Keeping silver surfers on the crest of a wave – older people's ICT learning and support needs

Purpose – There is recognition that digital ICTs have the potential to support older people to live independently, to “age well”, to promote social inclusion and to facilitate access to commercial and government services. Research conducted by the Sus‐IT project under the “New Dynamics of Ageing” Programme has focused on how to help older ICT users to remain digitally engaged given the barriers that they can face and which can quickly erode their confidence or capability. Access to appropriate learning and support resources is a key issue for sustaining older ICT users. The aim of this paper is to investigate older people's ICT learning and support needs.Design/methodology/approach – Older people themselves have been central to the research; more than 1,000 older people have participated in this research through open workshops, established formal and informal panels and groups across the UK, and through contacts with a number of organisations working with older people. Key research users (e.g. organisatio...