The DOI matches its Crossref record; 75 of the 76 references it cites were found in a registry or an index, and 1 are not checked yet.
Exploring Privilege in the Digital Divide: Implications for Theory, Policy, and Practice
Open accessAbstract
Background and Objectives: The digital revolution has resulted in innovative solutions and technologies that can support the well-being, independence, and health of seniors. Yet, the notion of the “digital divide” presents significant inequities in terms of who accesses and benefits from the digital landscape. To better understand the social and structural inequities of the digital divide, a realist synthesis was conducted to inform theoretical understandings of information and communication technologies (ICTs); to understand the practicalities of access and use inequities; to uncover practices that facilitate digital literacy and participation; and to recommend policies to mitigate the digital divide. Research Design and Methods: A systematic search yielded 55 articles published between 2006 and 2016. Synthesis of existing knowledge, combined with user-experience elicited through a deliberative dialogue session with community stakeholders (n = 35), made visible a pattern of privilege that determined individual agency in ICT access and use. Results: Though age is consistently centralized as the key determinant of the digital divide, our analyses, which encompassed both van Dijk’s resources and appropriation theory and intersectionality, appraised this notion and revealed that age is not the sole determinant. Findings highlight the role of other factors that contribute to digital inequity among community-dwelling middle-aged (45–64) and older (65+) adults, including education, income, gender, and generational status. Discussion and Implications: Informed by results of a realist synthesis that was guided by intersectional perspectives, a conceptual framework was developed outlining implications for theory, policy, and practice to address the wicked problem that is the digital divide.
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“The majority of older adults do own a device and go online; unfortunately, device ownership does not translate to knowledge and comfort with devices.3”
From Promoting Technology and Virtual Visits to Improve Older Adult Mental Health in the Face of COVID-19 (2020) · cites this paper as [3]
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“The majority of older adults do own a device and go online; unfortunately, device ownership does not translate to knowledge and comfort with devices.3”
From Promoting Technology and Virtual Visits to Improve Older Adult Mental Health in the Face of COVID-19 (2020) · cites this paper as [3]
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Cites
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Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color
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Realist review - a new method of systematic review designed for complex policy interventions
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When Multiplication Doesn't Equal Quick Addition: Examining Intersectionality as a Research Paradigm
Hancock, A. (2007) · Perspectives on Politics · doi:10.1017/s1537592707070065 · Cited by 2,148
Digital divide research, achievements and shortcomings
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The digital divide shifts to differences in usage
van Deursen, A. J., & van Dijk, J. A. (2014) · New Media & Society · doi:10.1177/1461444813487959 · Cited by 1,733
The digital divide has grown old: Determinants of a digital divide among seniors
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Internet skills and the digital divide
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Clinical Interventions in Aging
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- Golant, 2015, Aging in the right place
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Sorted by citations
Pirhonen, J., Lolich, L., Tuominen, K., Jolanki, O. H., & Timonen, V. (2020) · Technology in Society · doi:10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101287 · Cited by 219
Older People’s Use of Digital Technology During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Sixsmith, A., Horst, B. R., Simeonov, D., & Mihailidis, A. (2022) · Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society · doi:10.1177/02704676221094731 · Cited by 205
Self-citationDigital inequalities 2.0: Legacy inequalities in the information age
Robinson, L., Schulz, J., Blank, G., Ragnedda, M., Ono, H., Hogan, B., Mesch, G. S., Cotten, S. R., Kretchmer, S. B., Hale, T. M., et al. (2020) · First Monday · doi:10.5210/fm.v25i7.10842 · Cited by 199
Technology and caregiving: emerging interventions and directions for research
Lindeman, D. A., Kim, K. K., Gladstone, C., & Apesoa-Varano, E. C. (2020) · The Gerontologist · doi:10.1093/geront/gnz178 · Cited by 182
“But at the age of 85? Forget it!”: Internalized ageism, a barrier to technology use
Köttl, H., Gallistl, V., Rohner, R., & Ayalon, L. (2021) · Journal of Aging Studies · doi:10.1016/j.jaging.2021.100971 · Cited by 170
Metadata
- Authors
- Fang, M. L., Canham, S. L., Battersby, L., Sixsmith, J., Wada, M., & Sixsmith, A.
- Affiliations
- Simon Fraser University (CA)
- Gerontology Research Centre, Vancouver, Canada
- University of Dundee (GB)
- Heriot-Watt University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Fang, Mei Lan
- Venue
- The Gerontologist
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2018-05-10
- Volume
- 59
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- e1-e15
- ISSN
- 0016-9013 (ISSN-L)
- 1758-5341
- OpenAlex
- W2802606063
- Cited by
- 353
- References
- 76
- Citations by year
- 2026: 68 · 2025: 44 · 2024: 56 · 2023: 41 · 2022: 56 · 2021: 43 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 5.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- The Gerontologist (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Discovery Research Portal (University of Dundee) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (421-2015-2014)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Geriatrics and Gerontology › Technology Use by Older Adults
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › ICT Impact and Policies
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › ICT in Developing Communities
- Keywords
- digital divide, older adults, digital literacy, information and communication technologies, intersectionality, ageism, social inequities, digital inclusion policy, community-dwelling adults, middle-aged adults, income and education disparities, gender disparities, generational status
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Humans, Middle Aged, Public Policy, Internet, Independent Living, Digital Divide
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