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The Grey Digital Divide:

The Challenges Senior Citizens Face in the Information Age

Zachary Hester, Ranjita Summan, Janet Pham

CST462S: Race, Gender, Class in the Digital World

Professor Bude Su

CS Online Spring 2023

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Introduction

The rapid growth and development of technology has brought about many significant

changes in the world. With the rise of the digital world, the need for effective legislation

to govern and regulate the use of technology has become more pressing. As the digital

age continues to progress and cause rapid advances in technology. It is imperative for

those in power to understand and address the challenges of the new technological

landscape in order to protect the welfare of society as a whole. However, most if not all

of our legislators are septuagenarians, and they have very little real world experience

with the applications and tools that they are governing. The social impact of legislators

that are not intimately familiar with the technologies they’re legislating is vast and covers

many sectors of society. The largest of these impacts is the rampant and unchecked

rise of social media and its impact on society. Beyond legislation and governance,

everyday senior citizens are also suffering from a dearth of knowledge and access to

information technology. Everything from smartphone use to filing your taxes online are

common tasks for digital natives, but to senior citizens they can become insurmountable

problems. The promise of new technology has always been a more egalitarian society,

yet entire demographics in our population are being left behind. The digital divide needs

to be closed if we are to welcome our whole community into the 21st century, from the

toddlers to the elders.

Literature Review

The predominant area we’ll be researching is the intersection of technological

advancement and aging adults, specifically the digital divide between seniors and
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younger generations. Mubarak’s paper on Digital Exclusion cuts to the heart of this

intersection and provides context for how the digital divide is occurring. Mubarak

indicates that there are two major factors causing the divide ”lack of skills and quality of

hardware and software.”(Mubarak & Suomi, 2022) That is, due to the aging population's

lack of lived experience with information technology, they do not have the relevant skills

to interact with it. This is further compounded by the fact that they are not keeping up

with relevant trends in technology so are unable to access innovations in technology

itself. This could be a new word processing software or the latest smartphone.

Computers are further infiltrating our everyday lives so both of these problems not only

exist, but are accelerating to cause an even greater divide. This is further explained in

Harris et al. (2022) where older adults were assessed regarding their general opinions

on smart technology, and barriers to entry for those technologies. Some of the most

significant barriers to entry were ignorance of the existence of the technology and

concerns regarding their privacy. In the younger generations it is almost a foregone

conclusion that you will sacrifice your privacy to use various software applications. A

common adage among software engineers being “if you're not paying for the product,

you are the product”, however this line of logic seems to be unpalatable for older

generations. It is not only their access to technology but outdated views and modalities

associated with information technology that could be barriers to entry of aging adults

using that technology. A debate surrounding the validity of this privacy argument is

warranted, but is outside the scope of this review. The final piece of literature under

review is Vaportzis et al (2017) while the sample size was small at only 18 participants,

the findings seem to be encouraging. Most of the participants in the study were “eager
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to adopt new technology and willing to learn using a tablet. However, they voiced

apprehension about lack of, or lack of clarity in, instructions and support.” (Vaportzis et

al., 2017) This article suggests that there are significant external factors limiting seniors

accessing technology in the way they desire, and that it is not for lack of trying that the

digital divide exists. These men and women cannot clear the divide by “pulling

themselves up by their bootstraps”, like so many social problems, equity comes when

all people strive for a level playing field, not just the marginalized groups themselves.

Research Question

The question is twofold, what challenges do seniors face using modern technologies

and what interventions may help bridge this ever widening digital divide? Are senior

citizens being marginalized by this gray digital divide and are there concrete

interventions that could be taken to bridge the gap between digital natives and digital

immigrants. Additionally, what is causing the challenges seniors are facing and how

can those challenges be mitigated.

Research Design

The following are research questions to be answered by our target research participant

audience.

● What computer skills do you currently possess? At what level can you describe

them?
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● What challenges do you face when interacting with digital technologies?

● If you face challenges, how could you be supported in overcoming those issues?

● In what ways does technology affect your day-to-day life, in a positive or negative

way?

● Are there any specific types of technology that you find particularly intimidating or

confusing? If yes, which ones?

● Would you be interested in receiving computer training or attending classes to

improve your skills? If yes, what specific topics would you like to learn?

