Better phone skills linked to lower social isolation among elderly Koreans

Older adults with higher digital literacy — including the ability to use mobile phones — tend to experience lower levels of loneliness and social isolation, according to a new report.

The Korea Employment Agency for Older Persons released its "Korean Senior Work and Life Panel" report Friday, showing that among participants in senior employment programs, average digital literacy scores stood at 1.72 for men and 1.42 for women — a gap of 0.3 points in favor of men.

Scores also varied by age group: those aged 70 to 74 averaged 1.34, those aged 65 to 69 averaged 1.59, and those aged 60 to 64 averaged 2.04, indicating that younger seniors tend to have stronger digital skills.

Digital literacy is measured on a scale of 1 to 3, with higher scores indicating greater proficiency.

By household type, seniors living with both a spouse and children scored highest at 1.79. Elderly couples without children scored 1.56, those living with children but without a spouse scored 1.40, and single-person households scored 1.38 — suggesting that having other household members is associated with higher digital literacy.

Urban residents also outperformed their rural counterparts. Those in urban areas (dong) scored 1.59, compared with 1.32 for those in smaller towns and rural areas (eup and myeon).

The relationship between digital literacy and social wellbeing was particularly notable: seniors at low risk of loneliness and low risk of social isolation consistently scored higher on digital literacy than those in high-risk groups.

Among those at low risk of loneliness, the average digital literacy score was 1.55, compared with 1.39 for the high-risk group. For social isolation, the low-risk group averaged 1.54, while the high-risk group averaged 1.35.

Among the agency's various programs, participants in the "On-site Training Support Project" — which subsidizes companies' labor costs to help place workers aged 60 and older — recorded the highest digital literacy score at 1.99.

Participants in the "Senior Public Service Activities Project," which supplements the income of older adults who provide support to vulnerable populations, scored the lowest at 1.27.

Kim Su-young, head of the Korea Employment Agency for Older Persons, said the agency would continue strengthening digital capacity-building support tailored to participants' individual characteristics and regional conditions, so that those in senior employment programs are not left behind as the digital environment evolves.