Online safety warnings shouldn’t scare older Mainers offline | Opinion

The state has made great strides in providing its seniors with the necessary supports to confidently navigate the internet at precisely the moment they need it most.

Jessica Perez is senior manager of digital opportunity at Maine Connectivity Authority, the quasi-governmental agency leading efforts to expand affordable, reliable internet access across Maine. Noël Bonam is state director of AARP Maine, which represents nearly 200,000 members 50 and older statewide.

“There is no electrician or milkman for the internet. There’s no one to help. You have to figure it out on your own or get help from your kids.” That is what an older woman told us this summer at the grand opening of the Encompass Education and Nutrition Center, SeniorsPlus’ new connectivity hub in Lewiston. She was talking about technology, but she put her finger on a much bigger problem.

We have spent years warning people about the dangers of being online. Watch out for scams. Do not click suspicious links. Protect your passwords. Be skeptical of what you see. Now, with artificial intelligence making it harder to distinguish what is real from what is not, those warnings have become even more urgent.

The warnings are justified. But at SeniorsPlus, we heard about an unintended consequence: some older Mainers are afraid of the internet at precisely the moment when they increasingly need it.

Healthcare is online. Job applications are online. Government services, banking, education and communication with family increasingly require digital participation. For people who did not grow up using the internet, opting out is becoming less realistic.

And yet, when something goes wrong, there often is no obvious — let alone trusted — person to call. People may not understand a medical portal, suspect an online scam, struggle to make their laptop work or simply not know how to accomplish something online. Too often, the answer is to figure it out themselves — or call their kids.

Maine has made enormous strides in expanding access to fast, reliable internet. More than 120,000 homes and businesses that once lacked reliable service are now connected, and tens of thousands more soon will be. But access is only the beginning. The real measure of these investments is whether they help Maine people live, learn, work and participate in their communities.

Maine’s next connectivity challenge is making sure the warnings meant to keep people safe online do not unintentionally deepen the very digital divide we have worked so hard to close.

AARP’s own survey shows that 1 in 5 Americans age 65 and older lacks confidence in
identifying online scams and fraud, and nearly a third report not having the skills to fully
participate online. But more than 70% say they would participate in technology
programs designed for them.

We cannot simply tell people to be more careful online — or hand them a device, connect their home and wish them luck. People need trusted, local places where they can ask questions, build skills and get help without feeling embarrassed or overwhelmed. That is exactly what the new connectivity hub at SeniorsPlus is designed to provide. With grant support from the Maine Connectivity Authority, people can use public computers, get one-on-one technology help, take computer skills classes and learn how to stay safe online.

Most importantly, it offers what the woman we met there said was missing: somewhere to turn when you cannot figure it out on your own.

Maine needs more places like SeniorsPlus: places where people of all ages can walk through the door, find someone they trust and ask for help. The good news is that Maine already has the infrastructure that matters most: trusted people in trusted places.

They are in our libraries, community centers, schools, municipal and tribal buildings, YWCAs and other local organizations — places where people already gather, learn, ask questions and look out for one another. Connectivity hubs build on that strength by bringing internet access, devices, digital skills and technical support into institutions that already anchor our communities.

As Maine enters its next chapter of connectivity, we should invest not only in the infrastructure that connects communities, but in the people and places that make those connections useful. The goal was never simply to build a network. It is to make sure Maine people can use connectivity safely and confidently to live, learn, work and participate.

We have spent years connecting Maine. The work ahead is making sure Maine people feel able to connect.