Internet use among elderly people - State of the art (July, 2013)

Among the research on the influence of the use of the Internet among elderly people, we find reports of positive impact by reducing depression (Cotten 2012) and feelings of loneliness (Sum et al. 2008) or increasing satisfaction with social contacts due to email communication with friends and relatives (Russell et al. 2008; Wagner et al. 2010). Some authors regret that many previous studies “have been based on small samples which limit (...) the robustness of the findings” (Cotten et al. 2012:496). Other researchers warn that the relationship between new technologies and social well-being is not automatically positive (Sarrica et al 2013) and say that the Internet can be either helpful or harmful, depending on the type of use and the time spent online (Sum et al. 2008). Finally, other authors claim that there is not enough evidence (Dickinson 2006) particularly with respect to causality (Hogeboom et al. 2010). 

In the general population, research shows that use of the Internet helps to maintain social relationships (Wellman 2001; Miyata et al. 2008; Penard and Poussing 2010). Furthermore, no significant effect has been found on the perceived quality of life as regards Internet-based communication, as opposed to face-to face communication (Lee et al. 2011 ). In short, we know that existing social networks lead senior citizens to use the Internet (Hernández et al. 2012:216; Sayago & Blat 2010) but we lack sufficient evidence of the extent to which Internet use might help strengthen social networks in a period of life in which social relationships change (Angel 2011:146). 

As regards users’ engagement, we need to recall that technology has a meaning and a particular meaning has to correspond to individual perceived needs or interests for an individual to become a user (Selwyn 2003:108). That is what happens in elderly people who started using the Internet because they found it useful or found it had a purpose (Hernández et al.2013) rather than for any technology novelty or curiosity. Meaning of use, therefore, precedes web usability for engaging elderly people on the Internet, although perception of the ease of use also matters (Ramon-Jeronimo 2013). Vodafone (2011) reports that barriers to ICT access are based on motivation in the first instance, then functional aspects (difficulty of use) and, finally, economics factors that arise when previous barriers are overcome. 

The most common ICT that elderly people use (INE 2012) and own (Pew Internet Adult Gadget Ownership 2006-2013) is the mobile phone. When we talk about access to the Internet, however, the computer prevails over mobile phones among senior citizens. While younger access to Internet is widespread and becoming mobile (Pew Internet 2013), senior citizens primarily access Internet from the computer. Recent research concludes that “the purported lack of interest and capacity on the part of the elderly is empirically supported for the Internet but not for the mobile phone” (Sarrica et al. 2013:23). Fernández-Ardèvol & Prieto (2012) studied the use and rejection of the mobile phone among people over 60 years living in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. Researchers found that many younger well-educated senior citizens, who were living in their own home, were using the Internet. There were very few mobile Internet users in the sample; they had a similar profile to the users of Internet but also had “solid experience with the Internet and computers” (Fernández-Ardèvol & Prieto 2012:13). Official data (Idescat 2012) confirm the small number of elderly mobile Internet users, although they do exist. While use among users of mobile devices (in which a laptop is also included) the frequency of Internet use may be higher than among PC Internet users (see tables). These data also confirm that Internet access at home is prevalent among elderly people (INE, Idescat 2012). Moreover, it is worth noting that Internet use has been reported among the elderly in public spaces in Catalonia, such as centers for senior citizens (Fombona et al. 2012; Sayago & Blat 2010). 

What do senior citizens do online? How do they communicate and participate in the Information Society? It is no surprise that communication is their main reason for using the Internet just at it is in people of all ages (INE, Idescat 2012). Communication with friends and relatives via email is the most important reason for using the Internet and, as a result, most senior citizens feel more satisfied with these contacts. Virtual contacts do not, however, replace face-to-face ones (Sayago & Blat 2010; Selwyn 2003; Russell 2008:80). Elderly people use the Internet in everyday situations as “an extension of the means available” (Hernández et al. 2012). Since the first years of the massive diffusion of the World Wide Web the main and most popular use of Internet among elderly people has been email (Global Internet Survey 2012; Pew Internet 2011, Zickuhr & Madden 2012; Sayago & Blat 2010; Russell 2008; Gatto &Tak 2008; Fox et al. 2001). They also use Internet to search for information and entertain themselves. Nowadays, other uses can be found such as the use of social networking sites (Zickuhr & Madden 2012). Official statistics (Idescat 2012) confirm that email is the preferred use among people over 55, followed by search for information, reading the news, and the use of chats, social networks or blogs, and, finally, voice calls via Internet. It is interesting to note that the frequency of reading the news and voice calls use increases from the 55-64 year segment to the 65-74 year segment, while other uses decrease (Idescat 2012). 

