for residents who may lack internet access or the necessary skills to operate video calling platforms such as Zoom.
Chris Clarke of Friends of Jesmond Library told
JesmondLocal he is “concerned about the plight of those older people who aren’t IT savvy, either because they don’t have access to the correct kit, or they don’t have good wi-fi, or just aren’t very good at using the features on their computer, tablet or smartphone”.
As technology becomes more integral to community life, the gap between connectivity and isolation has widened too. Though internet use among 65-75 year-olds increased from 52% in 2011, to 83% in 2019, the Office for National Statistics recently found that less than half of people aged 75 and over are frequent internet users.