‘Getting on’: older New Zealanders’ perceptions of computing

Abstract

This article explores older New Zealanders’ perceptions of the barriers to, benefits and negative consequences of computer-based information and communication technologies (ICTs) through the analysis of focus group discussions involving 98 respondents. Older people engage with computers in a context constituted by discourses positioning them as declining in the ability to learn skills such as computing, but creating a burden on society if they do not. In this paradoxical context, participants identified emotional and material barriers, as well as benefits and negative consequences to computer use that are shaped by age and gender. Significant gaps between the New Zealand Government’s identification of the benefits of computing for older people and the benefits identified by older people themselves are highlighted. The article argues for the need for a more balanced approach acknowledging potential negative consequences, promoting the ‘people-centred’ benefits of computer use over and above the national economic benefits emphasized in the government’s drive to encourage older people’s uptake of computer-based ICTs.

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