The study of I.T. usage among older people in Ipoh, Perak / Mohd Faris Rosli

Older people nowadays have evolved and changed in this new era of high technology. Ageing has a tendency to be connected with reductions in health status and resources, which can possibly influence the adoption of new technology. Nonetheless, the part of IT is turning out to be always compelling in our everyday living though the digital services such as email, e-banking and e-shopping. Consequently, older people definitely go over different IT-related items, particularly computers and the Internet, in their daily lives. This study intends to identify the main reasons why older people use or do not use IT and how they learned about IT. This qualitative study was conducted among three key informants (KIs) and five older people aged 65 to 67 using in-depth interview method. The findings show that the major reasons for the older people to utilize IT were social trends, maintenance of family members and friends' connection, self-enhancement, leisure activities and perceived usefulness. The findings reveal that the declines in health, problems with the designs, problems with the language and problems with the resources were the obstacles faced by the older people to use IT. The findings from this study could provide opportunities for KPerak Inc. Corporation through K-Society Unit to create approaches and suggestions in order to encourage more and more, older people to use IT in their everyday life especially in Ipoh, Perak.