Year: 2018
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This paper examines "warm experts"-that is, nonprofessional persons who help inexperienced users come to terms with digital devices-and their significance for the use of digital media in everyday life by elderly Swedes.We analyze data from a national survey (N = 1264) and from qualitative, semistructured interviews with 18 elderly Swedes (aged 65+).Our data reveal that the warm expert usually is a closelyrelated person, often a child or grandchild, who is strongly involved in nearly every stage of technology domestication, from appropriation (i.e., identifying the need, buying the item, and installing and adjusting it) to incorporation (i.e., choosing and downloading suitable apps, teaching how to use them, and solving technical problems).Although the clear majority of elderly Swedes have been online for more than a decade, the need for continuous assistance from warm experts seems to persist also among experienced users.
Source: Human Technology
Authors: Tobias Olsson, Dino Viscovi
Institutions: Malmö University, Linnaeus University, University of Jyväskylä
Language: English
Subfield: Demography
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2902545585