Abstract
The rapid development of digitalization has led to a more or less endless variety of ways for individuals to communicate and interact with the outside world. However, in order to take advantage of all the benefits of digitalization, individuals need to have the necessary skills. Seniors represent a group that, compared to other groups, lives in a digital exclusion to an excessive extent, mainly due to the fact that they lack the necessary knowledge to use digital technology and digital services. Based on empirical data collected from seniors partaking in digital training, we have analyzed their perceptions of why they and other seniors are digitally excluded. Our findings point out that a major barrier for seniors to be more digitally included is different variants of fear of using digital technology and digital services. The common denominator can be traced down the possibilities to be exposed to frauds, scams, viruses, and faulty handling, which in turn cause undesired consequences. Consequently, we propose a research agenda where digital training and digital inclusion measurements should be studied side by side with cybersecurity behavior. Thus, making cybersecurity a fundamental part of digital inclusion has the potential to minimize the fears identified in this research as inhibitors to technology adoption.
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Notes
- 1.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development : https://www.oecd.org/.
- 2.
Telia Sweden AB is Sweden’s largest telecom operator. Telia Sweden AB sells connections in fixed telephony, data communications, Internet, digital TV, IP telephony, and mobile telephony to private individuals, companies and organizations.
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Holgersson, J., Kävrestad, J., Nohlberg, M. (2021). Cybersecurity and Digital Exclusion of Seniors: What Do They Fear?. In: Furnell, S., Clarke, N. (eds) Human Aspects of Information Security and Assurance. HAISA 2021. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 613. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81111-2_2
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