A review of Internet use among older adults

Hunsaker, Amanda; Hargittai, Eszter

doi:10.1177/1461444818787348

Cited by 503 publications

(428 citation statements)

References 66 publications

(132 reference statements)

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“…Nevertheless, empirical studies have observed a digital gap between generations (see e.g. Chang, McAllister, & McCaslin, 2015;Hunsaker & Hargittai, 2018;Olson, O'Brien, Rogers, & Charness, 2010;Seifert, Doh & Wahl, 2017). Differences between generations remain, even though the trend is increasing internet use among older adults; for example, in the United States of America, 67% of 65-year-olds and older are online (Pew Research Center, 2017).…”

Section: Internet Use Among Older Adultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Older adults’ perceived sense of social exclusion from the digital world

Seifert

Hofer

Rössel

2018

Educational Gerontology

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A great deal of information and many services can now be accessed digitally. In order to make use of such services, however, it is necessary to have some form of Internet access. A lack of involvement in digital society may produce new forms of social exclusion. Older adults are particularly at risk of Internet-related social exclusion, since they tend to use the Internet less than younger adults. Little is known, however, about whether this lower level of Internet use among older people is in fact accompanied by a sense of social exclusion. In order to investigate the subjective sense of digital social exclusion resulting from a lack of Internet usage, we conducted a secondary analysis of a representative, cross-sectional telephone survey of 1,037 adults aged 65 years and over and living in Switzerland. We found that 33% of "onliners" reported that they would feel socially excluded were they to stop using the Internet, compared with 14% of "onliners" who felt socially excluded on account of their lack of Internet use. Our analyses show that onliners' attitudes toward Internet use and the variety of online applications available were related to their sense of social exclusion. By contrast, offliners' attitudes toward Internet use and their feelings of loneliness in general were predictors for their sense of social exclusion as a result of not using the Internet. The results of the study as well as its implications for research and practice are discussed. AbstractA great deal of information and many services can now be accessed digitally. In order to make use of such services, however, it is necessary to have some form of Internet access. A lack of involvement in digital society may produce new forms of social exclusion. Older adults are particularly at risk of Internet-related social exclusion, since they tend to use the Internet less than younger adults. Little is known, however, about whether this lower level of Internet use among older people is in fact accompanied by a sense of social exclusion. In order to investigate the subjective sense of digital social exclusion resulting from a lack of Internet usage, we conducted a secondary analysis of a representative, cross-sectional telephone survey of 1,037 adults aged 65 years and over and living in Switzerland. We found that 33% of "onliners" reported that they would feel socially excluded were they to stop using the Internet, compared with 15% of "offliners" who felt socially excluded on account of their lack of Internet use. Our analyses show that onliners' attitudes toward Internet use and the variety of online applications available were related to their sense of social exclusion. By contrast, offliners' attitudes toward Internet use and their feelings of loneliness in general were predictors for their sense of social exclusion as a result of not using the Internet. The results of the study as well as its implications for research and practice are discussed.

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Section: Internet Use Among Older Adultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Certain segments of the population (such as older adults) often lack direct or easy access to this new technology (Mitzner et al, 2018). As a result, older adults are at risk of feeling excluded from the digital world (Hunsaker & Hargittai, 2018;van Deursen & Helsper, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Older adults’ perceived sense of social exclusion from the digital world

Seifert

Hofer

Rössel

2018

Educational Gerontology

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“…Second, a change has occurred in the form of the digitalization of everyday life, driven by high levels of technical innovation and diffusion dynamics through the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) such as the internet (Castells, 2010). Regarding the latter change, the current society is made up of networks as presented by the internet as a network of connected computers and therefore the internet dominates today societies (Castells, 2000) Nevertheless, specific segments of the population, mainly the older population, often do not have direct or immediate access to new technologies such as the internet and thus do not benefit as much from these technologies' advantages for daily living as those who do have such access (Hunsaker and Hargittai, 2018). This so-called digital divide may be understood as a globally applicable term for the perceived divide between those who have access to the latest information technologies and those who do not (Korupp and Szydlik, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Online to Offline and Vice Versa: Change in Internet Use in Later Life Across Europe

König

Seifert

2020

Front. Sociol.

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The internet can be a valuable source of social participation in modern society. Although increasing numbers of older adults are using the internet, numerous older adults also cease using the internet and become "offliners." The question of which factors in usage change (i.e., switching from onliner to offliner, and vice versa) are most influential remains unclear. This study investigates changes in internet use among the older European population using two waves of representative panel data for 13 countries from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The analyses were based on 34,149 respondents aged 50 years and older. In general, the results indicate a positive trend by a slight (2%) increase in usage, from 51% in 2013 to 53% in 2015. However, the results also show that a total of 6% had not recently used the internet, although they had done so in the past. Our multilevel results suggest that both the onset of and cessation of internet usage are primarily driven by changes in socioeconomic resources (income and occupation), health resources (subjective health and grip strength), living situation (via relocation), and social factors (partnership and distance to children) as well as contextual factors such as country-specific wealth and social indexes and internet infrastructure. The study underlines the importance of investigating the influencing factors for commencing internet usage and of determining which factors lead to its increase.

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“…The major barriers for the adoption of ePROs in daily practice are logistical, in terms of implementation that requires training for clinicians and staff, and the unfamiliarity of many patients with electronic devices . However, the use of computers, smartphones and tablets has been steadily increasing among older adults as the population ages . Another barrier is the potentially increased workload for health workers responding to ePRO alerts/notifications.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…5 However, the use of computers, smartphones and tablets has been steadily increasing among older adults as the population ages. 6 Another barrier is the potentially increased workload for health workers responding to ePRO alerts/notifications. However, ePROS have been reported to reduce health care service utilization overall, due to increased patient self-management.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Electronic patient‐reported outcomes to monitor symptoms after gynecological cancer treatment

Vistad¹

2019

Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand

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A review of Internet use among older adults

Cited by 503 publications

References 66 publications

Older adults’ perceived sense of social exclusion from the digital world

Older adults’ perceived sense of social exclusion from the digital world

From Online to Offline and Vice Versa: Change in Internet Use in Later Life Across Europe

Electronic patient‐reported outcomes to monitor symptoms after gynecological cancer treatment

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