Jerneja Laznik, Dr. Andraž Petrovčič, and Dr. Simona Hvalič Touzery, members of the Centre for Social Informatics, together with Dr. Bianca C. Reisdorf from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Charlotte, USA), have published an original scientific article titled “Use-by-Proxy in Later Life: A Qualitative Study with Internet Users and Nonusers” in the International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction.
The qualitative study offers an in-depth insight into the factors influencing indirect internet use among older adults, both users and nonusers. Previous research has shown that many older adults – regardless of whether they use the internet themselves – often ask others to perform online activities on their behalf. To capture this diversity, the authors included both those who rely on others for online activities (users-by-proxy) and those who perform such activities for them (proxy users). This approach allowed a comprehensive examination of the experiences of older internet users and nonusers aged 65 and over, shedding light on how they navigate challenges of digital exclusion in an increasingly digitalized society.
The study, grounded in the Model of Internet Engagement and the Resources and Appropriation Theory, integrates these theoretical frameworks to explain how personal, social, and structural factors shape digital behavior among older adults. Based on focus groups conducted with 77 older participants in Slovenia, the authors identified six groups of factors influencing indirect internet use: personal categories (e.g., age, health), positional categories (e.g., marital status, education, household composition), social resources, perceptions and motivations, internet proficienct, and the socal and cultural environment.
The findings reveal that both social and personal pressures associated with digitalization often evoke feelings of exclusion and inadequacy among older adults – sentiments further reinforced by stereotypes and media portrayals of their presumed technological incompetence. The authors emphasize that older adults are not a homogeneous group uninterested in technology but rather exhibit diverse forms of digital engagement. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of how various factors shape the ways older adults engage with or avoid the internet—either directly or through others—and highlights the need for more tailored approaches to fostering digital inclusion in later life.
The study was conducted within the framework of the research projects J5-2558 (The Implications of Proxy Internet Use for the Internet Skills of Older Adults), J5-4578 (Digital transformation of health and social care: Welfare technology acceptance and knowledge among current and future healthcare and social care professionals), V5-2275 (Digital inequalities and older adults in Slovenia: An evaluation of the measures implemented under the Digital Inclusion Promotion Act), and the research programme P5-0399 (Internet Research Programme).