Integrating the elderly into the internet and creating networking welfare in Russia

The article investigates the impact of the information technology revolution on shifts in the social structure of the contemporary Russian society. The revolutionary changes in the social life of the elderly are examined. The specific features of the information technology revolution in Russia, along with general, inherent features of all developed countries, have a significant impact on all aspects of the modernization of contemporary Russian society. The elderly are the most socially vulnerable group in need of a decent quality of life and health. The authors analyze the impact of unprecedented demographic change on the dynamics and structure of continuous welfare. The twenty-first century is demonstrating a demographic shift connected with a world-wide increase in life-span, and the older generation occupies the central place in this change. By 2050, the elderly (those aged 60 and up) will make up more than one-fifth (22%) of the world's population. Russia has one of the leading positions among the developed countries in relation to the proportion of elderly people who continue to be part of the working population. It is emphasized that the rapid ageing of the population as a whole and the high rate of labor activity among the elderly is leading to a more intensively ageing of the workforce in Russia when compared with developing countries. At the same time, there is an increasingly significant need for the development of social services such as education, health care, medical services, vocational training and the retraining of the elderly. Annual government spending on social programs is insufficient, not only in providing a system of social services that meet the needs of the era of the information technology revolution, but also in solving the acute problems such as poverty among the elderly. The authors justify the necessity to integrate the elderly into the World Wide Web (Internet) in order to expand their opportunities for social self-identification and to carry out multifaceted human potential. The Internet is seen by users as a means of dialogue - a two-way communication between people. It acts as an intermediary between the public and local authorities. In this regard, wide access to information currently gives senior citizens many more opportunities, and utility maximization occurs at higher levels of need gratification. It is stated in the article that the socio-economic changes that have taken place in the post-perestroika period have contributed to the creation of a new structure of needs from senior citizens. The article also details the basic features forming a new model of personal consumption for the elderly.

Keywords

Authors

References