Mobile use of the Internet using smartphones or tablets by Swiss people over 65 years

Abstract

More and more older people are using smartphones or tablet computers; for many it is a viable substitute for a normal mobile phone, or even an entry into the new digital age. With mobile devices, older people can use mobile Internet at home or on the move. Smartphones and tablets allow mobile access to information and communication, so it provides a mobile guide for older adults in their daily lives. But what is the level of acceptance and use of mobile Internet in the older population, and what factors influence the use of these devices? This paper examined older Swiss peoples' acceptance of and attitudes toward the use of smartphones and tablet computers, as well as mobile Internet. A representative study was conducted: a Swiss survey of 1,037 people aged 65 and older. 56% of the older people interviewed used the Internet in the autumn of 2014. 32% of the interviewed owned a smartphone and 26% a tablet computer. Between the age groups and the sociodemographic groups a divide by the mobile devices was found. 34% of Internet users also use mobile Internet. The data showed that, beside lower age, technological affinity and general attitude towards the Internet are positively associated with the use of mobile Internet. The research also showed that many mobile Internet users describe the use of their smartphone as a resource for coping with daily living.

The Ten Shades of Silver: Segmentation of Older Adults in the Mobile Phone Market

“…Our findings sustain the need to overcome the stereotypical image of older adults as anxious, averse, and/or disinterested consumers of internet-based mobile services. They confirm prior research showing mobile internet as an increasingly important aspect of mobile phone consumption among older adults (Mohadisdudis & Ali, 2014;Seifert & Schelling, 2015;Vicente & Lopes, 2016). However, it seems that feature phone users of mobile internet do not perceive internet access on smartphones as beneficial enough to convert.…”

“…Such trends have triggered several scholarly investigations on the various adoption factors and usage patterns of different types of mobile phone devices and services among older adults. A few examples of these strands of research are Kurniawan (2008), Conci, Pianesi, and Zancanaro (2009), Kubik (2009), Chen, McGaughey, Zeltmann, Lu, and Lee (2017), Hardhill and Olphert (2012), Chen, Chan, and Tsang (2013), Petrovčič, Vehovar, and Dolničar (2016), and Seifert and Schelling (2015). Overall, these studies indicate that older adults' intention to adopt mobile phones and the intensity of their use have been shaped by a complex set of intertwined socio-technical factors which have resulted in fairly heterogeneous usage patterns and consumption styles.…”

“…Conversely, other researchers have recently shown that, for a considerable number of older adultsalbeit they are still underrepresented when compared to the general population -, access to mobile internet (Gerpott, Thomas, & Weichert, 2013;Seifert & Schelling, 2015) and applications (Plaza, Martín, Martin, & Medrano, 2011) are becoming a resource for coping with daily living and active aging. In particular, Doughty and Williams (2016) and Plaza et al (2011) advanced that older adults are a potentially very appealing target group for advanced smartphone services within different models of telecare and telehealth support.…”

Enablers and Barriers for Mobile Commerce and Banking Services Among the Elderly in Developing Countries: A Systematic Review

“…In the commercial market, to understand the elderly consumer behavior, it is important to understand who elderly people are [12] and their attitudes and behavior towards technology [36]. It is worth mentioning that the relationship with technology might be different for older adults compared to young people, since the elderly did not grow up with technology and currently have less contact with these innovations [39]. However, the literature reports that in China the elderly had positive attitudes and beliefs concerning information technology [36].…”

The use of mobile devices for physical activity tracking in older adults’ everyday life

“…25 Nevertheless, there is still a gap between younger and older individuals in relation to usage rates, usage intensity, and the range of commonly used functions of new media. 26 , 27 Older adults must therefore still be considered a special target group when discussing the use of new technology. Furthermore, it has been shown that older adults have specific requirements when handling mobile applications 28 , 29 and that lack of familiarity is an important reason for non-use.…”