INTERNET users over the age of 65 are catching up with their younger counterparts when it comes to using the web, according to new figures.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that over-75s have been the lowest group accessing the internet since the survey began in 2011.
However, recent use in the 65-74 age group has increased from 52 per cent in 2011 to 78 per cent in the first quarter of this year.
In the same period 89 per cent of adults had recently used the internet, up from 88 per cent last year. In Scotland and Wales 87 per cent of adults were recent users, while in London the figure was 93 per cent, the UK’s highest proportion.
Virtually all adults between 16 and 44 were internet users (99 per cent), compared to 41 per cent of those aged 75 and over.
The figures show that 90 per cent of men and 88 per cent of women used the internet, up from 89 and 86 per cent last year, although recent internet use among women aged 75 and over had almost trebled from 0.3 million in 2011 to just over 1m this year.
More than a fifth of disabled adults (22 per cent) had never used the internet in 2017, down from a quarter last year. Northern Ireland is catching up with the rest of the UK in recent internet use, reaching 84 per cent this year, but it remained the region with the lowest figure.
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