Why age is not that important? An ageing perspective on computer anxiety

Abstract

We analyze the influence of age on mobile computer anxiety in a sample of 158 individuals 55+ by means of path analysis modeling. Taking as the endogenous variable a mobile computer anxiety scale (MCAS, Wang 2007), models include demographic and socioeconomic variables and a computer experience scale – based on the familiarity and frequency of use of different information and communication technologies. Results confirm a positive influence of age on mobile computer anxiety which is mediated by both socio-economic variables and computer experience. The influence of age on mobile computer anxiety is comparatively low. Age is not the relevant dimension to explain computer anxiety, as socio-economic background and computer experience have higher explanatory capacity. This result may explain the inconsistent results regarding the direct relationship between age and computer anxiety available in the literature.