Page 131 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report

The infirmities of old age can affect elderly people’s access to information. The visual impair- ment derived from ophthalmological diseases associated with ageing is one of the most signifi- cant and it is progressively growing.
Eighty percent of people aged over 60 in Spain have problems of vision67 (that is, more than seven million people, bearing in mind that over-65s alone almost amount to that figure). Cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy are the main ophthalmo- logical conditions suffered by elderly people and impair their access to reading in print.
The natural ageing process also often triggers non-injury-related problems in the fingers, hands and wrists that can make it difficult to read in print. Among the most common complaints affecting the hands and wrists are arthrosis, a degenerative disease caused by loss of agility and stiffening of the muscles that occurs in older people and affects 28% of over-60s (particularly women, that is, potential readers).68
Another complaint which can impair the mobility of the hands is arthritis. The most common form of arthritis is degenerative arthritis or osteoar- thritis, which affects practically everyone, espe- cially the elderly.69 Women are normally worse affected than men and often at an earlier age.
Clinical trials show that degeneration of the joints affects approximately 60% of adults aged over 60, and 80% to 90% of patients aged over 75. Rheumatoid arthritis affects around 1% of the adult population. Women are three times more likely than men to develop this disease. Although it can affect people of any age, the peak age of onset is between 20 and 40.
As well as impaired sight and hand function, many older people also have difficulty travelling to places associated with books and reading, such as libraries. This may be because they have some physical problem in their legs, can no longer drive and are not comfortable using public
transport but cannot afford less economical means of transport.
In general, many people have difficulty accessing print matter and physical spaces associated with reading. However, these people are readers and as a rule have time to engage in their reading habit – something many people claim they lack and cite as being the main hindrance to engaging in this practice.
According to the report by GFK mentioned above, the highest percentage of daily readers (40%) belong to the over-60 age group.70 If we add those who claim to read at least once a week, the figure rises to 65%. This is equivalent to some six million people and could be consid- erably increased if the use of digital reading devices were encouraged among people who are prevented from reading by some of the problems discussed in this section. It is undoubtedly an interesting figure for the various publishing sector agents and mediators alike.
Figure 10. Frequency of book reading
in Spain by age group | GfK. Source:https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/2405078/ Landing_Pages_PDF/Spain/Global_Survey_ GfK_Frecuency_Reading_Books.pdf
Advantages of elderly people using digital reading devices
As we have seen, digital reading devices incor- porate a series of functions for customising and optimising the reading experience in accordance with users’ particular needs. These functions can certainly facilitate reading for people with special needs related to ageing and include selecting the
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Readers in the digital age