Digital Bulgarian Elderly People: Myth or Reality?

The development of ICTs and the increasingly widespread access to the Internet pose significant challenges to mankind in contemporary society. Although high-tech developments bring positives, such as faster access to a variety of information and easier communication, they also pose the challenge of how certain groups of people can be integrated in the new technological realities, because the lack of digital competences actually isolates them socially. Older people seem to be more vulnerable in this regard, and therefore the topic of their adaptation to the digitalized environment is an important part of the discourse on the overall digital media literacy. This study aims to trace trends in the attitudes of the Bulgarian older persons to the transforming usage of media content and communication technologies. The methodology includes comparative analysis of statistical data (2004–2023) and of conducted two empirical surveys (2019/2023). The research has been developed within the framework of the MEDIADELCOM research project of the Horizon 2020 European Commission program.