https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9191-3566
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ABSTRACT
This study used grounded theory to investigate older Uruguayans’ use of tablets delivered through a public program called Plan Ibirapitá. This program was developed in 2015, by the leftist government that was in power at that time, to promote the digital inclusion of individuals considered to be excluded from the benefits of the information society, such as older adults. Through Plan Ibirapitá, older adults who receive a pension below approximately 900 USD, receive a tablet for free, training for its use, and 1 GB of monthly internet. According to the program’s Fifth-Use Survey from 2019, almost 60% of those who received Plan Ibirapitá’s tablet do not use it. To examine the relationship between older adults and the tablets, twenty-six participants were interviewed about their experiences with this device. Results suggest that the relationship they established with the tablets is ambivalent. On the one hand, the participants see information and communication technology (ICT) as modern tools that are useful for communicating with loved ones. On the other hand, they understood their lives as busy for which tablets were mostly unnecessary. These findings indicate that including older people into the digital world is more complex than distributing devices top-down.
Key Points:
Digital inclusion is complex and should not be based on technological determinism.
Top-down technological programs need to consider older people’s social contexts.
Policymakers should avoid technological-solutionist approaches to problems of aging.
Older people are not necessarily nor automatically benefited by digital technology.
Provides a background for technological-intervention programs in other countries.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).