What are the digital habits of seniors in rural areas?

Asteo Observatory

One of the characteristics of small towns in Spain with less than 10,000 inhabitants is that their population is older than that of urban areas. In rural Spain 27%, 3 out of 10 are 65 years old or older, compared to 18% of the rest. The digitalization of rural areas is key to the reactivation of these places and for the communication of their residents.

What are the digital habits like in those rural populations that do have Internet?

If we focus on towns with less than 10,000 inhabitants, which currently have around 9.5 million people in 7,369 of the 8,131 municipalities in Spain, and which do have Internet, the cell phone (96%), the laptop PC (78%) and the desktop PC are the star devices for being the ones from which most people over 55 years of age connect to the Internet. Smart TV and Tablet or iPad, although to a lesser extent, are also used by just over 50%(53%).

According to data from the ASTEO Observatory, the top 3 main activities they perform when connected to the Internet are surfing (91%), sending and receiving e-mails (87%) and bank transactions (71%). The use of social networks, messaging and blogs reached 65%. Of the age groups, they use the Internet the least for watching movies/series/sports (42%), online shopping (36%), online courses (14%), medical consultations (10%) and online games (10%).

Digitization

According to the study, people aged 55 and over are those who attach most importance to the fact that, beyond providing rural populations with technological infrastructures, it is also necessary to guide the residents of these populations in the development of their digital skills (88%), likewise, 87% consider that digitization must be an inclusive process that contributes to the sustainable development of the rural world. For 7 out of 10, digitization is a key strategy to stop the depopulation of Empty Spain.

In this information from 65andMore you can find more information about the digital habits of the elderly in rural areas and the importance of bringing all people closer to the use of new technologies to reduce the digital divide.

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Patricia Moreno Pacheco

Deployment Manager Director

Trained as an architect at the University of Seville and with international experience after her studies at the Leibniz Universität Hannover, she has a multidisciplinary technical profile. He stands out for his analytical capacity and leadership in telecommunications infrastructures, providing a highly consolidated strategic vision.

Her career began in civil architecture, working as a Municipal Architect and energy certifier. In 2017 she oriented her career towards the telco sector by joining Nokia as FTTx Network Design Engineer. For five years, he participated in large multinational deployments for operators in the USA, Italy, Chile, the Philippines and Germany. Later, at Inelcom, he took over team management and implementation support for the German UGG network, mastering the construction and last mile phases. All this international supervisory experience brought her to Asteo Red Neutra in 2023, where she manages field operations as Deployment Manager.

Away from blueprints and fiber optics, he is an active person who likes to enjoy his free time. He is passionate about climbing, paddle tennis and traveling, always looking for new environments to disconnect.

Laura Díaz

Marketing & Communications Director

With 20 years of experience, Laura has developed the communication strategy for national and international companies. Since the official launch of ASTEO Red Neutra, she has led its communication and content strategy as an external consultant, until her incorporation to the team.

She started her career as a journalist in the IT sector. She specialised in Communication, advising companies in various sectors (banking, asset management, private equity, insurance and insurtech or telecommunications). She led Evercom's Financial Communication department, in charge of the area's growth strategy and the management of the team and clients.

She graduated in journalism from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, in Venezuela, took the ABC-UCM master's degree in journalism, and complemented her education with studies in International Business at Dublin Business School, and sustainability at the University of Cambridge.

Married to Santi, she is the mother of two children and, whenever she has some free time, she loves going swimming and to the cinema or enjoying long dinners with friends.