Our research audience will consist of senior citizens, ideally they will be over 55 years

old, have at least a passing interaction or interest in information technology, and be

middle to upper class. While we believe it is necessary to include research participants

from lower socio economic backgrounds, those people are less likely to be patronizing

our service centers, which is where the majority of recruitment efforts will be

concentrated around.

The questionnaire will be delivered in survey format verbally but with the option for the

participants to write in their own words if they so choose. The research team will record

notes during the sessions for further analysis afterwards. Querying methodology will

vary depending on difficulty of recruitment and scheduling availability of research

participants but the ideal participant will conduct an in person interview.

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Service Organizations

The Buena Park Library District is a special district that was organized in 1919, it

is a center of learning and acquiring knowledge through different mediums; like books,

applications, and computers. According to the site, the mission of the library is

“providing free and equal access to information, programs and services to educate,

entertain and enrich the lives of our diverse community.” (Buena Park Library District,

2023) My supervisor informed me that the library is patronized by a diverse Spanish and

Korean speaking population. The district also provides translation services to those

populations in their native languages. During my employment, I’ve also encountered

patrons spanning many different age levels, from young children to senior citizens. The

latter group predominantly suffering from some level of digital illiteracy. The senior

citizens' familiarity with technology ranges from printing out documents to navigating

email clients, yet doesn’t rise too much higher.

The Davis Senior Center is a day program drop in center that serves the senior

citizen population in Davis, California and its surrounding areas. Its mission is to provide

a place for the senior community to meet, learn new skills, and engage in recreation in

order to facilitate a more full, healthy, and active life for senior citizens in Yolo County.

One of the offerings the senior center provides is tech tutoring to seniors, this implies

that there is an unmet need in the community for technology training. This correlates

strongly with our research topic and provides fertile ground for recruitment of research

participants. Additionally the work itself could be considered an intervention to bridge

the gray digital divide which may be examined in the research as well.
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The Sow A Seed Community Foundation is a foundation that aims to empower

the youth and the community. They work with those who have depression, behavioral

issues, academic challenges, and so forth. Sow A Seed provides these youth with the

opportunity to be independent and achieve their potential, despite the challenges that

they face. This is achieved by the offering of services like tutoring, opportunities, and

other services. People in the community can volunteer to help out in any way that they

can, including mentoring the youth. Connecting the youth to mentors in the area is a

great way for these students to get guidance from those who can continue helping them

in the future. Students get to learn about the careers of those mentoring them and

develop their own interests too. There are programs like anger management, stress

management, and leadership. The work done at Sow A Seed Community Foundation is

truly invaluable - they provide the resources needed to at-risk youth. They rely heavily

on donors and volunteers as well. Sowing a seed is when you plant a seed for growth.

With their work in mentorships and mental health assistance, Sow A Seed is helping the

next generation grow and thrive in a safe environment. They help keep students out of

trouble, safe, and give them the confidence to believe in themselves. They can become

self-sufficient and connect with their peers.

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Conducting Research

The target audience that we decided to aim at are people preferably at our

service site that are ages 55 and over with a middle to upper class standing and have

an interest in learning information technology. At the library site, I have gotten the

chance to meet a variety of people, especially a woman named Kelly Tong (see

Appendix A). She comes to the library almost every Monday and works as a distributor

for restaurants, so she is mostly using the computer to send invoices to the companies

or her laptop for personal reasons. I had a sit-down interview with her and she gave me

some information about what she is struggling with in technology and what can motivate

her to learn more.

I didn’t have a chance to attend my site over the last week but I sourced a senior

citizen from my community that matched the demographic criteria of our research

design. Cheryl Newbern, she met criteria by virtue of being over 55, middle-class, and

having some degree of technological illiteracy. Cheryl is a registered nurse who

interacts with computers frequently at her job, but still has little knowledge of how they

operate, even struggling with navigating her smart TV settings. I conducted an in person

interview with her regarding the issues she faces being a digital immigrant, and how she

could be supported in her goals to be more technologically literate.

I conducted an interview with my site lead, Carol Rogers. She is over 55 years

old, middle-class, with an active interest in learning more about technology. She has

been in the service industry for over 20 years, and hopes to use her knowledge to better

her community. She has been on the site for the past year and has a fresh perspective
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on how effective things currently are. A large challenge she faces is technology and the

way it limits her ability to help others. Carol does not have much computer experience,

and the systems she uses are very outdated. I conducted an interview with her to see

what kinds of challenges she faces and how they affect her. She talked to me about why

she is motivated to learn more and how she plans to use the knowledge going forward.

