Mapping the grey digital divide and diversity in older ICT users post-COVID: A mixed-method research informing service and policy development = 測繪後疫情的長者數碼鴻溝及資訊科技用戶多樣性：協助制定服務及政策發展的混合研究
Project title
Mapping the grey digital divide and diversity in older ICT users post-COVID: A mixed-method research informing service and policy development = 測繪後疫情的長者數碼鴻溝及資訊科技用戶多樣性：協助制定服務及政策發展的混合研究
Principal Investigator
Department
Grant Awarding Body
Research Grants Council
Grant Type
Institutional Development Scheme (IDS) Collaborative Research Grant
Project Code
UGC/IDS(C)15/H01/22
Amount awarded
HK$4,388,777
Funding Year
2022-2023
Duration of the Project
36 months
Status
On-going
Abstract
Information and communications technology (ICT) forms the backbone of our everyday communication. The pandemic has generated a ‘New Normal’ in which a significant portion of our physical encounters has been replaced by online alternatives. Large-scale digital interventions to contain the pandemic, such as track-and-trace apps and digital vaccine passports, may have expanded the use of ICT in some populations, but rendered low access, literacy and usage particularly disadvantageous for others. Pre-pandemic research has shown that older adults often fall behind their younger counterparts with respect to the use of ICT. However, recent reports in e-commerce (e.g., online shopping, e-banking) underscore a burgeoning silver hair e-market, possibly propelled by the pandemic. Hence, how much the diverse population of local older adults can catch up with the rapid digital transformation, and who are likely to need what kind of support remain pressing but unanswered questions. Under the backdrop of the efforts from the Hong Kong government and NGO to promote gerontechnologies, it is pivotal to first map out how local older adults use ICT in their everyday lives with robust, valid indicators. This study attempts to fill three knowledge gaps which will be essential for developing a responsive, age-enabling ICT environment: (1) While traditional indicators of digital divide, such as smartphone and internet usage, have capped among middle-aged adults, and younger adults have taken work- or school-from-home as a normative practice, it is essential to review what constitutes informative ‘common denominators’ to map the differences in ICT access, literacy and usage between younger and older populations that may disadvantage the latter, especially after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. These new indicators will involve more advanced and complex access, literacy and usage (e.g., online grocery shopping, generating content on social media, etc) than just smartphone ownership and internet use. (2) The heterogeneity in the demographics, health, ethical concerns and neighborhood characteristics of older adults may result in significant interpersonal differences in their ICT access, literacy and usage. A socio-culturally valid user typology for older ICT users will be needed for segmenting and diversifying support for digital inclusion. (3) Multi-level policies and services will be needed to support diverse older ICT users and nurture an age-friendly ICT environment. Guided by a person-in-environment perspective, this project will involve six studies with three phases. Phase 1 will be an instrument development phase. Study 1 will be a focus group study with 144 adults aged 55 or above to examine the socio-culturally meaningful indicators of digital divide, dimensions for typologizing older ICT users as well as their ethical concerns over ICT. The results will inform Study 2, a pilot telephone survey with a representative sample of 900 younger and older adults, to develop quantitative instruments for measuring the digital divide, user typology and ethical concerns. Professionals will be consulted in Study 3 for refining the new instruments via a focus group study. Phase 2, a formal evaluation phase, will involve Study 4. With the help of spatial modelling, a large-scale, face-to-face survey with 1620 middle-aged and older adults will be conducted to examine the associations between ICT access, literacy and usage with biopsychosocial outcomes and the socio-spatial characteristics of the participants’ neighborhoods. Study 5 will be a comparative study for evaluating state- and community-level policies and interventions for fostering ICT usage in older adults in technologically-developed societies. The findings of Studies 1 to 5 will feed into a series of workshops and a Delphi study in Study 6 (Phase 3: solution generation phase) for generating service and policy directions and suggestions. This project will refresh the society’s understanding of diversity in older adults’ ICT usage and provide a robust empirical basis for the development of responsive, empowering and age-inclusive ICT policies and support. It will also serve as an excellent example for international scholars, policy-makers and care professionals to periodically review their understanding of ICT usage in the growing population of older adults.