Participation Divide or Additive Benefits? Implications of ICT Use for the Well-being of Older Adults

• In Event: 197 - Section on Communication and Information Technologies Paper Session. Open Topic on Communication and Information Technologies

Abstract

As information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been rapidly integrated into people’s everyday lives, inequalities among ICT users in grasping the benefits of ICTs have become crucial in determining their quality of life. Prior research has characterized these inequalities as a result of preexisting socioeconomic disparities. Older adults, as retired or isolated from society, have been excluded from the benefits of ICTs, as well as from the focus of ICT research. Addressing this research gap concerning the currently fastest growing sector of users, this study centers on the disparities regarding older adults’ ICT access and use. Drawing on surveys from 1,780 older adults, this research links older adults’ digital inequalities to their social and psychological well-being. We demonstrate that while socioeconomic status remains the major factor affecting their quality of life, social and instrumental ICT use can also contribute to their well-being in different ways.

Authors

• Jennifer Ihm, Northwestern University

• Yuli Hsieh, Northwestern University