“For us, Alibaba was just a story”: Despite the power of habit older people are gradually adopting the digital discourse
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Information technology (IT) can help older people continue to live independently and actively for many years, yet many of them express fear of it, perceive it as a threat, and find it difficult to navigate the digital arena and enjoy the benefits of IT. The purpose of this study is to examine the technology discourse of older people in Israel, and what it reflects. In addition, the study seeks to understand the extent to which IT is present in their lives, how they experience it, and the changes it brought to their lives.
To that end, we interviewed 40 older people aged 65–93 who were attending day centers. The findings, which were examined in light of the continuity theory, reveal different levels of resistance to IT, which reflect the full spectrum, from rejection to acceptance. Moreover, the continuity strategy and adherence to familiar patterns do not necessarily prevent adaptation to change. The findings reveal an ambivalent technology discourse, incoherent, and laden with
internal contradictions.
Metrics
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Since 2020 the International Journal of Ageing and Later Life uses a Creative Commons: Attribution license, which allows users to distribute the work and to reform or build upon it without the author's permission. Full reference to the author must be given.
References
Agahi, N., Ahacic, K. & Parker M. G. (2006). Continuity of leisure partici¬pation from middle age to old age. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 61(6): S340–S346.
Angelidou, M. (2015). Smart cities: A conjecture of four forces. Cities 47: 95–106. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2015.05.004
Atchley, R. C. (1989). A continuity theory of normal aging. The Gerontolo¬gist 29(2): 183–190.
Atchley, R. C. (1999). Continuity and Adaptation in Aging: Creating Pos¬itive Experiences. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
CBS (Central Bureau of Statistics). (2019). Selected data from the Social Survey on Internet Usage. Available on https://www.cbs.gov.il/ en/mediarelease/Pages/2021/Selected-data-from-the-Social-Sur¬vey-on-Internet-Usage.aspx (Accessed: October 1, 2020).
Chadwick, A. & May, C. (2003). Interaction between states and citizens in the age of the Internet: “e-Government” in the United States, Britain, and the European Union. Governance 16(2): e271–300.
Chapman, S. A. (2005). Theorizing about aging well: Constructing a narra¬tive. Canadian Journal on Aging 24(1): 9–18.
Chen, K. & Chan, A. H. (2011). A review of technology acceptance by older adults. Gerontechnology 10(1): 1–12.
Creswell, J. W. (2012). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Fisher, E. (2011). Capitalism in the Digital Media Age: The New Economy and Technology Discourse. Tel-Aviv: Resling Publications.
Fogiel-Bijaoui, S. & Rutlinger-Reiner, R. (2013). Introduction: Rethinking the family in Israel. Israel Studies Review 28: vii–xii.
Friemel, T. N. (2016). The digital divide has grown old: Determinants of a digital divide among older people. New Media & Society 18(2): 313–331.
Giorgi, A. (1997). The theory, practice, and evaluation of the phenomeno¬logical method as a qualitative research procedure. Journal of Phenome¬nological Psychology 28: 235–260.
Golant, S. M. (2017). A theoretical model to explain the smart technology adoption behaviors of elder consumers (Elderadopt). Journal of Aging Studies 42: 56–73.
Goldschmidt, R. (2017). Internet and Digital Services for Senior Citizens. The Knesset Research and Information Center.
González, A., Ramírez, M. P. & Viadel, V. (2012). Attitudes of the older persons toward information and communications technologies. Educa¬tional Gerontology 38(9): 585–594.
Hakkarainen, P. (2012). No good for shoveling snow and carrying firewood: Social representations of computers and the internet by older persons Finnish non-users. New Media & Society 14(7): 1198–1215.
Hazan, H. (2002). Aging in the global village. In Y. Brick (ed.), Politics on Old Age (pp. 30–50). Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad.
Hazan, H. (2010). “Anthropologist on Mars”: Invitation to the dead-end labyrinth of old age studies. Gerontology 37(1): 23–35.
Lee, B., Chen, Y. & Hewitt, L. (2011). Age differences in constraints en¬countered by older people in their use of computers and the Internet. Computers in Human Behavior 27(3): 1231–1237.
Lomsky-Feder, E. & Rapoport, T. (2010). Visibility in Immigration: Body, Gaze, Representation. Jerusalem: The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and Hakibbutz Hameuchad.
Malka, V., Ariel, Y. & Avidar, R. (2015). Fighting, worrying and sharing: Operation “Protective Edge” as the first WhatsApp war. Media, War & Conflict 8(3): 329–344.
Mitzner, T. L., Boron, J. B., Fausset, C. B., Adams, A. E., Charness, N., Czaja, S. J. & Sharit, J.2010) ). Older adults talk technology: Technology usage and attitudes. Computers in Human Behavior 26(6): 1710–1721.
Niehaves, B. & Plattfaut, R. (2014). Internet adoption by the older persons: Employing IS technology acceptance theories for understanding the age-related digital divide. European Journal of Information Systems 23(6): 708–726.
Nimrod, G. (2010). Older people’ online communities: A quantitative con¬tent analysis. The Gerontologist 50(3): 382–392.
Robinson, L., Cotton, S. R., Ono, H., Quan-Haase, A., Mesch, G., Chen, W. & Stern, M. J. (2015). Digital inequalities and why they matter. Informa¬tion, Communication & Society 18(5): 569–582.
Russell, H. (2011). Later life ICT learners ageing well. International Journal of Ageing and Later Life 6(2), 103–127.
Seifert, A. & Schelling, H. R. (2018). Older people online: Attitudes toward the Internet and coping with everyday life. Journal of Applied Gerontol¬ogy 37(1): 99–109.
Selwyn, N. (2004). The information aged: A qualitative study of older adults’ use of information and communications technology. Journal of Aging Studies 18(4): 369–384.
Siegrist, J. & Wahrendorf, M. (2009). Participation in socially productive activities and quality of life in early old age: Findings from SHARE. Journal of European Social Policy 19(4): 317–326.
Siriaraya, P., Ang, C. S. & Bobrowicz, A. (2014). Exploring the potential of virtual worlds in engaging older people and supporting healthy aging. Behaviour & Information Technology 33(3): 283–294.
Van Manen, M. (2017). Phenomenology in its original sense. Qualitative Health Research 27(6): 810–825.