What affects the use of smartphones by the elderly? A hybrid survey from China

Abstract

Aging is a growing issue nowadays, and active aging is not only about the health of the elderly but also about social participation. The gap between the elderly and the digital age has to some extent reduced their motivation to participate in social activities. To explore the smartphone use behavior of the elderly, this study developed an extended model based on the technology acceptance model. A hybrid survey was carried out with data collection both online and offline. A total of 271 valid questionnaires were collected through offline field interviews and online distribution of questionnaire links, and hypothesis testing was conducted using path analysis. The results showed that both perceived usefulness and attitude toward using could directly, positively and significantly influence the intention to use. Moreover, perceived playfulness and perceived ease of use showed positive and significant relationships with perceived usefulness and attitude toward using, respectively. Therefore, we suggest that smartphone companies focus on improving perceived playfulness when designing and developing product features or applications for the elderly to increase their competitiveness based on ensuring basic technical features.

Keywords

• active aging
• population aging
• public health
• elderly behavior
• technology acceptance model
• hybrid survey