Elsevier

Computers in Human Behavior

Volume 26, Issue 5, September 2010, Pages 870-882
Computers in Human Behavior

Review
Computer use by older adults: A multi-disciplinary review

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2010.03.029Get rights and content

Abstract

As the populations of most of the world’s developed nations experience an increase in average age, a similar trend is being observed in the population of computer and Internet users. In many cases, older adults are the fastest growing computer and Internet user group in both personal and workplace contexts. However, the needs and concerns of older adults as computer users differ from those of younger users as a result of the natural changes associated with the aging process. Much research has been conducted in a variety of fields in order to understand how these changes experienced by older adults impact their use of computers and the Internet. This article reviews this existing research and provides a holistic view of the field. Since the study of computer use by older adults is a multi-disciplinary topic by nature, we provide a synthesis of the findings across these many disciplines, and attempt to highlight any gaps that exist. We use Social Cognitive Theory as a lens to view and organize the literature, as well as illustrate means through which computer use by this user group can be encouraged. Finally, suggestions for future research are proposed, and implications for research and practice are discussed.

Introduction

Most of the world’s developed nations are experiencing an increase in the average age of their population (OECD, 2006). A similar trend has been observed among users of computers and the Internet, both for personal and professional purposes. Older adults now make up the fastest growing consumer segment of Internet users (Hart, Chaparro, & Halcomb, 2008). They are enhancing their independence by accessing online services such as banking, shopping, or healthcare management, and pursuing leisure activities, including recreation and communication (Vuori & Holmlund-Rytkönen, 2005). Further, adults over 50 years of age make up the fastest growing segment of the workforce (Kooij, deLange, Jansen, & Dikkers, 2008), where workers are often using computers on a daily basis to perform their jobs (Nord, McCubbins, & Nord, 2006). As computers become an increasingly integral part of the lives of older adults, the study of computer use by older adults is becoming an increasingly relevant field of study. In order to encourage and facilitate computer use by this important group, for both personal and professional benefit, it is necessary to understand how older computer users differ from their younger counterparts, and what the implications of these differences are for computer use.

The term older adult has been defined in a variety of ways. In the papers reviewed for this article, a wide age range was observed with “over 40” on the lower end of the scale and “over 75” on the higher end of the scale. The distinction of “older” depends partially upon the context under consideration. In a workplace context, older typically refers to workers over the age of 50 or 55 since this is the age range where a decline in labor market participation rate tends to be observed (Kooij et al., 2008). In a more general context, the minimum age describing older tends to be higher since the upper limit on age is much higher outside of the workplace.

When it comes to using computers, older adults have different needs and concerns compared to younger adults resulting from the natural physical and cognitive changes that come with aging, which tend to become more noticeable at approximately 45 years of age (Hawthorn, 2000). Each of these changes has important implications for the use of computers by older adults. For example, physical changes associated with aging include declines in vision, hearing, and psychomotor coordination (Hawthorn, 2000). Thus, computer and web interfaces will be more appropriate for older users if they make use of features like larger fonts, sounds within certain frequency ranges, and layouts that require less precise mouse movement. Similarly, cognitive changes such as reduced attention span, declines in memory, and changes in spatial abilities create a need for interfaces that have fewer distractions, provide memory cues, and are simple to learn and understand (Hawthorn, 2000).

The changes experienced by older adults and their implications for computer use have been studied by many different researchers in many different contexts. This article reviews the existing research and provides a holistic view of the field. Since the study of computer use by older adults is a multi-disciplinary topic by nature, we provide a synthesis of the findings from across these many disciplines, and attempt to highlight any gaps that exist. This article is organized as follows: In the next section we discuss Social Cognitive Theory and how we have applied it to examine the literature. Next, we discuss the methodology used for finding articles, followed by our literature analysis. The article closes with some discussion and conclusion of our findings.

Section snippets

Theoretical background

Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) is a widely accepted model of individual behavior (Chan & Lu, 2004). Developed by Albert Bandura (Bandura, 1986), the roots of SCT lie in the domain of social learning theory. The theory, however, has been applied in various other disciplines including Information Systems. (For example, see Compeau, Higgins, and Huff (1999) and Bolt, Killough, and Koh (2001)).

SCT is “based on the premise that environmental influences such as social pressures or unique situational

Methodology

The articles for this review were gathered by searching various databases for peer reviewed journal articles on the subject of computer use by older adults. Since this topic is multi-disciplinary in nature, eleven different databases were searched to cover all of the relevant disciplines: business (ABI/Inform, and Business Source Premier); information technology (Inspec); social sciences (Social Sciences Abstracts, Social Sciences Citation Index, and the Applied Social Sciences Index);

Publication trends

In general, the study of computer use by older adults has received increasing attention over time. As illustrated in Fig. 2, interest in this subject has increased steadily over the time period studied (1990–2008). Although the figure is presented in year ranges for clarity, it is interesting to note that prior to 1997, 1994 was the only year with publication of more than one article in this area. In 1997, the first wave of Baby Boomers became 50 years of age (Foot, 1996). It is not likely a

Discussion and conclusions

In this article we examined the literature related to computer use by older adults across multiple disciplines through the lens of SCT. Through this approach we showed that the older adult, their computer use, and their computer systems exist in a triadic reciprocality. Observing the literature through this lens demonstrates that there is great potential for future research in this subject area. As illustrated in Fig. 4, the influence of Person on Behavior and Environment are the two SCT

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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