Enriching Learning Experience - Older Adults and Their Use of the Internet

摘要

Ageing is becoming a big social issue nowadays. For example, in 2000 the percentage of older individuals aged 65+ years reached 12.4% worldwide. In 2030, this number should rise to 19% and in 2050 to 22%. Therefore there is a need to prolong an active life of older people, especially by implementing nonpharmacological approaches. And current technological devices and services can assist them in this process. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the use of the Internet among older people in the Czech Republic with respect to their age. The key methods exploited in this study include a questionnaire survey, statistical processing of data collection, as well as evaluation of both empirical and theoretical findings on the research issue. The results indicate that the age is a decisive factor in the use of the Internet by seniors. In fact, the use of the Internet falls with the declining age with the breakthrough age 75+ years. Generally, older people use the Internet for communication purposes with the help of e-mail, the most frequent ICT tool for this generation group. The results also suggest that older people should be trained in the use of the Internet since the training may help them overcome both psychological and social barriers, which represent the constraints in their use of the Internet. Particularly the last presidential election in the Czech Republic has shown the need for education, as the seniors were the most vulnerable group in the area of spreading Fake-news.