Active Aging: Providing an Age-Friendly Digital Environment for Older Russians

Öz

While Russia has been implementing a policy of active aging over the past decade, stereotypes of passive old age, agism, and structural/age-related inequalities persist in real practices. Against the backdrop of the active digitalization of Russian society, public services, and ways of social participation, the social deprivation of older people is beginning to intersect with digital exclusion. This article discusses the opportunities and limitations of modern digital resources for achieving the goals of active aging. It examines the main needs for social interaction, autonomy, lifelong learning among older Russians, and the digital opportunities for their well-being. The study also analyzes the quality and accessibility of popular mobile applications and websites that offer opportunities for communication and social participation, education, and healthcare for older Russians. The findings reveal both potential and substantial barriers, including paid subscriptions, language obstacles, and a lack of awareness among older users. Recommendations are proposed for creating age-friendly digital services, as well as a digital policy that can contribute to older Russians’ social inclusion and participation.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• older Russians
• active aging
• age-friendly digital environment
• digital literacy
• s ocial inclusion
• digital inequality

Kaynakça

1. Beeline. (2024). Moscow longevity: Beeline and Moscow longevity determined the impact of digitalization google scholar on the quality of life of the older generation. Beeline.ru. https://beelinenow.ru/articles/ google scholar bilayn-i-moskovskoe-dolgoletie-opredelili-vliyanie-tsifrovizatsii-na-kachestvo-zhizni-starshego- google scholar poko/ google scholar
2. Elyutina, M. E. (2023). Conceptual metaphor of old age. Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology, google scholar 26(2), 231–248. https://doi.org/10.31119/jssa.2023.26.2.10 google scholar
3. Federal State Statistics Service. (2024). Russian statistical yearbook. Rosstat. https://rosstat.gov.ru/ google scholar storage/mediabank/Ejegodnik_2024.pdf google scholar
4. Federal State Statistics Service. (2025). Older generation: Statistical collection. Rosstat. https:// google scholar rosstat.gov.ru/folder/13877 google scholar
5. Galkin, K. A. (2021). Aktivnoe dolgoletie i tsifrovizatsiya: Bariery i vozmozhnosti dlya pozhilykh google scholar lyudey v selskoy mestnosti [Active longevity and digitalization: Barriers and opportunities for google scholar older people in rural areas]. Monitoring obshchestvennogo mneniya: ekonomicheskie i sotsialnye google scholar izmeneniya, 3, 426–444. google scholar
6. Government of the Russian Federation. (2025). Strategy for action in the interests of citizens of the google scholar older generation in the Russian Federation until 2030 (Order No. 830-r). https://docs.cntd.ru/ google scholar document/1312459676?ysclid=mu1hgpjab928059343 google scholar
7. Hargittai, E., Piper, A. M., & Morris, M. R. (2019). From Internet access to Internet skills: Digital google scholar inequality among older adults. Universal Access in the Information Society, 18(4), 881–890. google scholar https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-018-0617-5 google scholar
8. Kienko, T. S., Kalafat, O. S., Voitova, D. S., & Sevostyanov, A. S. (2024). Svyazi sotsialnoy i tsifrovoy google scholar aktivnosti starshego pokoleniya rossiyan na Donu i Srednem Urale i problema tsifrovykh google scholar neravenstv [Connections of social and digital activity of the older generation of Russians in the google scholar Don and the Middle Urals and the problem of digital inequalities]. Sotsialnoe Prostranstvo, google scholar 4(10). https://doi.org/10.15838/sa.2024.4.44.7 google scholar

