Iain Duncan Smith makes gadget simplification call
Work and Pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith has called on gadget manufacturers to make their devices simpler to use so that older people can benefit from the web.
Citing an estimated £22bn economic boost to the UK if the entire adult population moved online Smith said there needed to be: “a much simpler interface to get online; the challenge is out there to companies and providers to look at the potential marketplace for better and easier to use equipment”.
The call was made at the Digital Unite Silver Surfers Awards as part of a government drive to see “much greater growth” in those claiming their pension online.
Of the 9m UK citizens who have never ventured online some 6m are thought to be aged over 65.