Elder people use digital communication than you expected

“Digital Divide” is a gap between those who are familiar with modern digital technology and those who are not. Nowadays, people not being accustomed to the internet have a handicap in collecting information; it is sometimes crucial.

In general, aged people are hardly able to understand modern technology. But it is not always true. According to a study of UK adults, 32.5% of the people over the age of 65 preferred to communicate with service providers using digital channels.

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This result looks to show elder people are utilizing digital devices. However, a caution is needed to interpret this survey.

(This graph is composed based on the report. Some data are abbreviated.)

The majority of respondents still chose direct contact with service providers via face to face or telephone. Digital communication is not dominant even in young people.

Maintaining the human touch in customer service: Research by Echo Managed Services - published December 2015 What your customers want In a world full of contact channels

In addition, customers choose the connection channels depending on the situation. For a simple task such as booking, they preferred to e-mail or a self-service web format. But to deal with a complex issue, they rather like to contact the service provider directly.

It seems rational. In the UK, I often had to contact with service providers for problem solving. They seldom responded to the web-based request form. Therefore, I had to make a phone call to ensure they listened to me.

Digital technology will never replace direct communication entirely. Instead, they fill up with each other for better communication.