Do you feel sorry for ripped-off customer?

[JohnD]

With regard to internet access, Online stats suggest otherwise to JD’s statement

JP's?

I don't think he's told us yet where he got his figures.

 

[JP_]

That's interesting. Where did you get this information?

at a marketing conference.
But plenty of sources back it up.

UK population - reading ability - Association of Palliative Care Social Workers

It is estimated that 43% of the UK population have a reading ability at or below that of a typical 7–9 year-old – according to the NHS Health Literacy Toolkit. This means that patients and carers may not be able to understand much of the health and social care information they receive. If you...

apcsw.org.uk

Regional health literacy | North East and North Cumbria NHS

Regional health literacy | North East and North Cumbria NHS

northeastnorthcumbria.nhs.uk

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11480634/ - lots of resources here

 

[JohnD]

...the average reading age for elderly people is about aged 9...

?

Elderly, you say?

"The average reading age of adults in the UK is 9-11 years old"

"It is estimated that 43% of the UK population have a reading ability at or below that of a typical 7–9 year-old – according to the NHS Health Literacy Toolkit."

"The average reading level in the United Kingdom is estimated to be year 5"

 

[JP_]

Well, I was specifically referring to elderly people when I said it - I wasn't thinking about younger people. But maybe it is everybody. Except those 8 years and under.

 

[Odds]

I wonder about younger folk's reading ability as they stare into their phones, digesting content in clips or listening to audio books, rather than reading them.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

UK population - reading ability - Association of Palliative Care Social Workers​

It is estimated that 43% of the UK population have a reading ability at or below that of a typical 7–9 year-old – according to the NHS Health Literacy Toolkit. This means that patients and carers may not be able to understand much of the health and social care information they receive. If you...

apcsw.org.uk

I find that hard to believe, if DIYnot, is a representative sample, plus the ordinary people I meet locally, in the street.
.
In the forum, we see two types of examples - those who post and just cannot be bothered to ensure they have corrected the spelling, put the capitals in, the commas, and the full stops. Then we have the posts, where the poster just doesn't know how to do these things. The latter group, would seem to make up less 5% of the posts.

Then we have those who suffer from problems, such as dyslexia.

 

[Diyisfun]

Many people can't easily decipher this though. Last I read, about half of over 70s are still not online. Also, the average reading age for elderly people is about aged 9, which makes it hard to research these things. And many become isolated, and very trusting of people from places like "Trust a Trader".

There's no easy answer really. We've built a society that isolates the elderly and impoverishes everbody.

Blimey you think yourself something special. So are you basing your over 70's comment on your parents.? What a crap statement to make maybe if you had said over 80's It could have been more to the point.

 

[Diyisfun]

Maybe start looking at solicitors lawyers estate agent fees whilst looking at the building trade

You cant put solicitor & estate agent in the same group.
The solicitors are trained & regulated unlike MOST builders.

 

[JohnD]

Then we have those who suffer from problems, such as dyslexia.

We also have one person who thinks it's funny to impersonate somebody with such difficulties.

 

[FiremanT]

I wonder about younger folk's reading ability as they stare into their phones, digesting content in clips or listening to audio books, rather than reading them.

That is a massive generalisatio, though. They do have these things, but that it is not to say that they all read books. They need to be taught to learn from waht they read, and to critically assess the content. It is frightening how many adults read pathetic and obviously fake memes, or distorted headlines, and comment upon them as if they were fact. In fact, I really had not realosed how many adults are completely thick.

The weird thing about over 70's having a poor reading ability is that the general concensus, outside of this forum, is that education is now rubbish, and that schools dont teach anything. And that years back the 3 R's were taught to great efffect. Which is, of course, in my experience, nonsense. I marvel at the progress exhibited by my grand kids since starting school, and will probably not be able to help with their maths when in secondary school. That is not to say those that can afford Public Education are more able to secure "top jobs", or that State schools don't suffer from lack of investment, parental guidance or troublesome pupils.

Teachers also work a damn sight harder and longer than they are given credit (or paid) for.

I attended, this morning, my GD's "School of Rock" performance (she plays drums). Over 100 kids in the audience and on stage, and they were all a credit to their school and parents. Some of the actual music left a little to be desired, but they are aged between 5 & 9, but the effort and general decorum presented was immense.