In modern conditions, the issues of digital well-being of the population, as well as the use of the potential of an aging society in the context of the development of the digital economy, are of particular importance. The study focuses on the socio-demographic group that is still experiencing signs of digital exclusion, the elderly.
The empirical base of the study was made up of data from the survey "Digital Well-being of the elderly" (database registration certificate No. 2026621596 dated 04/09/2026), conducted by the VolSC RAS in 2025 among 1,000 people over 50 years old. It is concluded that older people in the Vologda Oblast are increasingly involved in the digital space, but the level of their digital presence directly depends on age.: The older a person is, the less often they use the Internet and digital services. The key factors for involvement in the digital environment have been identified: younger age, experience working with digital technologies, marital status, help from loved ones, and trust in technology. At the same time, the group of older people remains quite differentiated: according to the results of cluster analysis, 37% of people over the age of 50 are active users of digital goods, another 37% use the Internet when necessary, but some of them are ready to return to analog formats without compromising the quality of life. Approximately a quarter (25%) reserves the right to refuse to use the benefits of digitalization. Trust in online shopping among the elderly is quite high (61%), however, there are situations of fundamental rejection of this form of consumption for certain categories of goods and services. In the service sector, the level of involvement in digital consumption formats is higher than that of various goods: in cities, housing and communal services and banking services are provided mainly in digital format, while in rural areas traditional methods prevail.
The study was funded by the Russian Science Foundation grant No. 25-28-01422 "Conceptual foundations and practices for achieving the digital well-being of the older generation in the consumer sector."
The full version of the interview can be found in the attached file.