Elderly struggle with shame over digital challenges, researcher finds

A Danish researcher who assumed older adults resented technology discovered instead that many feel deep shame over their difficulties navigating digital society, state broadcaster DR reports.

Anja Svejgaard Pors, who studies the elderly’s relationship with digital transformation, initially recorded her own preconceptions before meeting participants—including the belief that they hated technological progress. Fieldwork revealed a different reality: rather than hostility, many experienced embarrassment and self-blame for failing to keep pace.

The findings come as public services in Denmark increasingly shift to digital-only platforms, leaving some elderly residents struggling to access essential functions.