Older people’s use and learning of new media: A case study on remote rural villages in Finnish Lapland

Abstract

People aged 65+ generally use new media technologies less, in less mobile ways, and for less versatile purposes than younger age groups do. This has raised concerns about older people’s potential exclusion from the digital society. In this paper we present a case study on how older people, who were living in small rural villages in Finnish Lapland, use new media in their everyday lives. According to the participants, how do they use new media in their everyday lives? How do they learn to use new media? Our results point to the diversity in terms of the participants’ self-reported Internet use and related skills. The results also indicate that the participants’ social networks, especially grandchildren, play a more important role in their use of and learning about new media technologies than formal instruction does. Therefore, it is important to recognize that older people who lack social networks are most vulnerable in terms of being excluded from the digital society.