Digital transformation of everyday lives of older Swiss adults: use of and attitudes toward current and future digital services

• Published in: European journal of ageing Vol. 19; no. 3; pp. 729 - 739
• Main Authors: Seifert, Alexander, Charness, Neil
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.09.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Age; Aging; Demography; Geriatrics/Gerontology; Internet; Older people; Original Investigation; Psychology; Public Health; Social Sciences; Socioeconomic factors; Technology acceptance; Digital services; ICT; Older adults
• ISSN: 1613-9372; 1613-9380
• DOI: 10.1007/s10433-021-00677-9

Digital (consumer) services, such as ticket machines, self-checkout, and online reservations, have become increasingly important in modern society. Studies on adoption of these services and openness to using future public digital services (e.g., online voting, online taxes, electronic patient records) have mostly focused on younger adults or nonrepresentative samples among older adults. Therefore, two important questions remain that can best be addressed with representative sampling: To what extent do older adults use or are willing to use current and future digital services in their everyday lives? How do older adults evaluate the ease of use of these services?. The study included data on use of current and future digital services among a large Swiss sample of 1149 people age 65 years and older (mean age: 74.1 years, SD: 6.69). Descriptive and multivariate analyses showed that (a) established services such as cash machines were used more often than new services, such as self-checkout apps or machines. (b) Perceived ease of use is related to age, socioeconomic status, health, and interest in technology. (c) Only 8.9% had an overall positive attitude toward these digital services, and this attitude was predicted by age, gender, socioeconomic status, and interest in technology. (d) Participants were more often open to filing taxes online than voting online, and openness was predicted by age, income, and interest in technology. Today, mainly older adults with a high interest in technology use digital services. Nevertheless, potential for greater use is evident.