9. Kienko, T. S., Stompel, L. A., Pevnaya, M. V. (2024). Sotsialnoe uchastie pozhilykh lyudey v rossiyskikh google scholar regionakh [Social participation of older people in Russian regions]. “Printing Shop”. google scholar
10. Kommersant. (2025, June 18). Old people measured anxiety: Elderly Russians show a tendency to google scholar depression. Kommersant. https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/7179947 google scholar
11. Li, X., Zhang, C., Zhao, Y., & Feng, H. (2025). Navigating ageing in place within a smart home: google scholar Bridging stakeholder viewpoints. Journal of Population Ageing 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/ google scholar s12062-025-09508-6 google scholar
12. Lu, X., Yao, Y., & Jin, Y. (2022). Digital exclusion and functional dependence in older people: google scholar Findings from five longitudinal cohort studies. EClinicalMedicine, 54, 101708. https://doi. google scholar org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101708 google scholar
13. NAFI Analytical Center. (2024). Digital literacy index-2024: The digital literacy of Russians has google scholar not grown for the third year in a row. NAFI Analytical Center. https://nafi.ru/analytics/indekstsifrovoy- google scholar gramotnosti-2024-tsifrovaya-gramotnost-rossiyan-ne-rastet-tretiy-god-podryad-/ google scholar
14. Narushima, M., Liu, J., & Diestelkamp, N. (2018). Lifelong learning in active ageing discourse: google scholar Its conserving effect on wellbeing, health and vulnerability. Ageing & Society, 38(4), 651–675. google scholar https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X16001136 google scholar
15. National Research University. (2023). Loneliness at an older age in Russia: Exclusion or solitude? google scholar HSE. https://ncmu.hse.ru/ys-project-23-3 google scholar
16. Rambler. (2025, April 4). Bolee 6.5 tys. klubov po interesam deystvuyut v tsentrakh moskovskogo google scholar dolgoletiya [More than 6.5 thousand interest clubs operate in the centers of Moscow longevity]. google scholar Rambler. https://news.rambler.ru/moscow_city/54148686-bolee-6-5-tys-klubov-po-interesamdeystvuyut- google scholar v-tsentrah-moskovskogo-dolgoletiya/ google scholar
17. Rogers, W. A., Ramadhani, W. A., & Harris, M. (2020). Defining aging in place: The intersectionality google scholar of space, person, and time. Innovation in Aging, 4(4), igaa036. https://doi.org/10.1093/ google scholar geroni/igaa036 google scholar
18. Ryff, C. D. (1991). Possible selves in adulthood and old age: A tale of shifting horizons. Psychology google scholar and Ageing, 6(2), 286–295. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.6.2.286 google scholar
19. St. Petersburg State University. (2024, July 1). Sotsiologi SPbGU: okolo 50% pozhilykh lyudey google scholar ne vladeyut elektronnymi poiskovymi servisami [Sociologists of St. Petersburg State University: google scholar About 50% of older people do not own electronic search services]. SPbU. https://spbu.ru/ google scholar news-events/novosti/sociologi-spbgu-okolo-50-pozhilykh-lyudey-ne-vladeyut-elektronnymipoiskovymi google scholar
20. van Hoof, J., Marston, H. R., Kazak, J. K., & Buffel, T. (2021). Ten questions concerning age-friendly google scholar cities and communities and the built environment. Building and Environment, 199, 107922. google scholar https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.107922 google scholar
21. Vershinina, I. A., & Martynenko, T. S. (2026). Kontseptsiya «stareniya na meste» v sotsiologii i google scholar vozmozhnosti ee realizatsii v sovremennykh gorodakh [The concept of “ageing in place” in sociology google scholar and the possibilities for its implementation in modern cities]. Sotsiodinamika, 5, 77–88. google scholar https://doi.org/10.25136/2409-7144.2026.5.78335 google scholar
22. Volchenko, O. V. (2016). Dynamics of digital inequality in Russia. Monitoring of Public Opinion: google scholar Economic and Social Changes, 5, 163–182. google scholar
23. World Health Organization. (2002). Active ageing: A policy framework. Author. google scholar
24. World Health Organization. (2007). Global age-friendly cities: A guide. Author. google scholar
25. World Health Organization. (2015). A guide to using core indicators measuring the age-friendliness google scholar of cities. Author. google scholar
26. World Health Organization. (2018). The global network for age-friendly cities and communities. google scholar Author. google scholar
27. Yates, S., Kirby, J., & Lockley, E. (2015). Digital media use: Differences and inequalities in relation google scholar to class and age. Sociological Research Online, 20(4), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.5153/sro.3751 google scholar
28. Zhou, J. J., Kang, R., & Bai, X. (2022). A meta-analysis on the influence of age-friendly environments google scholar on older adults’ physical and mental wellbeing. International Journal of Environmental google scholar
29. Research and Public Health, 19(21), 13813. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192113813 google scholar