ABSTRACT

Older adults have been considered as a digitally vulnerable group in most studies on their smartphone usage experience, but their capability of using the smartphone may vary from person to person. Therefore, it was examined how the differences in both smartphone usage experience and needs appear according to the capabilities in this study. For the purpose of this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with eight members of a senior welfare center located in Seoul and aged from 71 to 90 years. As a result of thematic analyses of the interview contents, three themes and twelve categories were derived. The first theme was ‘barriers to utilizing the smartphone’, and older adults who began to use smartphones at a later age had difficulties in using them due to physical aging and lack of support from people close to them. The second theme was ‘process of utilizing the smartphone’, and older adults with low smartphone literacy were using only limited functions of the smartphones whereas those with high literacy were enjoying social relationships and hobbies through a variety of smartphone functions. The third theme was ‘needs for utilizing the smartphone’, and older adults with low literacy had high needs for seeking social interactions and new information whereas those with high literacy showed needs of adapting to the change in the digital society by utilizing smartphones like younger generations. It was confirmed that the usage experience and needs as well as the process of adapting to the smartphone of the older adults were different according to the level of smartphone literacy in this study. Based on the findings, the necessity of organizing or providing educational programs considering the characteristics of the elderly was suggested.