MEDIA LITERACY, PEOPLE OF THE THIRD AGE AND THEIR HABITS OF USING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
MEDIA LITERACY, PEOPLE OF THE THIRD AGE AND THEIR HABITS OF USING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

Author(s): Danijel Labaš, Ivan Uldrijan, Matea Vidulić
Subject(s): Media studies, Demography and human biology, Gerontology, ICT Information and Communications Technologies
Published by: Sveučilište Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Osijeku, Ekonomski fakultet u Osijeku
Keywords: media literacy; digital technology; older people; aging;
Summary/Abstract: According to the latest research, the number of users of digital technologies, the Internet, and social networks grows yearly. Among them are many older people. In January 2023, there were 5.16 billion Internet users worldwide, 64.4% of the global population. Of this total, 4.76 billion, or 59.4% of the world’s population, were social media users (Statista, 2023). The number of Internet users aged 50 to 64 in Croatia from 2014 to 2022 has grown from 31% to 59%. Statista (2012) states that “the European questionnaire on Information and Communication Technologies Data reveals a disparity between the Internet usage of people from different age groups. Although present in most countries, this disparity differs widely in its severity. In 2020, 99% of users in Croatia between 16 and 24 years used the Internet daily. Furthermore, 98% of people between the age of 25 and 34 used the Internet daily, according to the survey. Ninety-two percent of people between 35 and 44 also use the Internet daily. The share of people between 45 and 54 and between 55 and 64 were lower than among the other age groups, with 80% of the first and 59% of the oldest age group using the Internet daily.” With the significant and rapid increase in Internet users, there is also the question of their knowledge of the functioning of media and digital technologies, which is related to issues of digital and media literacy, which is becoming one of the essential topics in the 21st century. Therefore, the present article deals with the habits of people of the third age using digital technologies. It is based on research in which people aged 60 to 85 were examined by an online survey from March 15 to April 23, 2023. The research was carried out with the help of Matica umirovljenika Hrvatske and other institutions and associations for older people. One hundred forty-seven respondents participated in the research, who answered questions related to the level of their technical (digital) competencies related to the use of digital media technologies, and to questions related to the level of media and information literacy among citizens of the third-age of life in the Republic of Croatia.

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