Bridging the Age-based Digital Divide: An Intergenerational Exchange during the First COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown Period in Ireland

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study explored the digital communication skills assistance provided by young adults in the age range 18 to 25 years to older family members during the period of the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Ireland in 2020. Data were collected from a sample of young adults (n = 248) using an online survey instrument to explore their learnings from the intergenerational exchange. The study found that young adults who assisted their older family members considered the learning experience to be successful and were rewarded with reciprocal benefits. This study contributes to the field of intergenerational research by exploring the perspectives of young adults involved in an intergenerational exchange to support the digital skills of their older adult family members in Ireland.

KEYWORDS:

• Digital literacy
• digital skills
• intergenerational learning
• older adults
• young adults

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sandra Flynn

Sandra Flynn has 20 years’ experience in managing projects and project teams in dynamic and diverse industry environments.

As a project management educator since 2004, her expertise includes module design and development for both classroom and online delivery at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Her specialist areas in project management are global virtual teams, cultural intelligence and sustainability in project management practice. She has extensive experience in supervising MSc students on their capstone research projects across a variety of project management areas. Upon retirement from industry in 2017 Sandra’s focus has been on the changing face of education for the twenty first century. In 2018 she was awarded a postgraduate certificate in Digital Education with distinction from the University of Edinburgh and in January 2019 embarked on a PhD in Technology Enhanced Learning at Lancaster University.

This research was undertaken as part of the PhD in e-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning in the Department of Educational Research at Lancaster University. I am pleased to acknowledge the contribution of tutors and peers in supporting the development of this study and its report as an assignment paper.