Age and Gender Differences in Mobile Game Acceptance Amongst Older Adults

Abstract

This study aimed to explore age and gender differences in older adults’ mobile game acceptance. Factors affecting older adults’ game attitudes towards playing mobile games were examined using qualitative research methods. A structured questionnaire was utilised with 60 adults (30 females and 30 males) aged 50 and above. Five external factors influencing older adults’ acceptance of mobile games were examined using the technology acceptance model (TAM): challenge, quality of game interface, genre, self-satisfaction and social interaction. Challenge represents the perceived difficulty of older adults in mobile games. Quality of game interface refers to how well an interface is designed for older adults to interact with the game. Genre denotes gameplay contents and characteristics of mobile games. Self-satisfaction refers to the degree of satisfaction that older adults acquire from their achievements in mobile games. Lastly, social interaction is related to older adults’ interaction with others, such as friends or family members. Correlation analysis and multiple and hierarchical regressions were used to verify the relationships amongst the factors and TAM constructs. Results supported the proposition that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of mobile games positively affect older adults’ attitudes towards playing mobile games. This study also demonstrated that quality of game interface, self-satisfaction, social interaction, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and attitude towards playing mobile games are negatively moderated by age. Surprisingly, older males were more positively associated with challenge than older females, and older females were more positively associated with social interaction than older males. Findings are beneficial for understanding the factors that influence mobile game acceptance by older adults.