Older Canadians on Internet Show More Self Confidence; Most Online Daily
As baby boomers enter older age bracket we see a much higher internet use
Nov. 29,
2011 - A new study has revealed that Canadian seniors age 60 and over who use the internet are better adjusted psychologically than older
adults who do not. The study also shows there is now a much higher rate of internet use among older adults compared to other reports from the
past decade.
Dr. Genevieve Johnson, Educational Psychologist from Curtin Universitys School of Education, Australia, who conducted
the research, said the survey addressed the relationship between internet use and psychological wellness, in particular loneliness, evaluation
of competence, social support and depression.
As the world moves towards more online communication, we wanted to examine the relationship between psychological
wellness and internet use among older adults and look at patterns between demographics such as age and income and internet use in late
adulthood, Dr. Johnson said.
The research showed that older adults who use the internet participated in many of the same activities online as younger
adults, but to a lesser extent.
In particular we looked at three clusters of characteristics; frequency of online use, wellbeing and participant
demographics.
The report showed that there was a link between internet use and personal evaluation of competence.
Dr. Johnson also said a strong sense of personal abilities could be a factor in the older adults willingness to try new
technologies in the first place.
Fifty-seven per cent of the sample group reported to use the internet every day and 12 per cent used the internet
weekly, she said.
Only one person in four aged 60 or over reported never using the internet. This is in stark contrast to similar studies
from 2004 which state that only around 38 per cent of adults over the age of 65 go online.
As the baby boomers start to enter this age bracket, we are seeing a much higher uptake of internet use than those born
before this cohort.
Dr. Johnson used the responses of 122 Canadians aged 60 and over for her study.
Curtain University is based in
Western Australia and also has campuses in Sydney, Malaysia and Singapore.
Nov. 29,
2011 - A new study has revealed that Canadian seniors age 60 and over who use the internet are better adjusted psychologically than older
adults who do not. The study also shows there is now a much higher rate of internet use among older adults compared to other reports from the
past decade.