scholarly journals STRIVERS, MAINTAINERS, ACHIEVERS: NETWORKED TRAJECTORIES OF OLDER ADULTS LEARNING TO USE TECHNOLOGY DURING A PANDEMIC

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Will Marler
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Technology Skills ◽  
Technology Support ◽  
Digital Divides ◽  
Digital Skills ◽  
Technology Resources

While research has explored digital divides in older adults’ technology skills and uses and in their communication uptake during the pandemic, we lack an understanding of the on-the-ground experiences and trajectories of older adults seeking to adopt digital technologies to maintains social connection during the COVID-19 pandemic. What balance of independence and interdependence do older adults seek and experience as they attempt to take up new devices and applications, such as tablets and video chat, during a period of physical distancing? I introduce “strivers,” “achievers,” and “maintainers” to describe different experiences of in(ter)dependence that emerged at the intersection of technology use and physical distancing for participants during and after the technology training program. Independence is reflected among those who were able to translate provided technology resources into an expanded social presence during the pandemic. Interdependence relates to those who became even more dependent on others, with the addition of needed technology support, while aspiring to replace offline relationships with those promised through digital technologies. Simultaneously, by declaring oneself “not lonely despite being alone,” others declared independence despite failing to realize the promise of digital technology as a stand-in for in-person connection. Research on older adults and digital technology can benefit from examining not only the possession of digital skills and support for technology use, but also the meanings that older adults bring to their experiences of inclusion and exclusion as they adapt to digital technologies while aging – and sheltering – in place.

scholarly journals Digital Technologies as a Means to Reducing Mental Health Disparities: The Role of Ethnicity, SES, and Geography

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 662-663
Author(s):  
Giyeon Kim
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Mental Health Disparities

Abstract This presentation discusses the importance of using digital technologies on reducing mental health disparities among older adults from diverse backgrounds. This talk primarily focuses on the role of ethnicity, socioeconomic status and geography. First, the speaker presents the current status of digital technology use among older adults and how different levels of digital technology use affect mental health disparities by ethnicity, SES, and place of residence. Second, the speaker introduces a recently funded government project on developing an IoT-based home system (Internet of Things) to screen mild cognitive function for Korean older adults. Lastly, the speaker discusses potential implications, as well as directions for future research on using digital technologies to reduce mental health disparities among diverse populations.

Becoming a Digital Citizen in a Technological World

2009 ◽  
pp. 250-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Ribble
Keyword(s):  
Digital Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Digital Culture ◽  
Digital Citizenship ◽  
Global Society ◽  
The World ◽  
Technology Users ◽  
Technological World

In todays changing global society, digital technology users need to be prepared to interact and work with users from around the world. Digital technology is helping to define this new global society. Being part of a society provides opportunities to its citizens but also asks that its members behave in certain way. This new technological society is drawing users together to learn, share and interact with one another in the virtual world. But for all users to be productive there needs to be a defined level of acceptable activity by everyone, in other words a digital citizenship. The concept of digital citizenship provides a structure for this digital society, by conceptualizing and organizing appropriate technology use into a new digital culture. Anyone using these digital technologies needs to understand the parameters of appropriate use so that they can become more constructive digital citizens.

scholarly journals Clustering of services amid a growth in green consumption and digital technology use

2020 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 01028 ◽  
Author(s):  
N V Vasilenko ◽  
A J Linkov ◽  
O V Tokareva
Keyword(s):  
Service Provider ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Service Organizations ◽  
Green Consumption ◽  
Service Support ◽  
The Third ◽  
Sustainability Problems

Clustering of services in the conditions of digital economy development is considered as a way of their integration with the purpose of increasing customer satisfaction, as well as that of strengthening the competitive position of service organizations based on the promotion of green consumption. Services are clustered with the aim of satisfying one main or several interconnected needs of individuals or businesses taking into account the degree with which the consumer influences the process of service delivery. This paper demonstrates how clustering of services can be used to solve sustainability problems. It is shown that digital technologies allow the service provider to customize a service to fit the needs and requirements of a particular consumer within the first type of clustering in the service sector, and they are also included in the service support of the main service within the second type of clustering. Moreover, these technologies have their own value for the consumer within the third type of clustering and provide tools for the fourth type of clustering. In general, digitalization promotes technologization and cooperation in service clusters. The authors suppose that further research can be done into how the types of clustering mentioned manifest themselves in different industries.

