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Older adults in Türkiye are increasingly turning to digital platforms as a way to stay connected, but loneliness may also be pushing up the risk of digital addiction, according to Professor Emine Ozmete, director of Ankara University's Center for Aging Studies.
Ozmete said older adults tend to spend much of their time online scrolling through social media, while practical digital skills that could make daily life easier, such as online banking and digital health appointments, remain comparatively limited.
"Especially because of loneliness, which is described as the pandemic of our age, older people face the risk of digital addiction," Ozmete said.
She also pointed to growing interest in artificial intelligence among older adults, warning that this could increase exposure to misleading or unverified information, particularly on health-related issues.
Digital platforms have become an increasingly important link between older adults and their families as Türkiye has shifted from extended to smaller nuclear family structures.
According to figures cited by Ozmete from the Turkish Statistical Institute, or TurkStat, internet use among people aged 65-74 rose from 27.1% in 2020 to 53.2% in 2025, nearly doubling in five years.
Ozmete said three out of every four older adults in Türkiye live in the same city as their children, meaning family support networks remain geographically close in many cases. However, she argued that older people who live alone and do not have children in the same province should remain in regular contact with support networks.
Türkiye had 1.84 million older people living alone, with women making up around three-quarters of that group, according to Ozmete.
She said Türkiye's rapidly aging population was also increasing the need to rethink care systems. The population aged 65 and over rose by 20.5% over five years, reaching about 9.6 million in 2025 and accounting for 11.1% of the country's total population.
At the same time, declining fertility and smaller family structures have increased demand for institutional and community-based care even when relatives continue to live nearby.
Ozmete said survey findings showed that the preferred option among people aged 50 and over was to remain in their own homes while receiving home-care or daytime care services.
She called for an integrated system bringing together healthy aging programs, community-based daytime centers, home-care support, residential rehabilitation and palliative care, with social and health services working together.
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