Findings

When identifying patterns in the research data there was one through line across the

entire interview set, senior citizens feel disconnected from the digital world. Furthermore

they are looking for ways to deepen their involvement with that part of their lives. The

reasons for this are varied but as seen in Appendix A, they sometimes struggle with

decision fatigue as the interviewee complains of there being too many categories to

choose from in terms of technology. In Appendix B the interview also complains about

the burden of intricacy that the modern world foisted upon us, she views complexity as a

net negative, while it can be both a positive and a negative. The data indicates that

while seniors are struggling, they are also interested in moving past the hurdles they

face in the digital world as seen in the last query of Appendix C. One thing that unites

the respondents is that while they wish for an end to their difficulties with technology,

they view most forms of training as possessing too high of a labor cost. Most existing

interventions to bridge the gray digital divide are deemed too difficult or time intensive

by the respondents, however there was some demand for on the job training. Younger

generations have no need for specialized training as they absorb the information almost

by osmosis, similar to learning a language in infancy. This dichotomy is not lost on the
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respondents and their frustration with their situation is warranted, however some

interventions were welcomed and this is encouragingly supportive of the research

design. One difference that was identified in Appendix B was the respondents

continually moving back towards receiving help from 3rd parties, as opposed to

troubleshooting the issues herself. The intervention of someone to solve the problems

wholesale is certainly an effective means of problem solving, but it’s not realistic in most

cases. The main theme that was noted was the palpable frustration of the respondents

at how they had been left behind in the information age, and their desire to catch up to

the younger generations who came after them.

Conclusion

The digital divide between seniors and younger generations is influenced by two major

factors: a lack of skills and access to quality hardware and software. In addition, seniors

are not keeping up with technological trends and this makes it difficult for them to

access innovations. The research highlights that this gray digital divide is marginalizing

seniors and that interventions can be taken to bridge the gap between digital natives

and digital immigrants. Based on some of the answers from the research questions,

providing seniors computer training or classes may help improve their skills. Closing the

digital divide is crucial to ensuring that the whole community, from toddlers to seniors,

can participate in the 21st century. Service organizations, like the Buena Park Library

District, already play an important role in bridging this divide by providing access to

technology. It’s the matter of training and classes that would help bridge this gap.

Therefore, it is important to take concrete steps to ensure that seniors are not left
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behind in this digital age. By bridging the digital divide, we can ensure that everyone in

our community has an equal opportunity to thrive and succeed in the digital era.

Recommendations

The recommendation that is indicated in the research findings is two fold, decrease

barriers to entry to new software and hardware to seniors, and increase availability of

training to seniors. The physical and knowledge barriers to entry to technology are quite

high for older generations and it is our responsibility to lower those barriers. Both the

public and private sectors can play a part in these recommendations as it serves the

interests of both to accommodate a larger number of seniors as users of digital

technology. At the policy level, money needs to be directed to outreach and training

programs, such as the one that already exists at the Davis Senior Center. That program

is only staffed by volunteers and thus is languishing unfunded by the local government.

Private sector organizations and nonprofits can source no cost or low cost software and

hardware to provide to the seniors should they need it, and computer science students

could be enlisted as trainers. These would be elegant solutions to both problems but on

balance might not bridge the gap in a very meaningful way. As a society we need to

spread awareness about the gray digital divide so that this problem can be addressed

on an international level, by the tech giants and the federal government. It behooves the

tech giants to get involved in this issue as the more technologically savvy adults there

are the more consumers there are for their products. Letting seniors know that they

have a place in the digital world by providing them services and training is the best way
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to get them involved and keep them involved in the lifelong learning that is the institution

of computer science.
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Reference Page

Mubarak, F., & Suomi, R. (2022, April 26). Elderly forgotten? digital exclusion in the

information age and the ... Sage Journals. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00469580221096272

Harris, M. T., Blocker, K. A., & Rogers, W. A. (2022, March 4). Older adults and

smart technology: Facilitators and barriers to use. Frontiers. Retrieved March 21,

2023, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomp.2022.835927/full

Vaportzis, E., Clausen, M. G., & Gow, A. J. (2017, October 4). Older adults

perceptions of technology and barriers to interacting with tablet computers: A

FOCUS Group Study. Frontiers in psychology. Retrieved March 21, 2023, from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5649151/

Buena Park Library District. (n.d.). About Us. About Us | Buena Park Library

District. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.buenaparklibrary.org/about-us

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Appendix A

Interview at Buena Park Library

This interview was done at Buena Park Library District with a woman that is

above 55 in age and matches the ideal interviewee. The interview was done in-person

with six questions and the answers are short and simple, due to their limited knowledge

of technology.

