Social Interactions and the 'Digital Divide': Explaining Regional Variations in Internet Use

Agarwal, Ritu; Animesh, Animesh; Prasad, Kislaya; Smith, Robert H.

doi:10.2139/ssrn.796090

Cited by 52 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Some recent examples include research on ambient assisted living (Sun et al, 2009) and on electronic health (Cho & Mathiassen, 2007;Klein, 2007;Payton & Kiwanuka-Tondo, 2009). Despite these benefits, a conspicuous age-related digital divide remains (Carter & Bélanger, 2005;Czaja et al, 2006;van Dijk, 2006;Agerwal et al, 2009). This digital divide means that despite all potential advantages, the elderly are less likely to have access to and to exploit the potential of Internet usage and IT in general (European Commission, 2004;Niehaves & Becker, 2008;Bélanger & Carter, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Internet adoption by the elderly: employing IS technology acceptance theories for understanding the age-related digital divide

Niehaves

Plattfaut

2014

European Journal of Information Systems

324

224

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Information technology (IT) allows members of the growing elderly population to remain independent longer. However, while technology becomes more and more pervasive, an age-related underutilisation of IT remains observable. For instance, elderly people (65 years of age and older) are significantly less likely to use the Internet than the average population (see, for instance, European Commission, 2011). This age-related digital divide prevents many elderly people from using IT to enhance their quality of life through tools, such as Internet-based service delivery. Despite the significance of this phenomenon, the information systems (IS) literature lacks a comprehensive consideration and explanation of technology acceptance in general and more specifically, Internet adoption by the elderly. This paper thus studies the intentions of the elderly with regard to Internet use and identifies important influencing factors. Four alternative models based on technology acceptance theory are tested in the context of comprehensive survey data. As a result, a model that explains as much as 84% of the variance in technology adoption among the elderly is developed. We discuss the contribution of our analyses to the research on Internet adoption (and IT adoption in general) by the elderly, on the digital divide, and on technology acceptance and identify potentially effective paths for future research and theoretical development.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Internet adoption by the elderly: employing IS technology acceptance theories for understanding the age-related digital divide

Niehaves

Plattfaut

2014

European Journal of Information Systems

324

224

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Here, Venkatesh et al [47] provide evidence for the influence of the following independent variables: Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), Social Influence (SI), and Facilitating Conditions (FC). As for the representation of the digital divide perspective, four additional variables were included in our model: education [45,2,5], gender [27,7,2,5], income [48,7,2,5], and migration background [2,5]. Here, we argue -in line with other studies -that these factors moderate the relationships described in the original UTAUT model.…”

Section: Research Modelmentioning

confidence: 62%

“…One of these challenges is the (here: age-related) digital divide [45,2,5,3], in this context understood as an emerging polarisation phenomenon in society, creating a gap between those who do have access to and use the potentialities of ICTs, and those who do not [18]. The demographic gap refers, amongst others, to the fact that senior people often do not use ICT on a regular basis [6,39,5].…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here, we argue -in line with other studies -that these factors moderate the relationships described in the original UTAUT model. 2 According to studies of technology acceptance, specifically UTAUT, and taking into account digital divide research, we formulate the following hypotheses in order to explain behavioural intention towards personal use of the internet: . We assume that the original UTAUT has significant power to explain variations in behavioural intention towards personal internet use and in use behaviour.…”

Section: Research Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We created a questionnaire based on the theoretical background of the UTAUT [47] and the Digital Divide literature [48,45,2,5]. This questionnaire was handed out to more than 3,000 randomly chosen inhabitants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

What Is the Issue with Internet Acceptance among Elderly Citizens? Theory Development and Policy Recommendations for Inclusive E-Government

Niehaves

Plattfaut

2010

Lecture Notes in Computer Science

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Abstract. Digital divide is still a big topic in information systems and egovernment research. In the past, several tracks and workshops on this topic existed. As information technology and especially the internet become more and more important governments cannot ignore the fact that elderly citizens are excluded from the benefits related to internet usage. Although e-Inclusion programmes and initiatives changed over the years and, moreover, although the amount of e-Inclusion literature is constantly growing, there is still no thorough understanding of potential factors influencing private internet usage. Hence, in this study we identify important influencing factors based on the literature on technology acceptance and digital divide. We develop a model based on these factors and test it against comprehensive survey data (n=192). Our theoretical model is able to explain more than 70% of the variation in private internet usage. We derive policy recommendations based on the results and discuss implications for future research.

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Narrating Past to Present: Conveying the Needs and Values of Older People to Young Digital Technology Designers

Valentine

Bobrowicz

Coleman

et al. 2011

Lecture Notes in Computer Science

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In this paper we discuss preliminary findings from the first stage of our SEEDS study (SEEDS: An Organic Approach to Virtual Participatory Design), a collaborative research project between Universities of Dundee, Kent and Leeds, United Kingdom. This feasibility study investigates how to motivate older people to engage with digital technology, as well as how to improve understanding of older people's needs and requirements amongst young designers. As part of this study we recorded interviews with older people which investigated their motivations to use or not use digital technologies and themes pertaining to their (dis)engagement. A virtual repository was created to make collected interviews, which were presented as social stories, available to engineering, technology and design students. In this paper we discuss the findings from a prototyping exercise with undergraduate and postgraduate students which took place in stage one at the Universities of Kent and Leeds.

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Social Interactions and the 'Digital Divide': Explaining Regional Variations in Internet Use

Cited by 52 publications

References 36 publications

Internet adoption by the elderly: employing IS technology acceptance theories for understanding the age-related digital divide

Internet adoption by the elderly: employing IS technology acceptance theories for understanding the age-related digital divide

What Is the Issue with Internet Acceptance among Elderly Citizens? Theory Development and Policy Recommendations for Inclusive E-Government

Narrating Past to Present: Conveying the Needs and Values of Older People to Young Digital Technology Designers

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