Grandma’s New Tablet – The Role of Mobile Devices in Trying to Innovate in IT

Seniors already make use of IT, but among this segment, there are still difference in use and behavior. Even though elderly people make use of the internet and developed capabilities, there is still a use divide compared to younger segments. We conducted a paper based quantitative study in the US, to find differences in trying to innovate in IT based on the use habits of mobile and non-mobile devices among seniors. We associate the use of mobile device with a more exploratory character trait and therefore expect seniors who make use of more kinds of devices to be more prone to explore their IT. The results show that indeed for the mobile users the personal innovativeness is the main influence on trying to innovate, whereas for non-mobile users the computer self-efficacy is the main determinant.