The attitude of seniors toward information-communications technology

Podobno kot druge države Evropske unije se tudi Slovenija sooča s problemom pospešenega staranja prebivalstva na eni strani in procesom digitalizacije družbe na drugi. Uporaba informacijsko-komunikacijske tehnologije (v nadaljevanju: IKT) je v Sloveniji še posebej nizka med osebami, starejšimi od 65 let, kar še poglablja starostno diskriminacijo in socialno izključenost starejših, hkrati pa izkazuje potrebo po uvedbi ukrepov za dvig digitalne pismenosti tretje generacije. Teoretični izsledki pričajo, da uporaba IKT pomembno vpliva na kakovost življenja tretje generacije, spodbuja socialno vključenost starejših in zmanjšuje starostno diskriminacijo, kar potrjujejo tudi izsledki empiričnega dela. V raziskavi smo se osredotočili na osebne pripovedi treh proaktivnih uporabnikov IKT, starejših od 65 let, in s kvalitativno metodo polstrukturiranega poglobljenega intervjuja ugotovili, da uporaba IKT pomembno vpliva na kakovost življenja v tretjem življenjskem obdobju, pa naj bo to z vidika enostavnega iskanja informacij na spletu, ohranjanja stika z bližnjimi sorodniki in prijatelji ali vzpostavljanja občutka varnosti, pri tem pa pomembno vlogo odigra predvsem medgeneracijsko zavezništvo.Slovenia is, similarly to other countries of the European Union, facing on the one hand with the issue of population aging and with the process of digitization of society on the other. In Slovenia as statistic figures show the use of information and communication technology (hereinafter referred to as ICT) is particularly low among people over 65 years old, which aggravates age discrimination and social exclusion of elderly, while also demonstrates the ought for imposing measures for the raise of third-generation’s digital literacy. The theoretical findings reveal that the use of ICT has a significant impact on the quality of life of the third generation, it promotes the social inclusion of older people as well as it reduces age discrimination as, additionally, results of empirical research confirmed. In the empirical study we focused on personal narratives of three proactive ICT users aged over 65 years. Through the qualitative method of semi-structured in-depth interviews we concluded that the use of ICT has a significant impact on the quality of life in the third age whether this encompasses a simple online search for information, keeping in touch with close relatives and friends, or establishing a sense of security, wherein intergenerational alliance plays an important role