What computer skills do you currently possess? And at what level can you

describe them?

- I have basic skills, which consists of emails, turning on the computer, and using

my mobile device for phone calls and checking my emails.

What challenges do you face when interacting with digital technology?

- There are just so many things for different categories, [which becomes]

overwhelming.

If you face challenges, how could you be supported in overcoming those issues?

- I seek available and willing people to help me out with these issues.

In what ways does technology affect your day-to-day life, in a positive or negative

way?

- It is good to bring convenience. However, I hope it is to assist human but not to

replace human.

Are there any specific types of technology that you find particularly intimidating

or confusing? If yes, which ones?

- I find mobile phones, hacking, computer, hitting the wrong buttons, and viruses

confusing.
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Would you be interested in receiving computer training or attending classes to

improve your skills? If yes, what specific topics would you like to learn?

- Yes, I would be interested in learning Word and mobile applications.

Appendix B

Interview at Davis, CA Private Residence

This interview was conducted at a private residence in Davis, California with

Cheryl Newbern, six questions were administered. The responses have been edited

slightly for brevity and clarity.

What computer skills do you currently possess? And at what level can you

describe them?

I know my way around a computer, I use one at work all the time, but I always run into

trouble when I need to do anything too complicated, like installing something on my

phone or getting my printer to work. I can usually rely on my son to help, but I’d like to

be more independent.

What challenges do you face when interacting with digital technology?

My biggest challenge is my TV, it’s impossible to find anything and whenever I’m looking

for anything new, it’s always breaking down and sending me places I don’t want to go. I
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don’t really have a desktop anymore so other than that I mainly just use my phone to

get on the internet

If you face challenges, how could you be supported in overcoming those issues?

Well for now I always call my son to help, and he usually comes by to give me a hand,

but if I didn’t have him I suppose I’d like to be able to call someone else to help.

In what ways does technology affect your day-to-day life, in a positive or negative

way?

Technology has made life so much more complicated. I like being able to use the

internet to contact my kids and grandkids but it feels like everything has so many

different steps and every store I go to has an app I need to download. Things used to be

more simple.

Are there any specific types of technology that you find particularly intimidating

or confusing? If yes, which ones?

Installing and using a tower computer was too confusing for me, I downsized to an ipad

and that’s all I really need. My son set it up with a printer and all I need to do is click a

button and it works. It’s great.

Would you be interested in receiving computer training or attending classes to

improve your skills? If yes, what specific topics would you like to learn?

Not really, I don’t want to have to learn all of that, I’d just wish they could make it less

complicated.
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Appendix C

Interview at Sow A Seed Community Foundation

This interview was conducted at a public community foundation in Tracy, California with

Carol Rogers. This was a six question interview.

What computer skills do you currently possess? And at what level can you

describe them?

My computer is old and I don’t know much about it

What challenges do you face when interacting with digital technology?

Technology is a challenge. My computer and systems are antiquated.

If you face challenges, how could you be supported in overcoming those issues?

Unrestricted funds to buy new technology and get technology help as needed.

In what ways does technology affect your day-to-day life, in a positive or negative

way?

My systems are cumbersome and don't talk to each other. This makes it so that I can
not do tasks simply or quickly. Computer systems are ineffective in assisting with work.
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Are there any specific types of technology that you find particularly intimidating

or confusing? If yes, which ones?

Creating, using, and maintaining databases is difficult. It would be best to keep me

organized, bit it’s not easy. I don’t have enough knowledge to maintain it.

Would you be interested in receiving computer training or attending classes to

improve your skills? If yes, what specific topics would you like to learn?

Yes, but not any classes since that would be difficult to manage. Training at work, for

example, would be perfect for me.