POSSIBLE DIGITAL DIVIDE THREAT IN ACCESS TO PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION SERVICES AMONG ELDERLY AS A FACTOR UNDERLYING INTERNET SKILLS POPULARIZATION NEED

Public administration is an important partner in the life of each citizen. Thus, the communication channels quality and user-friendliness while following administrative procedures are important and can influence people's quality of life. In recent years, due to the Internet services expansion, many of the administrative procedures have been transferred into digital domain replacing the traditional means of communication, which is appreciated as e-channel accessible from any place 24/7 and therefore regarded to be effective and comfortable. However, population in Poland, just as in the whole Europe, is ageing rapidly. The senior citizens tend to experience difficulties using online services due to psychological reasons as well as due to their lower novelty and technological eagerness. Together with the switch to e-services in public administration, it may bring pressure towards digital divide and exclusion of the old-age pensioners (OAPs). This paper aims to present a literature review on all those background factors together with research outcomes on Polish public administration websites user-friendliness. Popularizing the Internet skills, which need to be correlated with the needs of the OAP users and attractively presented, possibly with use of gamification techniques, seems the right solution.