‘The Internet is my life’. Technology stories of older adults – a qualitative interview study

Abstract

Objective: This paper outlines the core needs of older adults in their everyday use of technology. The background is the development of nurse-driven educational management to promote e-Health literacy among older adults.Methods: Based on a qualitative research framework by Flick (1996), episodic interviews (n=11) with older adults (65 years and older) were conducted. The corresponding data was subjected to multilevel thematic content analysis. Results: We mapped the participants’ life circumstances and attitudes toward technology in short descriptions. In addition, the four main categories subjective understanding of technology, appropriation and usage experiences, experiences handling of technology, and e-Health are presented in detail. The results show that learning prerequisites and learning dispositions are highly individual. Older adults experience, among other things, identity-forming spaces, autonomy gains, and emancipatory potential through technology use.Conclusions: Findings are contrasted with current e-Health literacy literature. This study meets the requirements for qualitative studies that include life circumstances. The technology stories provide a basis for developing suitable educational programs that take biographical aspects and individual perceptions of technology into account. This approach is necessary to reduce inhibitions in a targeted manner. The results expose the need to look closer at the development potentials of age and aging in the context of technology use.

Keywords

• older adults
• e-health literacy
• qualitative research
• qualitative interviews
• persona