NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ901645
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1745-4999
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Digital Literacy of Seniors
Schaffer, Burkhard
Research in Comparative and International Education, v2 n1 p29?42 2007
This article describes national and international comparative quantitative and qualitative empirical results for media use and media behaviour of elderly people against the background of demographic change and development in the sphere of information technology. Besides gender, professional position and educational qualification, age and affiliation to a generation are--in terms of "country", origin or culture--the most significant predictors of whether someone is familiar with the computer and the Internet and whether he or she is using it in a competent way in private life and in their occupation. In addition to the international studies covered, this article focuses principally on the German situation, because the relative increase in the proportion of elderly people in that country has advanced the furthest in comparison with the rest of the world. Germany is playing a pioneering role in this respect. Searching for explanations which go beyond quantitative interpretation, a generation-specific model of cultures of media practice is being developed which favours the generation concept, in comparison with the "pure age" concept, thus enabling a theory-based perspective with regard to demographic change. A generation-specific culture of media practice means approaching the current media technologies with those competences and restrictions which have been learned during adolescence and with the media available at that time. (Contains 13 notes and 1 table.)
Symposium Journals. P.O. Box 204, Didcot, Oxford, OX11 9ZQ, UK. Tel: +44-1235-818-062; Fax: +44-1235-817-275; e-mail: subscriptions@symposium-journals.co.uk; Web site: http://www.wwwords.co.uk/rcie
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A