scholarly journals Benefits, Satisfaction and Limitations Derived from the Performance of Intergenerational Virtual Activities: Data from a General Population Spanish Survey

Author(s):  
Alejandro Canedo-García ◽  
Jesús-Nicasio García-Sánchez ◽  
Deilis-Ivonne Pacheco-Sanz

The growing social gap between people of different generations has led to a greater interest in the study of intergenerational interactions. Digital technologies have become necessary for people of all ages to perform daily activities, increasingly including older people. The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and virtual tools can provide older people with excellent opportunities to connect with other generations, improving their quality of life and well-being. The aim of this study was to examine the benefits, satisfaction, and limitations of intergenerational interactions generated by the use of virtual tools. The participants are subjects of any age and different social groups residing in Spain and have completed an online survey. The analysis of sociodemographic data of the respondents showed that there is a significant correlation between the use of social networks and all the variables analyzed, except for their level of autonomy. Most participants who participated in intergenerational virtual activities reported the benefits of their social participation, relationships, mood, mental health, and academic education. Moreover, most participants were quite or very satisfied with the person with whom they used the virtual tools, especially if the person was a friend, their partner, sibling, another relative, or colleague. Except for grandparents, people who participated in intergenerational virtual activities and who had no limitations or disabilities were more frequently reported by the participants. In conclusion, intergenerational interactions through the use of virtual tools can contribute to improving the social inclusion and relationships of all people involved.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgia Casanova ◽  
Daniele Zaccaria ◽  
Elena Rolandi ◽  
Antonio Guaita

UNSTRUCTURED Background: In the last decades, the relationship between SNSs and older people’s loneliness is gaining specific relevance. Studies in this field are often based on qualitative methods because they allow studying in-depth self-perceived issues, including loneliness and well-being, or quantitative survey to report the links between ICTs and older people’s well-being or loneliness. The causal relationship does not in-depth analysed by these methods. Moreover, the research on older people’s SNSs use is still scant, especially regarding their impact on health and well-being. In recent years, the existing review studies have separately focused their attention on loneliness and social isolation of older people or on the elderly's use of ICTs and SNSs, without tackling the relationship between the former issue and the latter. This thorough qualitative review provides an analysis of research carried out using experimental and quasi-experimental design that investigates the causal effect of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and social network sites (SNSs) use on older adults’ well-being related to loneliness. Objective: The aims of this review are to contrast and compare research designs (sampling and recruitment, evaluation tools, interventions) and findings of these studies and to highlight their limitations.Methods: Using an approach that integrates the methodological framework for scoping studies and the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews, we have identified only 11 articles that have met our inclusion criteria. A thematic and contents analysis based on the ex-post categorisation of data has been provided on the selected studies, and sequentially the data have been summarised tables. Results: The analysis of the selected articles has shown that i) ICTs use is positively, but weakly, related to the different measures of older people’s well-being and loneliness; ii) overall, the studies under review lack a sound experimental design; iii) the main limitations of these studies lie in the lack of rigor in sampling method and recruitment strategy. Conclusions: The analysis of the reviewed studies confirms the existence of a beneficial effect of ICTs use on the well-being of older people, in terms of reduced loneliness. however, the causal relationship is often declared as weakly. This review highlighting the need for studying these issues with adequate methodological rigour.


Author(s):  
Leela Damodaran ◽  
Wendy Olphert ◽  
Jatinder Sandhu

Globally, older people have tended to be relatively slow adopters of ICTs. As services and facilities are increasingly delivered online, concerns about the implications for social inclusion and participation have spawned many initiatives aimed at encouraging older peoples' digital engagement. However little attention has been paid to whether and how their usage can be sustained over time. This chapter describes the research undertaken in the Sus-IT project, which sought to address this gap. The aims were to examine older people’s use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), to identify the factors which can prevent or promote sustained use, and to explore solutions to support sustained use. A participatory, mixed methods approach was adopted, and around 1000 older ICT users were involved in the research. The findings show that while many older people are enthusiastic, competent and confident users of ICTs, they also report a range of challenges in reaching and maintaining this position. These include technological complexity and change, age-related capability changes and a lack of appropriate learning and support mechanisms. Intrinsic motivation and social support are important in enabling older people to overcome these challenges. The important implications of the findings for policy and practice are discussed.


2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clarisse O. Lima ◽  
Scott W. Brown

We are living in a society where information is the most valuable asset. However, the gigantic amount of information available daily creates the need for people to acquire new skills to locate, analyze and communicate this information. This comparative study utilizes an online survey to define global citizenship traits and identify the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), in 258 high school students in Brazil and the U.S. Differences in gender were also examined and the results inform how globalization, citizenship and ICT use are reflected in the self perceptions of boys and girls from both countries. The concept of new literacies is defined as the skills that individuals must posses to participate effectively and to be included in the diverse society we live.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinyu (Judy) Hu ◽  
Larissa K. Barber ◽  
YoungAh Park ◽  
Arla Day

