Abstract
In this chapter, we critically explore the links between advancing age and digital exclusion. A systematic narrative review was carried out and 29 papers were included. Case-study exemplars are also used to illustrate salient elements of the narrative. We found that there is often an assumption that digital exclusion is uniquely related to advancing age; however, there are various factors associated with ageing that heighten the likelihood of experiencing digital exclusion. The evidence problematises ageing and emphasises the individual’s own responsibility in their digital exclusion, presenting ageing through a biomedical lens of decline and loss of abilities. Consequently, technology is seen to be adapted to, rather than needing it to be adapted to, meet individual needs. Through this evidence, we argue that a better understanding around the role of technology and design across the life course is needed, including further engagement in debates and assumptions in this field.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
The Population; Intervention; Comparison (if appropriate]; Outcome (PICO) framework is used to define a health-related research question as part of a systematic review.
- 2.
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms are used to index journal articles and books in databases produced by the National Library of Medicine.
References
Age UK. (2015). Later life in a digital world. Age UK.
Age UK. (2018). Digital inclusion evidence review. Age UK.
Anderson, M. (2019). Mobile technology and home broadband 2019. PEW Research Center.
Bergström, A. (2017). Digital equality and the uptake of digital applications among seniors of different age. Nordicom Review, 38 (Special Issue 1), 79–91.
Berkowsky, R. W., Cotten, S. R., Yost, E. A., & Winstead, V. P. (2013). Attitudes towards and limitations to ICT use in assisted and independent living communities: Findings from a specially-designed technological intervention. Educational Gerontology, 39(11).
Betts, L. R., Hill, R., & Gardner, S. E. (2019). ‘There’s not enough knowledge out there’: Examining older adults’ perceptions of digital technology use and digital inclusion classes. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 38(8), 1147–1166.
Blank, G., & Groselj, D. (2014). Dimensions of Internet use: Amount, variety, and types. Information, Communication & Society, 17(4), 417–435.
Blažič, B. J., & Blažič, A. J. (2019). Overcoming the digital divide with a modern approach to learning digital skills for the elderly adults. Education and Information Technologies, 2(1), 259–279.
Centre for Ageing Better. (2018). The digital age: New approaches to supporting people in later life get online. Centre for Ageing Better.
Chen, Y.-R. R., & Schulz, P. J. (2016). The effect of information communication technology interventions on reducing social isolation in the elderly: A systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 18(1), e18.
Choi, N. G., & Dinitto, D. M. (2013). The digital divide among low-income homebound older adults: Internet use patterns, ehealth literacy, and attitudes toward computer/internet use. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 15(5), e93–e93.
Choudrie, J., Ghinea, G., & Songonuga, V. N. (2013). Silver surfers, e-government and the digital divide: An exploratory study of UK local authority websites and older citizens. Interacting with Computers, 25(6), 417–442.
Cresci, M. K., & Jarosz, P. A. (2010). Bridging the digital divide for urban seniors: Community partnership. Geriatric Nursing, 31(6), 455–463.
Damodaran, L., Olphert, W., & Phipps, S. (2013). Keeping silver surfers on the crest of a wave—Older people’s ICT learning and support needs. Working With Older People, 17(1), 32–36.
van Deursen, A., & Helsper, E. J. (2015). The third-level digital divide: Who benefits most from being online? In Communication and information technologies annual (pp. 29–52). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Eurostat. (2015). Internet use. Retrieved July 21, 2022, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=File:Individuals_who_used_the_internet_on_average_at_least_once_a_week,_by_age_group_and_level_of_formal_education,_EU-28,_2016_(%25_of_individuals).png
Eurostat. (2018). Internet access and use statistics—Households and individuals. Retrieved July 21, 2022, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Archive:Internet_access_and_use_statistics_-_households_and_individuals_-_2016_edition
Ferreira, S. M., Sayago, S., & Blat, J. (2016). Going beyond telecenters to foster the digital inclusion of older people in Brazil: Lessons learned from a rapid ethnographical study. Information Technology for Development, 22, 26–46.
Friemel, T. N. (2016). The digital divide has grown old: Determinants of a digital divide among seniors. New Media and Society, 18(2), 313–331.
Gilleard, C., & Higgs, P. (2008). Internet use and the digital divide in the English longitudinal study of ageing. European Journal of Ageing, 5(3), 233.
Good Things Foundation and Talk Talk. (2018). Doing digital inclusion with the most excluded: Older people. Good Things Foundation.
Gordon, N. P., & Hornbrook, M. C. (2018). Older adults’ readiness to engage with eHealth patient education and self-care resources: A cross-sectional survey. BMC Health Services Research, 18, 220–220.
