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The informatics lifecourse: Studying the experiences of older adults learning technology in senior centers
Author(s) -
Lenstra Noah
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
proceedings of the association for information science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.193
H-Index - 14
ISSN - 2373-9231
DOI - 10.1002/pra2.2017.14505401137
Subject(s) - informatics , gerontology , ethnography , psychology , medical education , sociology , medicine , political science , anthropology , law
The Pew Research Center (2017) estimates that nearly 75% of Americans aged 65 and older self‐identify as needing help from another person to learn to use new digital technology. Past research suggests that technology training programs in senior centers and other community‐based institutions can provide crucial supplements to the technology help older adults find within their networks of family and friends (e.g., Gardner, Kambill & Netherland, 2012; Hardill, 2014; McKee & Blair, 2006; Xie & Jaeger, [Xie, B., 2008]). Nonetheless, few studies have examined how or why technology support services in these institutions facilitate the process of learning technology among older adults. This poster presents the findings from an ethnographic, year‐long study of the experiences of older adults endeavoring to learn technology in three senior centers in a medium‐sized Midwestern American urban area. The overall finding from this investigation is that digital learning proceeds through what this study calls the informatics lifecourse : how a person learns technology throughout the stages of his or her life.