Rhode Island looks to help older adults navigate a digital world
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The nation’s smallest state has big plans to help aging individuals have more equitable access in an increasingly digital society.
Rhode Island is poised to pour more than $4.5 million into its digital equity efforts to increase residents’ access to and literacy of digital services and resources across the state. A key population the state is looking to support is older adults, an effort one official says is imperative to ensure Rhode Island’s digital equity improvements reach everyone.
By 2030, one in four Rhode Islanders will be 65 years or older, and aging adults make up about 25% of the state’s workforce, said Brian Thorn, director of broadband strategy for the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation.
But this generation has “had less access to innate digital training through education, work [and] social activities,” he said, making it critical to ensure “they have the ability and the confidence to fully integrate and thrive in our digital world.”
Older individuals still have bills to pay, doctor appointments to schedule, public benefits to apply for and family and friends to communicate with, which is why Rhode Island plans to leverage a pool of federal funds to carry out its Digital Equity Plan, announced earlier this year.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration last week approved and recommended the state’s plan under the federal State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, which was created under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. It made available $1.4 billion for states to help develop residents’ technological capacity to better participate in a digital society where work, education, transactions and access to public benefits exist in an increasingly virtual environment.
The NTIA has awarded digital equity and literacy grants to several states over the month as the Biden administration comes to an end.
Rhode Island’s plan looks to improve internet access and literacy for covered populations, including aging residents, people with disabilities, members of racial or ethnic minority groups, rural residents and others. The plan’s ultimate goal is to ensure “all Rhode Islanders have access to affordable, accessible high-speed internet in their homes, at their places of unemployment, and at public facilities by 2027,” it stated.
Rhode Island officials will work to meet those needs by prioritizing the creation of opportunities for residents to obtain digital skills, increasing access to internet-enabled devices and technical support, expanding broadband service and ensuring public resources and services have online accessibility, language access and usability, according to the plan.
Thorn said officials hope to partner with other government agencies and community-based organizations to educate older adults on topics like online privacy and cybersecurity. Other training opportunities include learning how to use telehealth services, adaptive devices and accessibility features or smart home equipment.
Aging individuals with the knowledge to know what resources are available to them and how to use them in a digital world could better maintain their independence and self-sufficiency, which Thorn said is particularly important for older adults who do not have nearby friends or family to help care for them.
And while building out broadband infrastructure and services is a key part of that process, Thorn said, comprehensive digital equity includes making sure all residents can leverage the benefits that come along with internet access.
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