A new article has been published: “Digital inclusion among older adults: Identifying potential solutions"

Our researchers, doctoral researcher Maedeh Ghorbanian Zolbin and senior university lecturer Sari Kujala, in collaboration with Isto Huvila from Uppsala University, Gunilla Widén, and Kristina Eriksson-Backa from Åbo Akademi University, published an article based on a qualitative study on older adults residing in Finland. The study identifies several solutions to address challenges that older adults might face when using smart devices or e-services in general. For example, the findings of the study indicated the effective role of education in supporting older adults’ digital inclusion by supporting their digital skills, self-efficacy, and fostering positive emotions toward technology. Real-time support provided by assistive technology like chatbots for non-critical online tasks emerged as useful for maintaining older adults’ engagement with technology. Additionally, user-friendly designs of smart devices and e-services with clear instructions were identified as essential. Furthermore, our findings underscore the need to identify different motivational factors to encourage a broad range of older adults and realign fair social norms to foster technology use within this demographic.