Life ‘harder than five years ago for over-60s due to more online services’

Some 29% said they felt left behind and 38% believed the shift to online services was “ageist”.

The charity said the shift to “digital first” in public and private services had created significant barriers for older people who were not comfortable with using technology, leaving many struggling to access essential NHS services like GP appointments, hospital treatment and financial services.

Older people had “repeatedly” told the charity they wanted to stay in control of how they lived their lives, but that difficulties with using the internet were forcing some to rely on others, undermining their independence and self-esteem.

Some 64% of over-60s said family and friends helped them out at least some of the time.

Age UK is calling for older people to have a legal right to be able to access all public services offline if they cannot use the internet successfully and confidently, or at all.

It also wants a “cultural shift” to allow for older people’s views and experiences to “inform the design of digital approaches for which they are a key audience” from the start.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “Many older people have told us how stressful and annoying it is now for them to do basic things like book a GP appointment if they are not online.

“As digital approaches are increasingly the norm in all areas of our lives, not using computers is too often a recipe for struggling – or completely failing – to access the public services to which we are legally entitled, whether we are online or not.

“It’s therefore not surprising that our research found that some older people feel the shift towards digital by default to be actively ageist. They have a point: arguably far too little effort is being made by many organisations of all kinds to look after the interests of non-computer users.”

She added: “The publication of the Government’s digital inclusion action plan is a great opportunity to change this for the better.

“At Age UK we think it’s time for older people to have a legal right to access public services offline if they don’t use the internet. This would provide great reassurance and comfort for millions of older people – and some younger ones too – and would strengthen social cohesion in our society.”

The research also found strong links between levels of deprivation and of digital exclusion among older people in local areas.

Just half (52%) of older people living in the most deprived 20% of England use the internet every day compared with 80% of people living in the least deprived 20%, the poll found.

Yonder surveyed 1,001 adults aged 60 and over between March 15 and April 15 last year.