Abstract
Research on older people’s ICT usage tends to focus on either the ways in which they go about learning to use these technologies or the impact that ICTs have on their lives. This research seems, in other words, to take for granted that older people are ‘digital immigrants’ as the digital divide debate proposed. Research that specifically looks at the ways in which older ICT users make sense of their engagement with these technologies is still limited. This article explores therefore – through focus group interviews – how a group of older people who are active ICT users make sense of their ‘digital nativeness’. The analysis shows that the interviewees are well aware that their ICT proficiency differentiated them from their peers, which is why they make sense of their ICT usage by making reference to the issues that make them ‘exceptional’ older people. These include the fact that they have used computers for many years and therefore made ICT usage an everyday habit early on; the fact that most older people do not have the skills that they themselves have, which is why they feel the need to share them with others; and the fact that their lifelong experience means they can use these technologies in judicious ways. By bringing attention to how older active ICT users make sense of their engagement, this article contributes to the notion of the digital spectrum and the debate on the inequalities that ICT proficiency brings about.
Highlights
One of the most persistent assumptions within media and communication research has been the idea that age and belonging to a specific generation are useful sources of information about ICT usage. Prensky (2001), for example, distinguished between ‘digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants’ when describing what made people ICT-savvy
When asked to comment upon the results of research showing that some older people think that ICT use is an investment in their future, one of the informants explained why it had been important for her to “keep up with the society”: Interviewer: There is research about older people/.../ And some of them say that they see it as sort of investment in their future
This article started with allusions to the scholarly debate on the digital divide and the constant eagerness to differentiate older people from younger ones that has characterized it
Summary
One of the most persistent assumptions within media and communication research has been the idea that age and belonging to a specific generation are useful sources of information about ICT usage. Prensky (2001), for example, distinguished between ‘digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants’ when describing what made people ICT-savvy. Prensky (2001), for example, distinguished between ‘digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants’ when describing what made people ICT-savvy. He described the former as “native speakers of the digital language” and the latter as “those of us who were not born into the digital divide” (Prensky, 2001:1). For example, have confirmed the existence of the divide Hargittai (2002) has proposed that when we shift focus from access to skills we will inevitably draw attention to the ‘second-level digital divide’ – the term she uses to differentiate between knowing how to retrieve information from the Web and doing it in an efficient manner. There are some scholars that have introduced the idea that sociodemographics affect the divide (e.g. Silver, 2013) and others who have shown that we should focus on age cohorts rather than age per se (e.g. Gilleard & Higgs, 2008)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
