Siriwan Anantho, Ph.D
Thailand has 15 million Internet users and there are only 5.2 percent in the age group 50-59 years, and only 0.9 percent that are over the age of 60 (NECTEC, 2008). The digital divide in Thailand exists between young and elderly people. Moreover, among the elderly group, the accessibility to computer and the Internet is problematic. This paper examines the Internet use among the elderly people in Thailand. The author conducted the interviews of 42 respondents who were aged 50 and older. The study found that the main purposes of the Thai elderly for their Internet use were to seek information on various topics, as well as to stay connected with friends and family. Therefore this research results affirmed the elderly use of the Internet for cognitive need (acquiring information and knowledge), affective need (watching movies on the Internet), social integrative need (using e-mail, chat, and discussion board), and tension release (escaping from the real world). The barriers to the Internet use among Thai elderly people included lack of Internet access at home, lack of computer literacy and instructor, cost of computers and Internet access, and their health problems. The study also found that uses and gratifications theory can well explain the Internet use among Thai elderly since most of them used the Internet to satisfy their personal needs and goals.
Introduction
Over the past 10 years, the population of elderly people and the use of computers and the Internet have been growing at extraordinary rates. In the United States, 40 percent of people whose ages are 66 and older go online, increasing from 29 percent in 2000 (Annenberg Digital Future project, 2009). However among Thailand’s 15 million Internet users, there are only 5.2 percent in the age group 50-59 years, and only 0.9 percent that are over the age of 60 (NECTEC, 2008).
In the future the elderly people will have to rely more on their technological skills in order to cope with their every day activities, such as contacting their children and relatives, shopping, getting health information, and life-long learning. Thailand has implemented its Information Technology Policy Framework 2001-2010 with its vision towards a Knowledge-Based Economy, but the elderly Internet users still much lag behind their younger counterparts. This will cause a major problem in Thailand’s aging society in the near future. This study aims to examine 1) the digital divide among Thai elderly people; and 2) the technological or non-technological factors that influenced the Internet uses among Thai elderly people. The results of this study may lead to possible strategies and policy to bridge the widening gap of digital divide, and empower the Thai elderly to live independently and maintain a good quality of life in the aging society.
Theoretical framework
The digital divide is commonly defined as the gap between those who do and do not have access to computers and the Internet (Van Dijk, 2006). Technology is driven by needs, but it is reinforced by a variety of factors, including environment, finance, politics, human knowledge and skills. Technology that is effective and appropriate in one setting may not be feasible somewhere else. From a communication research perspective, research about the socio-economic impact of having (or using) access to information is not at all new. The digital divide clearly has its roots in the “knowledge gap” research of the 1970s, when segments of the population with higher socio-economic status tended to acquire information at a faster rate than the lower status segments and this increased the gap in knowledge between the two segments of society (Tichenor, Olien and Donohue, 1970). Moreover,the intensive users of media services would continuously increase their advantage by making optimal use of the information available through the media. Lower socio-economic status (SES) people have little or no knowledge about public affairs issues and usually are unconcerned about their lack of knowledge.
With the emergence of the digital media, the knowledge gap hypothesis is finally linked to the concept of “digital divide.” Digital divide can occur on the basis of gender, age, income, race, location etc, therefore it reflects social impact caused by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). These technologies produce differences in the development opportunities for people, on the contrary they establish the gap between those with access to these technologies and those without.
A basic strategy for overcoming the digital divide has been to provide physical access to computers and the Internet. However Warschauer (2003) pointed out that even wealthy individuals may be excluded because of discrimination based on gender, race, sexual preference or disability, or political persecution. Warschauer (2003) clarified that there are additionally three further aspects with regard to resources: Digital resources (material made available online); Human resources (in particular literacy and education) and Social resources (the community, institutional and societal structures that support access to IT). The aspects that Warschauer (2003) identified as important formed the basis of this research when evaluating and identifying the non-technical and technical factors that lead to the adoption and use of the Internet by the Thai elderly.
Uses and Gratifications Theory
The limited effects theories view media influence as minimized or limited by certain aspects of individual audience members’ personal and social lives. Katz, Blumler, and Gurevitch (1974) presented a systematic and comprehensive articulation of audience members’ role in mass communication process, known as Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT). The uses and gratifications approach views the audience as active, meaning that they actively seek out specific media and content to achieve certain results or gratifications that satisfy their personal needs. As Katz, Blumler, and Gurevitch (1974) explain in the book Mass Communication Research, the uses and gratifications approach has five basic assumptions: 1) the audience is conceived as active and the viewers are goal oriented. 2) much initiative in linking need gratification to a specific medium choice lies with the audience member. 3) the media compete with other sources for need satisfaction. 4) people have enough self-awareness of their media use, interests, and motives to be able to provide researchers with an accurate picture of that use, and 5) value judgments of media content can only be assessed by the audience.
