Digital skills and safety technology for older parents
Getting an older parent online usually means three separate things: building confidence with a device, staying safe from scams that specifically target older people, and the safety technology, personal alarms, location sharing, drop-in video calling and digital photo frames, that families increasingly rely on. Age UK's July 2025 figures show 19% of people 65 and over, around 2.4 million, use the internet less than once a month or not at all, rising to three in ten among the over-75s. The main barrier is confidence rather than access: 31% of over-65s in England feel their IT skills are not good enough.
This guide covers simple video-calling devices, Age UK's scam-safety advice, and safety technology including personal alarms with fall detection, location-sharing apps used with consent, drop-in video calling that connects without an answer, and digital photo frames friends and family can update remotely. None of this technology replaces a person actually visiting; it fills the hours nobody can be there in person. AirCarers Companion provides companion visits across Ware, Hertford, Hoddesdon, Broxbourne, Bishop's Stortford and Sawbridgeworth, from £25 an hour.