In Spain, Carlos San Juan de Laordon, a 78-year-old Parkinson’s patient, was frustrated by banks that were happy to hold his pension and savings but had closed all their branches, forcing all transactions online. So, he launched a petition. De Laordon was comfortable using internet services like Skype but because of his tremors, found the dexterity involved in banking apps too difficult.

The retired urologist’s ‘I’m Old, not Stupid’ cyber protest quickly garnered more than 600,000 signatures, and perhaps more importantly, gained widespread media coverage in Spain and abroad. Spain’s economic ministry then invited Dr de Laordon to attend the signing of a pact with the country’s main banks to do more for elderly customers who help keep them solvent.

Here in the UK, author and broadcaster Pete Paphides gained masses of support after tweeting about his late father’s struggle to operate an online parking app when attending a memorial service for a friend in...