In the Internet environment, users are even more actively engaged communication participants, compared to other traditional media (Ruggiero, 2000). Some surveys have shown that users have little trouble verbalizing their needs when using the Internet (Eighmey & McCord, 1997; Lillie, 1997; Nortey, 1998; Piirto, 1993; Ryan, 1995). Although motivations for Internet use may vary among individuals, situations, and media vehicles, most uses and gratifications studies explore them based on some or all of the following dimensions: relaxation, companionship, habit, passing time, entertainment, social interaction, information/surveillance, arousal, and escape (Lin,1999). James, Wotring, and Forrest (1995) suggested that Internet forums such as electronic bulletin boards fulfill many expectations of both mass and interpersonal communication.
Media dependency theory
Media dependency theory has been explored as an extension of the uses and gratifications theory even though there are some differences between them. Some uses and gratifications studies have discussed media use as being goal directed (Palmgreen, Wenner & Rosengren. 1985; Parker & Plank, 2000). While DeFleur and Ball-Rokeach (1989) suggested that active selectors’use of the media to achieve their goals will result in being dependent on the media. These goals included 1) social and self understanding; 2) interaction and action orientation; and 3) social and solitary play.
The intensity of media dependency depends on how much people perceive that the media they choose are meeting their goals and more than one kind of goal can be activated (and satisfied) by the same medium (DeFleur and Ball-Rokeach,1989). Moreover dependency on a specific medium is influenced by the number of media sources available to an individual. Individuals should become more dependent on available media if their access to media alternatives is limited (Sun et al.,1999) and people will become more dependent on media that meet a number of their needs than on media that provide only a few ones (Littlejohn, 2002).
Research Methods
1. The study adopted a qualitative approach using purposive sampling technique. The author was part-time lecturer in Communication Technology Graduate Program at Ramkhamhaeng University in which most students had strong technology knowledge and expertise. The students were asked to help with the arrangement of interviews. The respondents (n = 42), aged 50 and older, were parents or family members of graduate students. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews method. The questions asked involved some demographic factors; the uses of the Internet and some barriers they encountered.
The interviews were conducted in October 2009. Each interview was tape recorded and lasted approximately half hour. An analysis of data was achieved through qualitative content analysis technique.
Research Results
The research results were summarized as follows:
The respondents were 28 females and 14 males, age 50-73 years old. Most of them had undergraduate degrees. Their occupations included retired government official, government official, businessperson, lawyer, accountant, employer, and housemaker. The income of respondents ranged from THB 10,000 to more than 50,000. The demographic profile of respondents are shown in Table 3.
Among 42 respondents, half of them reported that they never used the Internet, and among those nonusers, most of them showed an interest in using the Internet. The nonusers said that they wanted to use the Internet for e-mail; searching for news and some information relevant to their studies and career. Some of them wanted to chat and play games.
Among the elderly Internet users, the respondents reported that they learned how to use the Internet in different ways. Some of them reported that they started using the Internet while they were attending class in the universities and had to do a report for coursework. Some started using the Internet through self-learning because they wanted to get in touch with other people, while some attended the training programs at work. Many of them were taught how to use the computer and Internet by their children and family members.
The elderly Internet users were asked to explain how they perceived the benefits of the Internet. The respondents reported that the benefits of the Internet included: to keep up-to-date with information; expand life experience; use as resources for knowledge and entertainment; and help the elderly to kill time and boredom.
Conclusion
The research results showed a significant digital divide among Thai elderly people. Half of the respondents never used the Internet but they showed an interest in doing so, mainly to keep up with news, search information, and connect with people. The segment of respendents who were excluded from the digital world tended to have lower socio-economic status than their counterpart since their main barriers to the Internet use were those related to accessibility (lack of computer and Internet access; lack of computer literacy) as well as non-affordability. Whereas the problems among the elderly Internet users went beyond basic physical accessibility. They pointed out their barriers including slow Internet speed, lack of typing skill and English literacy, and technical problems. This situation reflected the “digital divide” which tied in with the “knowledge gap hypothesis” among Thai elderly people.
The uses and gratifications approach can help explain the Thai elderly use of the Internet. . Their main purposes were to seek information on various topics, as well as to stay connected with friends and family. Therefore this research results affirmed the elderly use of the Internet for cognitive need (acquiring information and knowledge), affective need (watching movies on the Internet), social integrative need (using e-mail, chat, and discussion board), and tension release (escaping from the real world).
From this study, the digital divide can also be bridged based on the respondents’ expectations. They mentioned an increasing speed Internet connection and its stability, universal service of the Internet, free or low cost Internet, cheaper computer and equipment, and the ease of use. These factors play a significant role as critical catalyst for Internet use. Besides accessibility, the social and cultural aspects should be taken into consideration since the respondents also reflected their concern of Internet security, useful website, and safe sites for children. If the elderly have positive perception of the Internet, the digital divide will not be widening.
Even though the Internet diffusion rate among the elderly is increasing, it still lags far behind the figures of the young users. Cultural preparations and easy access modes are very crucial for the elderly who are the latecomer. Internet literacy program for the elderly people should be created by informal learning and peer group support. This study suggested the collaboration between the government and community with the family support in order to promote the Internet use among Thai elderly, and empower them to live independently and maintain a good quality of life in the ever-changing digital world.
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