Catalyst to Connection: When Technical Difficulties Lead to Social Support for Older Adults

Abstract

Information and communication technology (ICT) use can mitigate the negative impact of various age-related threats, such as isolation and loneliness, by facilitating connection with social ties and access to social support. Although research regarding various uses and benefits of ICTs among older adults has increased, there is limited research regarding the impact of technical difficulties on older adults’ well-being. Our study explores technical difficulties encountered, how older adults cope with ICT failure, and the various forms of social support that may result as a consequence of accessing technical support. We use data from nine semistructured focus groups conducted with older adults in the Midwest region of the United States. Results show that older adults may adapt new strategies for coping with the technical difficulties that arise from regular ICT use. Furthermore, as older adults incorporate ICTs into their daily lives and seek assistance from social ties and experts, they may also be indirectly combating the threat of isolation and loneliness.

Keywords

social support older adults ICTs technical difficulties

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Almeida

D. M.

(2005). Resilience and vulnerability to daily stressors assessed via diary methods. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14, 62-68, doi:10.1111/j.0963-7214.2005.00336.x

Anderson

Perrin

(2017). Tech adoption grows among older adults. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2017/05/16170850/PI_2017.05.17_Older-Americans-Tech_FINAL.pdf

Aslund

Larm

Starrin

Nilsson

K. W.

(2014). The buffering effect of tangible social support on financial stress: Influence on psychological well-being and psychosomatic symptoms in a large sample of the adult general population. International Journal for Equity in Health, 13, 85. doi:10.1186/s12939-014-0085-3

Baker

Warburton

Hodgkin

Pascal

(2017). The supportive network: Rural disadvantaged older people and ICT. Ageing & Society, 37, 1291-1309. doi:10.1017/14468X16000350

Barnard

Bradley

M. D.

Hodgson

Lloyd

A. D.

(2013). Learning to use new technologies by older adults: Perceived difficulties, experimentation behavior and usability. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 1715-1724. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2013.02.006

Berkowsky

R. W.

Cotten

S. R.

Yost

E. A.

Winstead

V. P.

(2013). Attitudes towards and limitations to ICT use in assisted and independent living communities: Findings from a specially-designed technological intervention. Educational Gerontology, 39, 797-811. doi:10.1080/03601277.2012.734162

Blit-Cohen

Litwin

(2004). Elder participation in cyberspace: A qualitative analysis of Israeli retirees. Journal of Aging Studies, 18, 385-398. doi:10.1016/j.jaging.2004.06.007

Bodie

G. D.

Burleson

B. R.

(2008). Explaining variations in the effects of supportive messages a dual-process framework. Annals of the International Communication Association, 32, 355-398. doi:10.1080/23808985.2008.11679082

Burleson

B. R.

(2003). Emotional support skill. In Greene

J. O.

Burleson

B. R.

(Eds.), Handbook of communication and social interaction skills (pp. 551-594). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

10.

Carstensen

L. L.

Fung

H. H.

Charles

S. T.

(2003). Socioemotional selectivity theory and the regulation of emotion in the second half of life. Motivation and Emotion, 27, 103-123. doi:10.1023/A:1024569803230

11.

Chang

S. H.

Yang

M. S.

(1999). The relationship between the elderly loneliness and its factors of personal attributes, perceived health status and social support. Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Science, 15, 337-347.

12.

Choi

Kong

Jung

(2012). Computer and Internet interventions for loneliness and depression in older adults: a meta-analysis. Healthcare Informatics Research, 18, 191-198. doi:10.4258/hir.2012.18.3.191

13.

Chopik

W. J.

(2016). The benefits of social technology use among older adults are mediated by reduced loneliness. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 19, 551-556. doi:10.1089/cyber.2016.0151

14.

Chopik

W. J.

Rikard

R. V.

Cotten

S. R.

(2017). Individual difference predictors of ICT use in older adulthood: A study of 17 candidate characteristics. Computers in Human Behavior, 76, 526-533.

15.

Cotten

S. R.

Anderson

W. A.

McCullough

B. M.

(2013). Impact of Internet use on loneliness and contact with others among older adults: Cross-sectional analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 15, 215-227. doi:10.2196/jmir.2306

16.

