The Elderly and Technology: Bridging the Digital Divide?
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North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Aggie Digital Collections and Scholarship Theses Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2011 The Elderly And Technology: Bridging The Digital Divide? Harriett Hairston North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digital.library.ncat.edu/theses Recommended Citation Hairston, Harriett, "The Elderly And Technology: Bridging The Digital Divide?" (2011). Theses. 354. https://digital.library.ncat.edu/theses/354 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at Aggie Digital Collections and Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses by an authorized administrator of Aggie Digital Collections and Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Elderly and Technology: Bridging the Digital Divide? Harriett Hairston North Carolina A&T State University A thesis submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Department: Curriculum and Instruction Major: Instructional Technology Major Professor: Dr. Karen Smith-Gratto Greensboro, North Carolina 2011 i School of Graduate Studies North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University This is to certify that the Master‟s Thesis of Harriett Hairston has met the thesis requirements of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Greensboro, North Carolina 2011 Approved by: _____________________________ _____________________________ Dr. Karen Smith-Gratto Dr. Barbra Mosley Major Professor Committee Member _____________________________ _____________________________ Dr. Bernadine S. Chapman Dr. Anthony Graham Committee Member Department Chairperson ______________________________ Sanjiv Sarin Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Dean ii Copyright by HARRIETT HAIRSTON 2011 iii Biographical Sketch Harriett Hairston was born on September 20, 1959 in Martinsville, Virginia. Hairston‟s undergraduate pursuits include a Diploma in Paralegal Studies awarded in 1993 from Patrick County Community College (PHCC) in Martinsville, Virginia and a Bachelor of Science in Legal and Social Sciences earned in 1998 at Greensboro College in Greensboro, North Carolina. In 2006, Hairston applied and was accepted at North Carolina A&T State University Graduate School and began working on a Master of Science in Adult Education which was successfully completed in 2008. She is now a candidate for a Master‟s of Science in Instructional Technology. iv Table of Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vi List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................... vii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... 2 CHAPTER 1. Introduction............................................................................................................ 3 Increased Dependence on Technology ...................................................................................... 3 Goals of Study ........................................................................................................................... 5 Research Questions .................................................................................................................... 5 Definition of Terms ................................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER 2. Literature Review .................................................................................................. 7 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 7 The Digital Divide ..................................................................................................................... 7 The Gray Divide ........................................................................................................................ 8 The Graying of America ............................................................................................................ 8 The Graying of Guilford County and Surrounding Counties .................................................. 10 Demographic Report ................................................................................................................ 10 The Gray Gap ........................................................................................................................... 10 Common Assumptions ............................................................................................................. 11 Previous Studies‟ Results ......................................................................................................... 12 The Hebrew House Project ...................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 3. Methodology ........................................................................................................ 16 Brief Summary ......................................................................................................................... 16 Population and Sample ............................................................................................................ 16 v Survey Development and Design ............................................................................................ 17 Data Collection ........................................................................................................................ 20 CHAPTER 4. Results & Discussion ........................................................................................... 22 CHAPTER 5. Conclusion & Recommendations ........................................................................ 29 References .................................................................................................................................... 32 Appendix A. Definition of Terms ............................................................................................... 38 Appendix B. Survey Instrument ................................................................................................. 41 Appendix C. Results of Part I of Survey..................................................................................... 45 Appendix D. Results of Part II of Survey ................................................................................... 47 Appendix E. Results of Part III of Survey .................................................................................. 49 Appendix F. Sample Responses, including Comments from Part III of Survey ........................ 50 Appendix G. Demographics........................................................................................................ 52 vi List of Figures 1. Example of Part I. 20 Statements of Survey which shows format of Question 1 ..................... 18 2. Example Part II. 10 Activities of Survey which shows format of Activity 1 ........................... 18 3. Print Screen of survey completed online using Survey Monkey .............................................. 20 4. Sample by Generation ............................................................................................................... 22 vii List of Abbreviations ABBREVIATION TERM EBB - Early Baby Boomers ES - Early Silenters GEN X - Generation X‟er IRB - Institutional Review Board LBB - Late Baby Boomers LS - Late Silenters MS - Middle Silenters 2 Abstract The increased dependence on technology has created a digital world that can be described as “foreign” to digital immigrants; those who are not familiar with technology. Unfortunately, the main of digital immigrants are members of the older population, often described as elderly and seniors, who have a tendency to shun new technologies. One of the aims of this thesis and purpose of the survey research was to ascertain whether or not popular assumptions as to physical and mental factors that contribute to the lack of use and/or interest in new technologies are warranted and bring to light factors that seniors identify as impeding their use of computers and use of the internet. A population sample of 50 seniors residing in cities and counties surrounding Greensboro, Guilford County, 50 years and older completed a survey that listed statements and activities regarding attitudes, preferences, opinions, experience and/or non-experience of technology. The attitudinal data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the results coincided with previous studies findings and opened other areas for continued research. One definite determination is made that although the majority of survey participants have a desire to learn technology and feel that they are physically and mentally capable of learning and using new technologies, such as a computer or the internet; that desire to learn, gathered from the respondents‟ attitudinal responses, suggest that a main factor impending use is lack of self-confidence to go through with that desire. 3 CHAPTER 1 Introduction Increased Dependence on Technology It seems that each year the dependence on technology in the form of computers, cell phones, the internet and other electronic gadgets increases.