Seniors Online: Attitudes Toward the Internet and Coping With Everyday Life

Seifert, Alexander; Schelling, Hans Rudolf

doi:10.1177/0733464816669805

Cited by 58 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As Selwyn (2013) has noted, we should not consider the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) such as the Internet as normal and non-use as abnormal. Many older adults have their own reasons for choosing not to use the Internet (Czaja et al, 2006;Nimrod, 2018;Seifert & Schelling, 2018). Nevertheless, technological diffusion is an ongoing process and, as stated above, the current dominance of online-only information and services will only intensify in future (Hill, Betts, & Gardner, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While Internet use among older adults in general has become a major topic in gerontology (Hunsaker & Hargittai, 2018;Seifert & Schelling, 2018), the same is not true of research on older adults' perceived sense of social exclusion from the digital world. To our knowledge, no national or international studies have investigated this question with reference to Internet use among older adults.…”

Section: The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

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

Seifert

Hofer

Rössel

2018

Educational Gerontology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Seifert

Hofer

Rössel

2018

Educational Gerontology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Participants rated how true five statements were on a 5‐point Likert scale from 0 (not at all true of me) to 4 (completely true of me). Four statements measured to what degree ICT gave middle‐aged adults more feelings of self‐control in their lives (eg “ICT allows me to stay independent longer into old age”) . One additional item (ie “ICT allows me to stay at home longer as I age”) was added to measure whether ICT facilitates “ageing in place.” Higher average scores indicated greater anticipation of old age support provided by ICT (α = 0.93).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Information and communication technology among early and late middle‐aged adults in urban China: Daily use and anticipated support in old age

Song

Chen

2019

Australas J Ageing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives Guided by the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), the study explored information and communications technology (ICT) use and anticipation among middle‐aged adults in urban China. Methods Path analysis was performed on data from 401 participants aged 45‐65 to examine the associations between anticipated ICT support and the acceptance and adoption process of ICT. Results For the late middle‐aged adults, those who had greater belief in ICT usefulness and received more social support for ICT use were more likely to anticipate greater ICT support in old age. These associations were not found in the early middle‐aged group. Discussion The frequency of ICT use may be the key explanation for different ICT predictors and patterns. The constructs of UTAUT are sequential steps. Middle‐aged adults may believe in ICT usefulness even though they have not witnessed it in person.

show abstract

“…Among the reasons considered to be pro-integrating the silver generation into digital world, it is worth highlighting 'independence' as a significant factor for seniors, as the so-called 'on-liner' elders admit that Internet helps them to stay independent for a longer period of time as they age (Seifert & Schelling, 2018).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Senior Digital Up-Skilling – Erasmus Plus Programme Project Dial Case Study

Cirule¹,

Balta²,

Komarova

et al. 2019

Economics and Culture

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Research purpose. With the current and progressive ageing of the population globally, in Europe over the past three decades, the urgency of creating a specific theoretical and educational model for older adults, in which the professional purpose is not the most important, is rising. Senior digital up-skilling is one of the pathways to widen the horizon of senior citizens (aged 55 plus) to be socially included in both society and labour market. The research article reveals the results of the project ‘Digital Acquisition through Intergenerational Learning’ (DIAL No. 2017-1-LV01-KA204-035455, Erasmus Plus programme) senior survey on training needs of digital skills from Latvia. Design/Methodology/Approach. The research was carried out based on a quantitative survey conducted in four project partner countries in 2018, totally reaching out 1003 respondents. The sample of Latvia represents 236 adult learners, aged 55 plus. The survey was conducted based on two main scales: ‘skill self-assessment and study needs’ and four subscales ‘computer essentials, communication and collaboration, hardware and Internet’. The main aim of the research was to estimate digital literacy level among senior citizens in project countries and develop training and teaching materials for adult learners and teachers based on survey results. Findings. The main finding reveals the senior digital skill self-assessment and study needs. The majority of respondents revealed that they lack skills of communication in social media; at the same time they are willing to learn how to use Facebook and Viber, but they are not interested to use WhatsApp and Twitter for communication purposes with friends and family. The respondents are interested in apprehending video skills via mobile phones and e-governance service tools. These are only some findings out of almost 70 survey statements. Originality/Value/Practical implications. The training materials in five languages (English, Latvian, Portuguese, Turkish and Greek) were developed based on the senior digital skills self-assessment and study needs survey. This is a practical intellectual output and value of the project DIAL – creation of innovative teaching materials for senior digital up-skilling.

show abstract

Seniors Online: Attitudes Toward the Internet and Coping With Everyday Life

Cited by 58 publications

References 13 publications

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

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

Information and communication technology among early and late middle‐aged adults in urban China: Daily use and anticipated support in old age

Senior Digital Up-Skilling – Erasmus Plus Programme Project Dial Case Study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About