‘Digital exclusion’ impacting on air travel and hotel bookings for older people

Academic Rónán Collins has called for online services to become more age-friendly as many elderly people have experienced difficulties with booking match tickets and train seats. Websites that prove hard to navigate have left lifelong customers excluded from essential activities. Public, private and sporting organisations have faced criticism for not testing their platforms sufficiently with older users in mind.

The consultant in geriatric and stroke medicine at Tallaght University Hospital in Dublin made the comments on World Health Day. He stated that all services should undergo road-testing in advance to ensure accessibility and said that older individuals have reported increasing feelings of being left behind in the shift to digital platforms.