Strategies to Help Elderly Learning Technology in Malaysia: A Focus Group Study

Abstract

Technology is advancing rapidly worldwide and is considered a necessity to be adapted into our daily lives, due to it being very useful and helpful to people. A fact that is known to many is that technology, especially the ones that are catered for the elders can bring many advantages to the said group of people, thus making some of their daily activities more convenient. However, much past research has identified the elders as people who adopt technology at a relatively slower rate than other people in different age groups due to circumstances of aging, such as the decline in cognitive and physical abilities, lack of exposure to technology, and even has low self-efficacy and self-confidence to use said devices. This study conducted a focus group discussion with a total of six participants who were experts in gerontology and the information technology fields, with the aim of strategizing methods that could enable the elderly to learn technology in a more convenient way. The discussion resulted in the obtainment of five strategies that could be used to help elderly people in Malaysia to learn better, thus improving their acceptance of technological devices in their lives, thus achieving active aging