Cotten

S. R.

Ford

Hale

T. M.

(2014). Internet use and depression among retired older adults in the United States: A longitudinal analysis. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 69B, 763-771. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbu018

17.

Cotten

S. R.

McCullough

Adams

(2011). Technological influences on social ties across the lifespan. In Fingerman

Berg

Antonucci

Smith

(Eds), Handbook of lifespan psychology (pp. 647-671). New York, NY: Springer.

18.

Cotten

S. R.

Yost

E. A.

Berkowsky

R. W.

Winstead

Anderson

W. A.

(2016). Designing technology training for older adults in continuing care retirement communities. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

19.

Cutrona

C. E.

Russell

D. W.

(1990). Type of social support and specific stress: Toward a theory of optimal matching. In Sarason

B. R.

Sarason

I. G.

Pierce

G. R.

(Eds.), Social support: An interactional view (pp. 319-366). Oxford, England: Wiley.

20.

Czaja

S. J.

Charness

Fisk

Hertzog

Nair

Rogers

Shari

(2006). Factors predicting the use of technology: Findings from the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE). Psychology and Aging, 21, 333-352. doi:10.1037/0882-7974.21.2.333

21.

Czaja

S. J.

Lee

C. C.

Branham

Remis

(2012). OASIS connections: Results from an evaluation study. The Gerontologist, 52, 712-721. doi:10.1093/geront/gns004

22.

Czaja

S. J.

Sharit

(1998). Age differences in attitudes toward computers. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 53, 329-340.

23.

Fiske

Wetherell

J. L.

Gatz

(2009). Depression in older adults. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 5, 363-389.

24.

Glaser

B. G.

Strauss

A. L.

(1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New York, NY: Aldine De Gruyter.

25.

Hand

Law

McColl

M. A.

Hanna

Elliott

(2014). An examination of social support influences on participation for older adults with chronic health conditions. Disability and Rehabilitation, 36, 1439-1444. doi:10.3109/09638288.2013.845258

26.

Hargittai

Dobransky

(2017). Old dogs, new clicks: Digital inequality in skills and uses among older adults. Canadian Journal of Communication, 42, 195-212.

27.

Horrigan

J. B.

Jones

(2008). When technology fails. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2008/11/16/when-technology-fails/

28.

House

J. S.

(1981). Work stress and social support. Reading, MA: Addison-Wessley.

29.

Huang

K. T.

Robinson

Cotten

S. R.

(2015). Mind the emotional gap: The impact of emotional costs on student learning outcomes. In Robinson

Cotten

S. R.

Schulz

Hale

T. M.

Williams

(Eds.), Studies in media and communications: Vol. 10. Communication and information technologies annual (pp. 121-144). Bingley, England: Emerald Group.

30.

Krause

(1986). Social support, stress, and well-being among older adults. Journal of Gerontology, 41, 512-519. doi:10.1093/geronj/41.4.512

31.

C. P. H. Bowsher

Maloney

J. P.

Lillis

P. P.

(1997). Social support: A conceptual analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 25, 95-100. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2648.1997.1997025095.x

32.

McHugh

J. E.

Lawlor

B. A.

(2011). Exercise and social support are associated with psychological distress outcomes in a population of community-dwelling older adults. Journal of Health Psychology, 17, 833-844.

33.

McMellon

C. A.

Schiffman

L. G.

(2002). Cybersenior empowerment: How some older individuals are taking control of their lives. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 21, 157-175. doi:10.1177/07364802021002002

34.

Nielsen

(2013). Seniors as web users. Fremont, CA: Nielsen Norman Group. Retrieved from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/usability-for-senior-citizens/

35.

Oxman

T. E.

Berkman

L. F.

Kasl

Freeman

D. H.

Jr. Barrett

(1992). Social support and depressive symptoms in the elderly. American Journal of Epidemiology, 135, 356-368. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a116297

36.

Pearlin

L. I.

Schooler

(1978). The structure of coping. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 19, 2-21.

37.

Pillemer

S. C.

Holtzer

(2016). The differential relationships of dimensions of perceived social support with cognitive function among older adults. Aging & Mental Health, 20, 727-735. doi:10.1080/13607863.2015.1033683

38.

