Pandemic-Driven Technology During COVID-19: Experiences of Older Adults

Raghad A. Alharbi, Faisal T. Altayyari, Farah S. Alamri, Sultan A. Alharthi

Abstract: Pandemic-driven technology and mobile health (mHealth) applications become more apparent with the COVID-19 pandemic. Older adults are facing major issues using these applications due to their lack of understanding of the technology and hesitation to adopt them, reducing the benefits of such applications. To further explore these issues, we conducted an online survey with older adults’ families (n = 397), preformed online interviews with older adults (n = 5), and undertook observations focused on their experiences. We found that older users of such social pandemic tracking technologies suffered with using these applications by themselves, which resulted in an increased dependence on others to help them with their basic daily social activities, increasing their chances of physically interacting and contracting the coronavirus. Such results make us question the level of technology literacy we reached within our communities, especially with the increased integration of digital technology into all areas of our lives.