Gracia, E., & Herrero, J. (2009). Internet use and self-rated health among older people: A national survey. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 11(4), e49–e49.
Hargittai, E., & Dobransky, K. (2017). Old dogs, new clicks: Digital inequality in skills and uses among older adults. Canadian Journal of Communication, 42(2), 195–212.
Hargittai, E., Piper, A. M., & Morris, M. R. (2018). From internet access to internet skills: Digital inequality among older adults. Universal Access in the Information Society, 18, 881–890.
Hill, R., Betts, L. R., & Gardner, S. E. (2015). Older adults experiences and perceptions of digital technology: (Dis)empowerment, wellbeing, and inclusion. Computers in Human Behavior, 48, 415–423.
Hong, Y. A., & Cho, J. (2017). Has the digital health divide widened? Trends of health-related internet use among older adults from 2003 to 2011. The Journals of Gerontology, 72(5), 856.
Hong, S. G., Trimi, S., & Kim, D. (2016). Smartphone use and internet literacy of senior citizens. Journal of Assistive Technologies, 10(1), 27–38.
Katz, S. (1996). Disciplining old age: The formation of gerontological knowledge. University of Virginia Press.
Levy, H., Janke, A. T., & Langa, K. M. (2015). Health literacy and the digital divide among older Americans. JGIM: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 30(3), 284–289.
Martin, C., Hope, S., & Zubairi, S. (2016). The role of digital exclusion in social exclusion. Carnegie UK Trust.
Matthews, K., Nazroo, J., & Marshall, A. (2019). Digital inclusion in later life: Cohort changes in internet use over a ten-year period in England. Ageing & Society, 39(9), 1914–1932.
National Health Service. (2019). The NHS long term plan. National Health Service.
Neves, B. B., Amaro, F., & Fonseca, J. R. (2013). Coming of (old) age in the digital age: ICT usage and non-usage among older adults. Sociological Research Online, 18(2), 1–14.
NHS Digital. (2019). Digital inclusion guide for health and social care. NHS England.
Niehaves, B., & Plattfaut, R. (2014). Internet adoption by the elderly: Employing IS technology acceptance theories for understanding the age-related digital divide. European Journal of Information Systems, 23(6), 708–726.
Nimrod, G. (2018). Technophobia among older internet users. Educational Gerontology, 44(2/3), 148–162.
Phillipson, C. (1998). Reconstructing old age. Sage.
Reneland-Forsman, L. (2018). ‘Borrowed access’—The struggle of older persons for digital participation. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 37(3), 333–344.
Scheerder, A., van Deursen, A., & van Dijk, J. (2017). Determinants of internet skills, uses and outcomes. A systematic review of the second-and third-level digital divide. Telematics and informatics, 34(8), 1607–1624.
Smith, A., & Anderson, M. (2018). Social media use in 2018. Pew Research Center.
Snilstveit, B., Oliver, S., & Vojtkova, M. (2012). Narrative approaches to systematic review and synthesis of evidence for international development policy and practice. Journal of Development Effectiveness, 4(3), 409–429.
Tsai, H. Y. S., Shillair, R., Cotten, S. R., Winstead, V., & Yost, E. (2015). Getting grandma online: Are tablets the answer for increasing digital inclusion for older adults in the U.S.? Educational Gerontology, 41(10), 695–709.
Vines, J., Pritchard, G., Wright, P., Olivier, P., & Brittain, K. (2015). An age-old problem: Examining the discourses of ageing in HCI and strategies for future research. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI), 22(1), 2.
Walsh, K., Scharf, T., & Keating, N. (2017). Social exclusion of older persons: A scoping review and conceptual framework. European Journal of Ageing, 14(1), 81–98.
Wilson, G., Gates, J., Vijaykumar, S., & Morgan, D. J. (2021). Understanding older adults’ use of social technology and the factors influencing use. Ageing and Society, 1–24. [Online]. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x21000490
Yom-Tov, E., Marino, B., Pai, J., Harris, D., & Wolf, M. (2016). The effect of limited health literacy on how internet users learn about diabetes. Journal of Health Communication, 21(10), 7.
Yoon, H., Jang, Y., Vaughan, P. W., & Garcia, M. (2018). Older adults’ internet use for health information: Digital divide by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 39(1), 105–110.
Zaidman, S., & Tinker, A. (2016). Computer classes for older people: Motivations and outcomes. Working With Older People, 20(2), 121–130.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank all of the participants who took the time to tell us their stories and experiences as part of the case-study exemplars.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wilson-Menzfeld, G., Brittain, K. (2022). Digital Exclusion in Later Life: A Narrative Review. In: Tsatsou, P. (eds) Vulnerable People and Digital Inclusion. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94122-2_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94122-2_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-94121-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-94122-2
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)