UK India Interdisciplinary Panel Discussion: Older People and Digital Equity Event

This interdisciplinary panel will address the wider social, cultural, behavioural and policy dimensions underlying the digital divide and its influence on older people, highlighting the challenges in terms of equity in access, use and potential vulnerabilities. 

A distinguished panel from both India and UK will discuss the wider social, cultural, behavioural and policy dimensions underlying the digital divide and its influence on older people, highlighting the challenges in terms of equity in access, use and potential vulnerabilities. 

Expert panel members from India include: Professor S. Sivaraju (Deputy Director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences), Professor K.S. James (Director, International Institute for Population Sciences), Dr. Anupama Datta (Director of Policy, Research and Advocacy, HelpAge India) and Professor P.S. Nair (University of Kerala). They will join the Southampton panel Professor Maria Evandrou (Gerontology), Professor Paurav Shukla (Digital and Data-driven marketing), Dr. Yuanyuan Yin (design technology) and Professor Athina Vlachantoni (Gerontology). 

The panel will bring an interdisciplinary lens to addressing the topic with a reflection on the existing research evidence and emerging issues underpinning gerontology, demography, sociology, consumer behaviours, marketing and technology design. 

As the clock ticks faster, we need fresh interdisciplinary approaches to understand the wider dimensions of digital influence on older people including equal access, knowledge, skills, behaviours and online safety precaution measures. Equally important is relevant stakeholder engagement for robust evidence-based policy making aimed at improving the overall health and well-being of older people.