Internet use doubles among seniors from 2017-2022: Survey

Taipei, July 3 (CNA) More than 50 percent of Taiwanese citizens aged 65 and above use the internet, according to a 2022 survey of older adults published by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in June, almost double that of five years ago.

During a telephone interview with reporters on Wednesday, Lee Mei-ling (李美鈴), head of the Statistics Department at the ministry, noted that with the advancement of information technology, people are using the internet more frequently.

The share of people aged 65 and older who used the internet increased significantly from 26.52 percent in 2017 to 50.36 percent in 2022, the survey indicated.

Meanwhile, the proportion of people aged 55 to 64 who have used the Internet over the past three months increased from 65.55 percent to 87.83 percent in the 5-year period, according to the report.

In addition, the frequency of internet usage also rose, with 43.12 percent of those aged 65 and over using the internet "every day or almost every day," an increase of 23.72 percentage points, the survey showed.

The government conducts a survey of people aged 55 or older every five years to keep up with demographics, living conditions, health status, employment and economic status, social participation, and future living arrangements.

The survey also showed that 86.78 percent of those 65 years and older said they were very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their lives in general, an increase of 2.80 percentage points from five years ago, while 88.96 percent of those aged 55 to 64 felt satisfied with their lives, an increase of 4.12 percentage points.

The proportion of seniors who thought the public's attitude toward the elderly is disrespectful fell slightly, with the percentage dropping to 14.41 percent, a decrease of 5.03 percentage points from five years ago, according to the survey.

Meanwhile, 23.94 percent of those aged 55 to 64 believed they had been disrespected, a drop of 1.95 percentage points, it found.

In terms of residential preferences, there was not much difference in the results of the 2022 survey compared with the previous one, with 91 percent of people 65 years old and over indicating they wanted to live at home, of which 57 percent wanted to "live with their children," 23 percent preferred "living only with their spouse (including cohabitants)" and 9.18 percent preferred "living alone."

Among those 65 years and older who live at home, 34.59 percent expressed a willingness to live in an institution if they become unable to take care of themselves in the future, the latest survey found.