DIGITAL EDUCATION OF OLDER PEOPLE AS A PREVENTION OF LONELINESS IN THE TIME OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

According to the latest research by a team of professor of psychology from the University of Chicago, John Cacioppo, loneliness is considered to be one of the main predictors of deteriorating health and quality of life in older people. Research also indicates that many of them belong to the group of people at risk of digital exclusion, which is another factor that leads to their isolation through difficult access to education, culture, entertainment or information. The aim of this article is to signal the situation in which Polish seniors found themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic, and thus the isolation and, consequently, the growing feeling of loneliness and exclusion from the possibility of using online services and products, including healthcare and access to up-to-date information. Then, the text indicated how important digital education can be for Polish seniors in this situation, aimed at increasing the level of their digital and information competences, which include, among others, competences related to the operation of computer equipment, telephone, online messaging, but also awareness of threats on the Internet and search for information efficiently.