HelpAge India

As spring slowly awakens in Ladakh, something beautiful is taking root - hands that have nurtured lives are now nurturing the earth once again.

In our Senior Care Home in Leh, elders and staff came together to prepare the soil, plant new beginnings and graft apple and apricot trees that will bloom in seasons to come. The joy of nurturing new life, and the quiet fulfilment of doing it together as a community, was evident on their faces.

On the eve of Buddha Purnima, it feels especially meaningful to pause and reflect on these words of the Buddha: “There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.”

In every seed sown, in every moment shared, let's always remember, that happiness is not something we seek but something we create - together.

At a time when AI is rapidly reshaping how we see, hear and trust information, one group is being pushed into an increasingly complex and risky digital space - our senior citizens.

This timely article in The Telegraph by Mathures Paul brings this into sharp focus, with Sonali Sharma, Head - Communications, HelpAge India highlighting a critical reality: there is a significant gap in digital access, literacy and confidence - especially among older women - making them more vulnerable to AI-enabled scams.

The data revealed in HelpAge India's research report in 2025 is telling -

- 71% of elders use basic mobile phones
- Only 41% own smartphones
- Just 13% use computers, the Internet, or social media

And the gap widens further for women:

~60% of older women have never used a digital device
~Nearly 60% lack familiarity with smartphones or social media

This isn’t a new vulnerability. But in today’s AI-driven environment, it has become more urgent, more complex and far harder to detect. From deepfake voices to highly convincing impersonation, the line between real and fake is blurring fast, making conversations like this more relevant than ever.

Read the full article:

Intimidating new frontier for seniors: In an AI-first world, the rule of thumb is verify first, act later Reports of elderly people falling prey to fraud calls and suspicious links continue to multiply