Abstract

The article deals with the issues of digital competence of older people as a way of social inclusion. At the same time, the aging of the nation has become characteristic not only for the countries of Europe, but also for other regions of the world. It is noted that the proportion of older people is constantly growing. It is shown that older people do not fully possess digital competencies. This may in some way reduce the level of security of this category of the population. The aim of the study is to identify the role of the formation of digital competence as a way of social inclusion of older people. In our study, we focus on studying the degree of mastery of digital competence among older people in Belarus, as well as how this can be used to form a culture of life safety in them. To assess the level of formation of digital competencies of older people, a survey was conducted. It was revealed that not all older people use the Internet to the full extent. A significant proportion of men and women who are Internet users and registered in social networks are under 70 years old. There are some differences between older men and women regarding the purposes of using the Internet. It is noted that older people who are more likely to participate in certain social online activities receive more social capital. It was also found that for people over 80 years of age, the main source of information is television and, less often, newspapers. Some of the data obtained correspond to the results obtained in foreign studies.