AbstractSeveral decades of research have addressed the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology. However, segmented research streams with myriad terminologies run the risk of construct proliferation and lack an integrated theoretical justification of the contributions of ICT concepts. Therefore, by identifying important trends and reflecting on key constructs, findings, and theories, our review seeks to determine whether a compelling case can be made for the uniqueness of ICT-related concepts in studying employee and performance in I-O psychology. Two major themes emerge from our review of the ICT literature: (a) a technology behavior perspective and (b) a technology experience perspective. The technology behavior perspective with three subcategories (the “where” of work design, the “when” of work extension, and the “what” of work inattention) explores how individual technology use can be informative for predicting employee well-being and performance. The technology experience perspective theme with two subcategories (the “how” of ICT appraisals and “why” of motives) emphasizes unique psychological (as opposed to behavioral) experiences arising from the technological work context. Based on this review, we outline key challenges of current ICT research perspectives and opportunities for further enhancing our understanding of technological implications for individual workers and organizations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 98 (12) ◽  
pp. 1385-1391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladislav R. Kuchma ◽  
L. M. Sukhareva ◽  
M. I. Stepanova ◽  
P. I. Chramtsov ◽  
I. E. Aleksandrova ◽  
...  

Introduction. Modern education of children is one of the most rapidly changing systems, actively using modern capabilities of information and communication technologies and e-learning tools. Information and communication technologies increase the load on the visual, auditory analyzers, the nervous system and contribute to the development of overwork in children. The use of digital media is becoming increasingly widespread, not only in school, before and in preschool education. To substantiate the concept and integrated system of the hygienic safety of electronic educational content and children’s life in conditions of hyper-informatization, physiological and hygienic studies are required. Materials and methods. In order to develop the scientific foundations and technologies for ensuring the hygienic safety of children in the “Digital School”, an expert-analytical study was carried out based on the results of representative hygienic observations and non-randomized controlled studies with Contribution of volunteers. Results. Studies of childhood hygiene allowed justifying the modern system of hygiene and health care of children and adolescents in a hyper-informational society, including criteria of the hygienic safety, including in the editorial, intended for children and adolescents; sanitary rules and norms of ensuring the hygienic safety of the new generation; federal recommendations of medical support of students in the conditions of using information and communication technologies; federal guidelines for students ’mental health and well-being; recommendations to the family in the field of ensuring the safety of children’s life in a digital environment; recommendations to producers and distributors of content in the field of ensuring the medical, psychological and pedagogical safety of children’s life, including the age marking of information products; gaming educational and educational programs on the rules for the safe use of children on the Internet; a system for monitoring the effectiveness of hygienic safety policies and protecting children from negative information in a hyper-information society. Conclusion. The developed system and technologies for ensuring the hygienic safety of the “Digital School” are significant for the medical and preventive basis of the health saving of students in the Decade of Childhood in Russia (2018-2027).


Author(s):  
Ronald M. Baecker

J. C. R. Licklider, Vannevar Bush, Doug Engelbart, Ted Nelson, and Alan Kay optimistically and exuberantly imagined how computers could better the lives of people. Much of this has come to pass. The Internet supports learning by ‘students’ at all levels. Information on laws, procedures, diseases, and medical care may be found on the web. The Internet now provides the easiest, or in some cases the only, way to pay bills or order items such as books, groceries, and even clothing. It is a means of communication with family, friends, individuals one would like to meet, individuals with whom one could share insights, and potential employers. Music, films, and other means of entertainment stream to our digital devices. This implies that those for whom digital technology is not available are at a disadvantage. The gap between the technology-haves and the technology-have-nots became known in the 1990s as a digital divide. The concept is nuanced; we can speak of availability or scarcity of hardware, such as personal computers (PCs) and mobile phones; of infrastructure such as cellular networks; of communications bandwidth that enables a smooth media viewing experience; of expertise in using the technology; of commitment to its use; and of engagement in the process. Some only consume information; others contribute their ideas via methods such as blogging and tweeting. Yet a better way to describe digital technology widely accessible is the goal of social inclusion, to allow all individuals, regardless of socioeconomic status, location, race, gender, or ability or disability, to take advantage of the benefits of modern computing and telecommunications. To have terminology that is even more evocative, we shall use the more modern and descriptive term of digital inclusion. This has been defined by the International Telecommunications Union as ‘empowering people through information and communication technologies (ICTs)’. The term ‘people’ is meant here to imply all people throughout the world. This chapter will first examine the digital divide between the haves and the have-nots (often the rich and the poor) within several nations. Examples of the benefits of digital inclusion will be cited.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirko Duradoni ◽  
Federico Innocenti ◽  
Andrea Guazzini

Does social media addiction impair the well-being of non-clinical individuals? Despite the Internet being able to be considered as a promoting factor for individual empowerment, previous literature suggests that the current massive availability of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) may be dangerous for users’ well-being. This article discusses the relationship between the most used social media addiction measures (i.e., the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale—BFAS, the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale—BSMAS) and well-being. A systematic review considering all the publications indexed by PsycInfo, PsycArticles, PubMed, Science Direct, Sociological Abstracts, Academic Search Complete, and Google Scholar databases was performed to collect the data. Ten of 635 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis. Overall, most of the included works captured a negative but small relationship between BFAS/BSMAS and well-being, across multiple definitions and measurement.


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