Elderly smartphone usage falls far below average: Data

[Photo by Yonhap]

The average smartphone usage among people aged 75 and above is below 20 percent of the overall average, data showed on Sunday.

According to an analysis conducted by SK telecom Co., Statistics Korea, and Changwon City of information inequality and isolation among the elderly on Sunday, a significant decline in smartphone usage was observed among those aged 65 and above.

Especially in service areas such as finance and shopping, the usage rate was only 37.2 percent for those aged 64-74 and 16.4 percent for those aged 75 and above, which is significantly lower than the 171.8 percent of the younger generation aged 25-39.

In terms of isolation and exclusion among the elderly, the analysis showed that isolation worsens among the low-income elderly. The lower the income, the steeper the decline in the use of messenger applications.