Seeman

T. E.

Crimmins

(2001). Social environment effects on health and aging: Integrating epidemiologic and demographic approaches and perspectives. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 954, 88-117. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2001.tb02749.x

39.

Selwyn

(2004). The information aged: A qualitative study of older adults’ use of information and communications technology. Journal of Aging Studies, 18, 369-384. doi:10.1016/j.jaging.2004.06.008

40.

Selwyn

Gorard

Furlong

(2003). Older adults’ use of information and communications technology in everyday life. Ageing & Society, 23, 561-582. doi:10.1017/S014486X03001302.

41.

Sitzmann

Ely

Bell

B. S.

Bauer

K. N.

(2010). The effects of technical difficulties on learning and attrition during online training. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 16, 281-292. doi:10.1037/a0019968

42.

Smith

(2014). African Americans and technology use. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/01/06/african-americans-and-technology-use/

43.

Smith

Page

(2015). The smartphone difference. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/01/us-smartphone-use-in-2015/

44.

Speier

Valacich

J. S.

Vessey

(1999). The influence of task interruption on individual decision making: An information overload perspective. Decision Sciences, 30, 337-360. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5915.1999.tb01613.x

45.

Strauss

Corbin

(1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

46.

Tsai

H. S.

Shillair

Cotten

S. R.

(2017). Social support and “playing around”: An examination of how older adults acquire digital literacy with tablet computers. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 36, 29-55. doi:10.1177/0733464815609440

47.

Tsai

H. S.

Shillair

Cotten

S. R.

Winstead

Yost

(2015). Getting grandma online: Are tablets the answer for increasing digital inclusion for older adults in the U.S.? Educational Gerontology, 41, 695-709. doi:10.1080/03601277.2015.1048165

48.

Uchino

B. N.

(2006). Social support and health: A review of physiological processes potentially underlying links to disease outcomes. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 29, 377-387. doi:10.1007/s10865-006-9056-5

49.

Van Deursen

A. J. A. M.

Helsper

E. J.

(2015). The third-level digital divide: Who benefits most from being online? In Robinson

Cotten

S. R.

Schulz

Hale

T. M.

Williams

(Eds.), Studies in media and communications: Vol. 10. Communication and information technologies annual (pp. 29-52). Bingley, England: Emerald Group.

50.

Van Dijk

(2006). Digital divide research, achievements and shortcomings. Poetics, 34, 221-235.

51.

Van Dijk

Hacker

(2003). The digital divide as a complex and dynamic phenomenon. The Information Society, 19, 315-326. doi:10.1080/01972240309487

52.

Viera

A. J.

Garrett

J. M.

(2005). Understanding interobserver agreement: The Kappa statistic. Family Medicine, 37, 360-363.

53.

Waycott

Bennett

Kennedy

Dalgarno

Gray

(2010). Digital divides? Student and staff perceptions of information and communication technologies. Computers & Education, 54, 1202-1211. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2009.11.006.

54.

Wheaton

Young

Montazer

Stuart-Lahman

(2013). Social stress in the twenty-first century. In Aneshensel

C. S.

Phelan

J. C.

Bierman

(Eds.), Handbook of the sociology of mental health (pp. 299-323). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer.

55.

Wilson

(2017). Is it love or loneliness? Exploring the impact of everyday digital technology use on the wellbeing of older adults. Ageing & Society. Advance online publication. doi:10.1017/S0144686X16001537

56.

Wright

(2000). Computer-mediated social support, older adults, and coping. Journal of Communication, 50, 100-118. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02855.x

57.

Xie

(2003). Older adults, computers, and the Internet: Future directions. Gerontechnology, 2, 289-305.

58.

Xie

(2007). Information technology education for older adults as a continuing peer-learning process: A Chinese case study. Educational Gerontology, 33, 429-450.

59.

Xie

Jaeger

P. T.

(2008). Computer training programs for older adults at the public library. Public Libraries, 47(5), 42-49.

60.

Yuan

Hussain

S. A.

Hales

K. D.

Cotten

S. R.

(2016). What do they like? Communication preferences and patterns of older adults in the United States: The role of technology. Educational Gerontology, 42, 163-174.