A Hierarchical Analysis of Internet Adoption and Usage by the Seniors

Abstract

The seniors are a large socially vulnerable population group in Greece, and the Internet can help them improve their quality of life. However, they do not take advantage of the technology and prefer to stay offline. Our study examined Internet adoption, usage and the digital skills of seniors in Greece. We analysed the micro-data of the annual national survey on the use of ICT by Greek households for the year 2015. We conducted hierarchical regressions to assess in three stages the influence of the socioeconomic factors to: (a) the decision of the seniors to access and use the Internet, (b) the extent and frequency of Internet use and (c) seniors’ digital skills. According to the results, social inequalities are important determinants of seniors’ decision to access and use the Internet. The seniors’ educational level and gender are very important factors leading to an accumulated advantage, since older men and well-educated seniors use more extensively the Internet and are more digitally skilled. This work emphasizes the need not to treat the elderly as a single group. The Greek state should implement smart policies to address the seniors’ digital divide, highlighting the benefits and promoting the technology with training seminars.