SINGAPORE – Digital literacy skills among seniors have improved sharply, with a new report showing more Singapore residents aged 60 and above owning smartphones and embracing digital tools to communicate, seek information and make payment.

The inaugural Singapore Digital Society Report, released on Saturday, found that seniors are becoming comfortable with online transactions – with 78 per cent using e-payments in 2022, up from 33 per cent in 2020.

They are also using the Internet to search for information – with 86 per cent doing so in 2022, compared with 53 per cent in 2020.

There has also been a 26 percentage point increase in the use of the Singpass app among seniors, from 41 per cent in 2020 to 67 per cent in 2022.

“This could be due to more services utilising Singpass login and Myinfo, as well as community and government initiatives to educate seniors on the use of Singpass,” said the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), which published the report.

The report measures digital access, digital skills for daily living and attitudes towards digital technologies in Singapore.

The statutory board, which released the report at the Digital for Life festival at Heartbeat@Bedok, said initiatives such as the Seniors Go Digital programme have helped seniors improve their skills.

The programme involves a team of digital ambassadors training older people in the use of daily digital tools such as video calls and the Singpass app.

IMDA noted that the Covid-19 pandemic had accelerated the use of digital tools. For seniors, this included more time spent communicating online using text or voice messaging.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the festival, Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo said the report’s findings are encouraging.

“Beyond Internet access, if you look at access to computer devices and smartphones, they have increased very steadily over the years,” said Mrs Teo.

“When I went around the festival, I could see that there is interest for participants to acquire skills that will enable them to enjoy the benefits of digital services. I find most encouraging the attitudes of our seniors – they are not defeatist in nature... I could see that their determination is very strong,” she added.

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who is patron of the Digital for Life movement and guest of honour at the event, said the movement is not just hardware or software.

“It is giving people confidence, particular the elderly – giving the elderly confidence in using all these digital apps to live life fully,” he added. 

President Tharman said seniors should not feel that they are having to adapt to a new world.

“It’s about using the weather alerts to bring in your clothes in time, it’s about knowing when the bus arrives, it’s about knowing when there are cheap goods on offer in the supermarket. It’s everyday life,” he added.

The report showed that while seniors are taking to digital tools, only 44 per cent are at least moderately confident in identifying scams on messaging platforms.

For those aged 15 and above, it is 52 per cent.

IMDA said that seniors’ lower confidence about spotting scams may ironically be the reason they are less likely to fall prey to such crimes, as they are more vigilant.

“However, such concerns may deter seniors from going online and enjoying the benefits of digital technology,” it added.

According to the Singapore Police Force’s 2023 mid-year crime statistics, seniors accounted for about 12 per cent of total scam victims. About half (51 per cent) of the victims were young adults aged 20 to 39.

IMDA said that to foster stronger adoption of scam prevention actions and cyber hygiene practices across all age groups, people should embrace habits such as enabling two-factor authentication when making online transactions.

They should also use the ScamShield app to block and report scams.

With 99 per cent of resident households here connected to the Internet, Singapore has one of the highest Internet penetration rates in the world.

However, only 93 per cent of seniors-only households have Internet access. IMDA said the 7 percentage point gap is due largely to seniors’ perceived lack of need, skills, knowledge and confidence to use the Internet.

Still, the report showed that more seniors have become smartphone owners in recent years – from 74 per cent in 2017 to 89 per cent in 2022. In contrast, only 64 per cent of seniors-only households had computer access in 2022.

IMDA said: “Seniors seem to prefer using smartphones to computers. This could be due to the portability, familiarity and functions of smartphones, which are sufficient for their lifestyle needs.”

When it comes to communicating online, close to 80 per cent of residents aged 18 to 59 thought about the impact of their online posts in 2022. Fewer seniors, or 62 per cent of them, did so.

According to the report, around two in three residents agree that the country’s move towards a digital future will benefit Singaporeans.

Among seniors, 45 per cent are willing to try new digital technology, such as voice recognition, virtual reality and augmented reality.

Those aged between 18 and 39 were found to be the most adept at using new digital tools.

Only about half of residents expressed willingness to accept the risks associated with technology use, such as the spread of misinformation and online scams.

IMDA said the Government will continue its efforts to empower people to embrace emerging technology and manage the risks that arise.

It reiterated that the Government has a “digital first” but not “digital only” strategy, where essential services remain accessible through non-digital means for those unable to use digital channels.

At the festival, members of the public got to learn about artificial intelligence and immersive media by trying out these new tools.

The National Library Board’s pilot ExperienceIT initiative similarly offers people the chance to try out emerging technology in interactive ways, such as by racing against an AI driver in a virtual race.

The Digital for Life festival is held at two locations – Heartbeat@Bedok on Saturday and Sunday, and Toa Payoh Hub on Nov 11 and 12.