scholarly journals “HE EXPLAINED IT TO ME AND I ALSO DID IT MYSELF”: HOW OLDER ADULTS GET HELP WITH DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S866-S866
Author(s):  
Amanda E Hunsaker ◽  
Minh Hao Nguyen ◽  
Jaelle Fuchs ◽  
Teodora Djukaric ◽  
Larissa Hugentobler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Support Needs ◽  
Technology Support ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Coding Schemes ◽  
Great Ease ◽  
Open Coding

Abstract Older adults comprise a highly heterogeneous group that engages with digital media in varying ways, therefore a large variation in technology support needs is likely. This study examines the nature of support for using digital media among older adults. We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with older adults (age 59+) in Hungary, the Netherlands, and Switzerland (N=58) in 2019 exploring: (1) whether and how older adults receive support in using digital media; and (2) older adults’ perceptions of whether the support they receive meets their needs. We began with open coding, then conducted consensus meetings to identify themes and coding schemes, and wrote memos to share findings and ensure reliability across coders. We find that older adults voice a highly varying range of need for technical support as well as varying instances of both receiving and not receiving technical help. Participants report receiving help from different informal (e.g. spouses) and formal (e.g. computer classes) sources. However, support may not be immediate, posing challenges for older adults who depend on the availability of their support sources. Importantly, we also find that there are older adults who are quite self-sufficient in the ways they use digital technology. For older adults needing support, greater access to community-based support may help those without satisfactory options in their own social circle. Given our findings that older adults can have great ease with solving technology-related problems, peer-driven support networks where older adults can offer support to others may be an effective approach to providing digital technology guidance.

Digital Countercultures and the Struggle for Community

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessa Lingel
Keyword(s):  
Digital Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Body Modification ◽  
Social Media Platform ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
College Dropouts ◽  
The Web

Whether by accidental keystroke or deliberate tinkering, technology is often used in ways that are unintended and unimagined by its designers and inventors. In this book, Jessa Lingel offers an account of digital technology use that looks beyond Silicon Valley and college dropouts-turned-entrepreneurs. Instead, Lingel tells stories from the margins of countercultural communities that have made the Internet meet their needs, subverting established norms of how digital technologies should be used. Lingel presents three case studies that contrast the imagined uses of the web to its lived and often messy practicalities. She examines a social media platform (developed long before Facebook) for body modification enthusiasts, with early web experiments in blogging, community, wikis, online dating, and podcasts; a network of communication technologies (both analog and digital) developed by a local community of punk rockers to manage information about underground shows; and the use of Facebook and Instagram for both promotional and community purposes by Brooklyn drag queens. Drawing on years of fieldwork, Lingel explores issues of alterity and community, inclusivity and exclusivity, secrecy and surveillance, and anonymity and self-promotion. By examining online life in terms of countercultural communities, Lingel argues that looking at outsider experiences helps us to imagine new uses and possibilities for the tools and platforms we use in everyday life.

scholarly journals Do pre-service teachers feel ready to teach with digital technologies? A study in two teacher training institutions in Costa Rica

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. e11810111436
Author(s):  
Christiane Caneva
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Teacher Training ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Training Institutions ◽  
Academic Year

This study aims to identify both the level and frequency of digital technology use and perceived self-efficacy levels of pre-service teachers (n = 341). We collected data in Costa Rica through a survey during the 2016–2017 academic year; the survey includes closed-ended items on the use and frequency of digital technologies along with open-ended questions. Findings suggest that a majority of pre-service teachers frequently use digital technologies for both professional and private use and specifically the mobile phone and social media. Results further suggest they find themselves self-efficacious in the use of “traditional” digital technologies that are also used in teacher training by professors/teacher trainers such as laptop, email and video. They are less confident in using mobile phones and social media for teaching even though they use them extensively for their professional development.

scholarly journals A Review of Evidence on the Role of Digital Technology in Shaping Attention and Cognitive Control in Children

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Vedechkina ◽  
Francesca Borgonovi
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Future Research

