Older Adults Technology Services

The number of older adults who lack wireline broadband access at home has fallen from 22 million in 2018 (42 percent) to 19 million (32 percent) in 2023. The gap is closing, but it has not closed. Older adults have seen modest increases in ownership of large-screen computers (desktops and laptops), from 70 percent in 2018 to 73 percent in 2023, with a slightly larger increase from 60 percent to 67 percent for those over age 75. Some states have done better work than others in reducing age-based disparity of wireline access, controlling for other factors.

OATS, in partnership with the Humana Foundation, for the first time quantifies the size and degree of the digital isolation crisis among seniors in the United States, finding nearly 22 million older Americans continue to lack broadband access at home. Key findings: