The pandemic has encouraged the last big sector reticent to engage with technology to finally come on board, a trend that offers big opportunities for savvy firms
Now Granny knows how to Zoom, the global technology revolution is almost complete. A section of society that was reticent about the benefits of technology has been shown its substantial power. The simple act of keeping in touch with loved ones through video conferencing has brought millions of people from older generations into the new economy – with significant implications once this crisis ends. The billionaires of Silicon Valley will be utterly delighted.
The Office for National Statistics has carried out an annual online usage survey since 2011, which showed that adults aged 75 years and over are consistently the lowest users of the internet out of any age group. In 2011, just 20pc of this cohort were recent internet users, but this jumped to 47pc in 2019. Nevertheless, still more than half of people aged over 75 were not using online services last year.
The recently retired are much more active on the internet. Use in the 65 to 74 age group increased from 52pc in 2011 to 83pc in 2019, closing the gap on younger age groups. These figures are little changed for adults aged 16 to 44 years, where use is at its highest, since the data series began.
The proportion of retired adults using online services increased by 27 percentage points between 2011 and 2019, resulting in 67pc of the age group being active online last year. It is likely that the figure for 2020 will be substantial higher. This highlights a major long-term impact of the Covid-19 lockdown – trends that were already in place are accelerating.
Lockdown has already made the world’s richest man even richer. Shares in Amazon hit a new all-time high this week, swelling the wealth of founder Jeff Bezos, who has an 11.2pc stake in the $1.5 trillion business. His fortune increased by $6.5bn (£5.2bn) on Tuesday alone. Recent events have been good for Bezo’s wealth, but it is the more traditional retailers that are suffering. Indeed, an increasing wave of bankruptcies lies ahead.