 There are various influences on access to and uses of Internet; education and socioeconomic levels have a positive relationship with the use of Internet (Vodafone 2011; Warner 2010) but things are not as clear as we could assume when we talk about gender and age. In the general population, initial gender and age gaps in Internet access shrink quite quicly (Weiser 2000: 167; Boz & Aksoy 2011) although the gender gap remains as regards frequency and intensity of use: women were identified as less frequent users than men (Ono & Zavodny 2003). In the elderly population, some research has found an influence of gender (Querol 2010) while other authors have not identified the influence of gender (Sayago & Blat 2010) or have characterized it as almost symbolic (Vodafone 2011). 

When we consider age, we find a gap related to access to Internet but when we focus on the population of Internet users we find that age is not a determining variable for explaining behaviour such as finding information on the Internet; education and frequency of use are two variables that better explain variability (Loos 2012). As regards age, after a certain age that establishes a change in social role, such as retirement, it is not chronological age that would explain diversity; it might be better described by other variables related to health and social networks. In other words, it is not being 72 or 80 that is important, but how healthy you are and what relationships you maintain in your social world. 

In this question of influence, the outcomes of Fombona et al. (2012) are significant for what they found as much as for what they did not find. In their research, there is a significant gender difference in the percentage of users of Internet in senior citizens without studies. The gap narrows and becomes almost irrelevant, however, among educated users. The relationships between these variables and the use of Internet raises concerns about the situation of vulnerable population, such as elderly females living alone, those who barely worked outside the house, and those at greater risk of exclusion and poverty (Estivill 2010). 


References

Angel, J.L., 2011. Handbook of sociology of aging, Springer


Boz, H. & Aksoy, M.E., 2011. The internet usage profiles of adults. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 28, pp.596–600.

Estivill, J., 2010. L’Observatori Català de la Pobresa, la Vulnerabilitat i la Inclusió Social: fonaments i precedents europeus, [Barcelona]: Generalitat de Catalunya, Institut Català d’Assistència i Serveis Socials.

Fernandez-Ardevol, M. & Prieto, L.A., 2012. Mobile telephony and older people: Exploring use and rejection. Interactions: Studies in Communication & Culture, 3(1), pp.9–24.

Fombona-Cadavieco, J., Agudo-Prado, S. & Pascual-Sevillana, M. de los Á., 2012. Uses of Digital Tools among the Elderly. Comunicar, 20(39), pp.193–201.

Gatto, S.L. & Tak, S.H., 2008. Computer, Internet, and E-mail Use Among Older Adults: Benefits and Barriers. Educational Gerontology, 34(9), pp.800–811.

Hernández-Encuentra, Pousada, M. & Gómez-Zúñiga, B., 2012. The Internet and Older Adults: Initial Adoption and Experience of Use. In R. Z. Zheng, R. D. Hill, & M. K. Gardner, eds. Engaging Older Adults with Modern Technology. IGI Global, pp. 212–228. Available at: http://services.igi-global.com/resolvedoi/resolve.aspx?doi=10.4018/978-1-4666-1966-1 [Accessed April 24, 2013].

Loos, E., 2012. Senior citizens: Digital immigrants in their own country? Observatorio (OBS*), 6(1). Available at: http://www.obs.obercom.pt/index.php/obs/article/view/513 [Accessed March 11, 2013].

Ono, H. & Zavodny, M., 2003. Gender and the Internet*. Social Science Quarterly, 84(1), pp.111–121.

Querol Vicente, V.A., 2010. Las generaciones que llegaron tarde: Análisis de sus prácticas sociales en el ciberespacio. Doctoral thesis. Castelló, Spain: Universitat Jaume I. Available at: http://www.tdx.cat/bitstream/handle/10803/10446/querol.pdf?sequence=1 [Accessed November 23, 2010].

Ramon-Jeronimo, M.A., Peral-Peral, B. & Arenas-Gaitan, J., 2013. Elderly Persons and Internet Use. Social Science Computer Review. Available at: http://ssc.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/0894439312473421 [Accessed February 19, 2013].

Sayago, S. & Blat, J., 2010. Telling the story of older people e-mailing: An ethnographical study. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 68(1-2), pp.105–120.

Selwyn, N., 2003. Apart from technology: understanding people’s non-use of information and communication technologies in everyday life. Technology in Society, 25(1), pp.99–116.

Wellman, B., How does the Internet Affect Social Capital. Available at: http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman/publications/internetsocialcapital/Net_SC-09.htm [Accessed March 11, 2012].

Zickuhr, K. & Madden, M., 2012. Older adults and internet use, Pew Research Center. Available at: http://pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2012/PIP_Older_adults_and_internet_use.pdf [Accessed May 11, 2013].

Source:  Research proposal  State of the Art (2.2). (July, 2013) 
Aging with or without IT. Internet relationships and aging in Catalonia
M. Soledad Caballero de Luis.
PhD programme on the Information and Knowledge Society
IN3- Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

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