Mapping the Two Levels of Digital Divide: Internet and Social Network Site Adoption Among Older Adults

• In Event: Digital Skills Divide

Abstract

Older adults have increasingly adopted Internet and SNSs, but little communication scholarship has addressed the digital divide in this population. Using a nationally representative sample of Americans aged 50 years or older from the 2012 Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we examine Internet and SNS adoption patterns across younger (52–69) and older (70+) cohorts. Findings show differential patterns of Internet and SNS adoption across these groups. For Internet adoption, being older, less educated, racial/ethnic minority, and having more functional limitations decreased the likelihood of Internet use for the older cohort, but not for the younger cohort. For SNS adoption, being female, engaging in more diverse Internet activities, and contacting children and other family more frequently predicted SNS adoption for the younger cohort, whereas being older, unmarried, and unemployed increased the chance of SNS use for the older cohort. Implications for digital inequality initiatives and future research are discussed.

Authors

• Rebecca Ping Yu, University of Michigan

• Nicole Ellison, School of Information

• Ryan McCammon, U of Michigan

• Ken Langa, U of Michigan