Telenor said half the population of Norway has difficulty in keeping up with today’s technology changes, and seven out of ten fear the emergence of a digital class difference. So said a survey by analysts Norstat. Telenor Norge CEO Berit Svendsen said the figure is alarmingly high and that as technology changes wait for no-one, there must be a nationwide effort at public information.
It said 54 percent of women asked said it is difficult to keep pace with developments, compared with 43 percent of men. Only 28 percent of people aged 18 to 34 felt left behind, but in the age group 34 to 50 years, half of respondents found it difficult, and this rose to 66 percent of people aged 50 to 79. In that age group, 81 percent feared a digital class divide.
At the Arendal political forum from 15 to 20 August, Telenor and pensions association Pensjonistforbundet ran internet courses for almost 100 people aged over 65. The association’s general secretary, Harald Olimb Norman, said new technology can prevent loneliness and enable older people to be able to live in their own homes for longer.
