How online services add to stress levels amongst the elderly – Yorkshire Post Letters

MUCH has been said and written about how over the last two years more and more people of all ages are suffering from stress, anxiety, and mental health problems.

The Covid pandemic is blamed for much of this, but I firmly believe that there is another reason why so many people feel run down. It is the pace of IT in today’s world.

Culture, digital curse, computers, and an insistence by more companies, governments, banks, retailers, hospitality and sports industries, that we must all do almost everything “online”.

There is an intention by “the powers that be” to force this policy upon us. Why? Because it gives them more information about us all, it cuts down staff levels, it ups profit margins, and it enables more and more “sales” items to be thrust at us.

It makes us ill because so much of this “online” stuff is either very complex, is open to fraud and scams, or is impossible to use as it is frequently “down” and cannot be accessed.

I am no doctor, but I know danger when I see it.

From: Carol Washer, Hessle.

AN argument could be made for ID cards if these were to be universal and come into play in many circumstances. However, this Government is planning to make it a requirement for everyone to have an ID with a photo simply for it to be shown at the ballot box. The Government says it will stop voter fraud, yet there have been only three convictions for this since 2014.

Beyond that, a Cabinet Office estimate in 2018 was that the measure would cost taxpayers £20m per general election.

Those likely to be affected are older people, the disabled, unemployed and ethnic minorities. Our democracy used to mean one person, one vote, not just a vote for those lucky enough to afford a car or travel overseas and thus have photo ID. Are the One Nation Tories happy with this?

This ID at the ballot box requirement, along with curtailing the right to protest and a proposal to undermine the independence of the Electoral Commission, are attacks on our institutions straight out of the Trump playbook.

We can, though, be considered “Global Britain” in that there is international disquiet at this Government’s assaults on our democratic standards. “Bleakly repressive” was the recent verdict of the New York Times.

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