Summary
Featuring research from members of the Rural Aging Research Team which focus on technology and aging in an increasingly digital world.
Publications and Projects
"I've got a lot of other things I do": The nuances of digital engagement among older people
Authors: Tabytha Wells and Elizabeth Russell (2024)
Canadian Journal on Aging
Abstract: As Western society becomes increasingly digitally dependent and many older adults actively engage in the online world, understanding the experiences of those who largely do not use digital technology in their daily lives is crucial. Individual interviews were conducted (pre-pandemic) with 23 older adults who, based on self-identification, did not regularly use digital technology, exploring how their experiences as limited digital technology users may have impacted their daily lives. An iterative collaborative qualitative analysis demonstrated three main themes: internet concerns, frustrations with digital technology, and conflicting motivators to use digital technology. Findings suggest that addressing digital concerns and providing effective digital skill learning opportunities may encourage some older adults to become more digitally engaged. However, as people, including older adults, can be uninterested in using these technologies, organizations and institutions should work to offer ways to support people of all ages who are not engaged online.
[ Access Online ]
On the triple exclusion of older adults during COVID-19: Technology, digital literacy and social isolation
Authors: Amber Zapletal, Tabytha Wells, Elizabeth Russell, Mark Skinner (2023)
Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 8(1)
Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationship between older adults and digital technology became complicated. Prior to the pandemic, some older adults may have faced a double exclusion due to a lack of digital literacy and social interaction, and the pandemic-imposed transition to nearly all aspects of life being online magnified the requirement for people to be increasingly digitally literate. This paper presents an exploratory analysis to understand how the increased online nature of the world during the pandemic may have impacted older adults’ relationship with digital technology by expanding on a prior study of older adults who, pre-pandemic, self-identified as occasional or non-users of digital technology. Follow-up interviews were conducted with 12 of these people during the pandemic. Our findings demonstrate the ways that their risk of precarity became heightened and how they began to use digital technology more frequently, strengthening and applying their digital literacy skills to remain virtually connected with friends and family. Further, the paper advances the concept of a triple exclusion for older adults who are non-users of digital technology and describes how digital literacy and remaining virtually connected can work in tandem, helping older adults to remain included in society.
[ Access Online ]
Exploring the landscape of rural older voluntarism in Peterborough County: The case of social interaction technologies (SITs)
M.A. Thesis Project: Daniel Katey (ongoing)
Summary: This study will explore the current state of rural older voluntarism in Peterborough County regarding SITs usage and the corresponding effects on task performance and program sustainability. The study’s findings will provide insights into the post-pandemic dynamics of rural older voluntarism, crystalizing the implications and sustainability measures.
[ Access Online ]
Rural gerontechnology: Arts-based insights into rural ageing and the use of technology
Authors: An Kosurko, Mark Skinner, Rachel Herron, Rachel J. Bar, Alisa Grigorovich, Pia Kontos, Verena Menec (2020)
Book Chapter in M. Skinner, R. Winterton, & K. Walsh (Eds.) Rural Gerontology
Abstract: This chapter outlines the conceptual scope of rural ageing and technology by identifying rural threads in gerontechnology and technology threads in rural gerontology, precipitating a discussion of thematic intersections in bodies of literature for each field. As an example of a critical, research informed, approach, we turn to an arts-based empirical project, improving social inclusion for Canadians with dementia and their carers through Sharing Dance, to demonstrate how the expansion of an information and communication technology-delivered dance program provides insights into the use of technology to support social connectivity in ageing rural communities. When the Baycrest National Ballet School Sharing Dance Seniors program was initiated, there was excitement about having such a program available in rural areas. Gerontechnology researchers have identified that older people in rural areas can experience a double digital divide due first to their lack of access to high-speed internet infrastructure and second, due to lower levels of digital literacy that result from the lack of exposure to technology.
