Division of digital labor: Partner support for technology use among older adults
Open accessAbstract
Older adults often assist one another in using digital technology and tend to prefer assistance provided at home. However, research has yet to examine how life partners in this age group support one another in using technology. We interviewed 50 older adults representing 25 couples in five countries about their sources of support when using the Internet. Partner support was more common than existing literature suggests and was motivated by in-home convenience, partners’ level of digital skills, and a desire to avoid burdening other network members. At odds with a one-way view of digital assistance, partners often helped each other in different domains of Internet use based on career experience and personal interest. Partner support could both aid and discourage self-sufficiency, depending on how assistance was provided. Studying couples helps clarify how older adults develop relationships of mutual aid and dependency out of the everyday (un)availability of technology support.
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Getting technology help from a peer of the same age seems to mitigate some of these problems and is consequently becoming more common.
“Getting technology help from a peer of the same age (e.g., a life partner) seems to mitigate some of these problems and is consequently becoming more common [43].”
From Older Adults' Collaborative Learning Dynamics When Exploring Feature-Rich Software (2024) · cites this paper as [43]
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References 40 · Cited by 56
- Authors
- Marler, W., & Hargittai, E.
- Affiliations
- University of Zurich (CH)
- Corresponding author
- Marler, Will
- Venue
- New Media & Society
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2022-01-27
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 978-994
- ISSN
- 1461-4448 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7315
- OpenAlex
- W4210769627
- Cited by
- 56
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 4
- FWCI
- 16.69
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- New Media & Society (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Demography › Technology Use by Older Adults
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Aging, Elder Care, and Social Issues
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Keywords
- older adults, partner support, digital labor, technology use, internet use, couples, digital skills, dependency, self-sufficiency, mutual aid, digital divide
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