The role of digital technology in shaping attention and cognitive development has been at the centre of public discourse for decades. The current review presents findings from three main bodies of literature on the implications of technology use for attention and cognitive control: television, video games, and digital multitasking. The aim is to identify key lessons from prior research that are relevant for the current generation of digital users. In particular, the lack of scientific consensus on whether digital technologies are good or bad for children reflects that effects depend on users’ characteristics, the form digital technologies take, the circumstances in which use occurs and the interaction between the three factors. Some features of digital media may be particularly problematic, but only for certain users and only in certain contexts. Similarly, individual differences mediate how, when and why individuals use technology, as well as how much benefit or harm can be derived from its use. The finding emerging from the review on the large degree of heterogeneity in associations is especially relevant due to the rapid development and diffusion of a large number of different digital technologies and contents, and the increasing variety of user experiences. We discuss the importance of leveraging existing knowledge and integrating past research findings into a broader organizing framework in order to guide emerging technology-based research and practice. We end with a discussion of some of the challenges and unaddressed issues in the literature and propose directions for future research.

scholarly journals The 'obvious' stuff: exploring the mundane realities of students' digital technology use in school

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Neil Selwyn ◽  
Selena Nemorin ◽  
Scott Bulfin ◽  
Nicola F Johnson
Keyword(s):  
High Schools ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Individual Study ◽  
School Work ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Work Scheduling

This paper explores the ways in which students perceive digital technology as being helpful and/or useful to their schooling. Drawing upon survey data from students (n=1174) across three Australian high schools, the paper highlights seventeen distinct digital ‘benefits’ in domains such as information seeking, writing and composition, accessing prescribed work, scheduling and managing study tasks. While these data confirm the centrality of such technologies to students’ experiences of school, they also suggest that digital technology is not substantially changing or ‘transforming’ the nature of schools and schooling per se. Instead, students were most likely to associate digital technologies with managing the logistics of individual study and engaging with school work in distinctly teacher-led linear and passive ways. As such, it is concluded that educationalists need to temper enthusiasms for what might be achieved through digital technologies, and instead develop better understandings of the realities of students’ instrumentally-driven uses of digital technology.

scholarly journals “Let me know when I’m needed”: Exploring the gendered nature of digital technology use for health information seeking during the transition to parenting

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 205520762110486
Author(s):  
Bradley Hiebert ◽  
Jodi Hall ◽  
Lorie Donelle ◽  
Danica Facca ◽  
Kim Jackson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Transition To Parenthood ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Information Work ◽  
Transition To Parenting

This paper presents results of a qualitative descriptive study conducted to understand parents’ experiences with digital technologies during their transition to parenting (i.e. the period from pre-conception through postpartum). Individuals in southwest Ontario who had become a new parent within the previous 24 months were recruited to participate in a focus group or individual interview. Participants were asked to describe the type of technologies they/their partner used during their transition to parenthood, and how such technologies were used to support their own and their family's health. Focus group and interview transcripts were then subjected to thematic analysis using inductive coding. Ten focus groups and three individual interviews were conducted with 26 heterosexual female participants. Participants primarily used digital technologies to: (1) seek health information for a variety of reproductive health issues, and (2) establish social and emotional connections. The nature of such health information work was markedly gendered and was categorized by 2 dominant themes. First, “‘Let me know when I’m needed’”, characterizes fathers’ apparent avoidance of health information seeking and resultant creation of mothers as lay information mediaries. Second, “Information Curation”, captures participants’ belief that gender biases built-in to popular parenting apps and resources reified the gendered nature of health and health information work during the transition to parenting. Overall, findings indicate that digital technology tailored to new and expecting parents actively reinforced gender norms regarding health information seeking, which creates undue burden on new mothers to become the sole health information seeker and interpreter for their family.

scholarly journals Exploring heterogeneous ICT use among older adults:The warm experts’ perspective

2020 ◽  
pp. 146144482091735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riitta Hänninen ◽  
Sakari Taipale ◽  
Raija Luostari
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Older People ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Ict Use ◽  
Older Users ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Extended Group

In this article, we (1) examine the various forms of support required by older users (75+) of digital technology and (2) provide a concrete, everyday life rationale for why warm experts play such a pivotal role in the processes of adopting and using ICT. Although warm experts are usually not older adults themselves, they provide an important mediating view on the technology use among older people that has not been rigorously addressed in previous studies. Thus, in our analysis we examine the younger family members’ views on acting as warm experts to their older family members. The research data consist of 22 extended group interviews (EGI) and observation carried out in Finland. Based on our analysis, we argue that older adults use ICT in very heterogeneous ways and that the roles bestowed upon warm experts can be understood precisely through this heterogeneity.

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