Publication details
Starší dospělí jako uživatelé, neuživatelé a proxy uživatelé digitálních technologií: Heterogenita využívání digitálních technologií
| Title in English | Older adults as users, non-users and proxy users of digital technologies: Heterogeneity in the use of digital technologies |
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| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | International and national political discourses consider digitalisation as a key phenomenon of today's and tomorrow's society. Older adults are perceived/represented as lagging behind in embracing this positive development, lacking the education, skills and tools to increase their digital literacy, leading to a digital divide and digital and social exclusion. Based on in-depth interviews with older adults, conducted in 2023 and 2024, we analyse their experiences with technology and digitalisation, as well as their attitudes towards technological developments in general. Our sample includes a group diverse in age, socioeconomic status, and technological knowledge, ranging from technology professionals to older adults with little user experience. In this contribution, we focus on the technological practices of older adults and show their marked heterogeneity, which, however, cannot be understood as an upward line. Rather, the diverse practices of digital technology use reflect different lifestyles and ways of meeting needs in older age. User commonplace in one area does not automatically generate preference and use of digital technologies in other areas. These heterogeneous user practices, however, provide new insights into the diversity of older adults in relation to digital technologies. |
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