SELECTED ASPECTS OF SENIOR CITIZENS EDUCATION IN THE FIELD OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES WITHIN THE CONCEPT OF UNIVERSITY OF THE THIRD AGE

Gradual aging of our population is one of the most significant socioeconomic challenges of present time. Together with increasing average age, more and more senior citizens are becoming interested in active spending of their leisure time. This applies not only for physical activities but also for mental or psychical ones. One of their options is to join the concept of the life-long education, for example by means of universities of the third age. They may enroll into specialized courses or possibly, start controlled self-study using digital technologies.

The topic of this paper is education of senior citizens in the field of usage of digital technologies. These technologies are viewed as a prerequisite for fully-featured involvement of an individual in current society. The computers and the internet are an important source of information and communication which makes human activities in all areas more efficient. Systematic education in this field should lead to bridging of digital divide between the senior citizens and younger people who use these technologies on every day basis.

This paper aims to map the issue of senior citizens education and it is interested in courses on digital technologies. The research applies analysis of available primary and secondary literature and the results of completed quantitative survey.