According to research from the Office of the eSafety Commissioner, about 2.7 million Australians aged 50 years and over have little to no engagement with the online world.
While living in the real world and opting for face to face communication isn’t a bad thing, as the world becomes increasingly digital it becomes more important than ever to be digitally literate.
Thankfully, there is a new online and community program called Be Connected which is set to improve the digital literacy of older Australians.
Be Connected is an Australian government initiative committed to increasing the confidence, skills and online safety of older Australians by empowering everyone to use the internet and everyday technology to thrive in our digital world.
Through the Be Connected online resources, you will be able to learn the basics of using digital devices and engaging with the internet, including:
- being safer while online
- talking to or seeing family and friends who live far away
- finding new friends who share interests and hobbies
- connecting with old friends
- keeping up to date with what’s happening in communities and around the world
- shopping and selling online, safely and securely.
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Depending on your existing digital knowledge, Be Connected will create a learning plan just for you to help you to gain skills in the areas you need.
Online safety
Online scams and viruses can be a barrier to those who are fearful about using technology, but becoming educated is the first step. Just like we have to learn how to cross the road safely – the same can be said for staying safe online.
Scamwatch is a great source of information on online scams and staying safe online. Online scams are getting increasingly sophisticated and target people of all ages and backgrounds. The overall advice is to err on the side of caution when encountering any request for personal information, especially bank details and passwords.
Scamwatch offers the following five tips on dealing with common scams:
- Be alert – When dealing with uninvited contacts whether it’s online or on the phone, always consider the possibility it could be a scam. Remember the old saying – if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
- Don’t open suspicious texts, pop-up windows or email links or attachments – delete these and if it’s a company you deal with, contact them through a phone number or email from their website, don’t respond to the suspicious email or text.
- Don’t respond to phone calls asking for remote access to your computer – in this popular scam the caller often pretends to be from a well-known company such as Telstra or Microsoft. They will ask you to turn on your computer to fix a problem, but they will remote access your computer and put a virus on there that will give them access to your passwords and personal details. Just hang up.
- Keep your computer and mobile secure – always use password protection and choose those passwords carefully. Make sure they are difficult for others to guess and include a mix of upper and lower cases, numbers and symbols.
- Beware of any requests for your personal or bank details – never send money or give credit card or online bank details to anyone you don’t know or trust. Also, beware of unusual payment requests or online shopping offers that seem too good to be true.