Digital cliff for seniors: Help wanted in the new world!

Digital cliff for seniors: Help wanted in the new world!

On October 30, 2024, Helga Krüger, an 85-year-old Berliner, celebrated her birthday, who was accompanied by numerous congratulations from her friends and relatives. She particularly remembered a map of the Spandau district mayor Frank Werwig, which contained useful information about offers of help for seniors. Despite these offers, Krüger, like many other older people, is often overwhelmed by progressive digitization in everyday life. Statistics show that people in particular have increasingly difficulties with modern technologies. The loss of offices and the need to use services online increase the feeling of isolation in many pensioners. This reported, among other things, the rbb

Krüger's son, Gunnar, emphasizes that many older people are increasingly neglected by the dwindling analog offers in everyday life. This is expressed in the fact that important services, such as the agreement of doctor dates, are often exclusively via digital platforms, which is problematic for technically inexperienced seniors. Measures were taken in Berlin to make it easier for seniors to access the digital world. The Berlin Project offers a platform that bundles leisure and educational offers in an understandable way and brings the seniors closer to dealing with digital media. Mseniors are encouraged to visit workshops in libraries or digital cafés in order to be able to learn basic digital skills. The Bremen Frauenmuseum reports that Krüger was an important sociologist and always campaigned for the rights of women and the challenges of older people in society. Their use for social justice remains relevant in old age.

Helga Krüger made considerations of how analog structures can be preserved in order to meet the needs of older people. She wants the district mayor and other institutions to show more commitment to the concerns of older people. Digitization should not only offer advantages, but also make sure that nobody is left behind. Krüger's own experiences reflect the challenges of many seniors who are looking for their place in an increasingly digital world and often do not know how to deal with the new technologies.