The DigiAge project aims to catalyse positive transformation towards a digital society that delivers equitable benefits to individuals across the age spectrum through three research objectives:
- Reconceptualise digital equity
- Produce novel prototypes and resources
- Advance a transformational research agenda
Older adults have long been lesser beneficiaries of the digital economy, with many unable or choosing not to adopt digital technologies which do not speak to their particular needs and wants. With COVID-19 spurring societal digitalisation at an unprecedented pace, digitally disadvantaged older adults have been locked out of essential and life-saving services, while others have been made to take up technologies they may be deeply uncomfortable using.
As we reimagine society, it is essential that older adults are neither left behind nor forced to make major concessions in their way of life. It is not enough, therefore, to simply improve access to digital technologies. An equitable digital society requires that older adults are welcomed into a digital economy that treats them as first order stakeholders.