Digital Gender Gap in the Second Half of Life Is Declining: Changes in Gendered Internet Use Between 2014 and 2021 in Germany

Bünning, Mareike; Schlomann, Anna; Memmer, Nicole; Tesch-Römer, Clemens; Wahl, Hans‐Werner

doi:10.1093/geronb/gbad079

Cited by 12 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Digitization might be another important factor. According to data from the German Ageing Survey, more middle-aged and older adults had internet access in 2021 than in 2014, and use of internet for specific purposes such as social contact or online shopping increased in that time period as well (Bünning et al, 2023). Given that heightened internet use is associated with a younger subjective age (Seifert & Wahl, 2018) and a younger subjective age in turn is related with a later perceived onset of old age (Toothman & Barrett, 2011), this digitization trend could thus contribute to the observed historical shift toward a later perceived onset of old age.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Digitization might be another important factor. According to data from the German Ageing Survey, more middle-aged and older adults had internet access in 2021 than in 2014, and use of internet for specific purposes such as social contact or online shopping increased in that time period as well (Bünning et al, 2023). Given that heightened internet use is associated with a younger subjective This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.…”

Section: Other Potential Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Postponing old age: Evidence for historical change toward a later perceived onset of old age.

Wettstein,

Park,

Kornadt

et al. 2024

Psychology and Aging

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At what age would you describe someone as old?" Perceptions of when old age begins might be prone to upward shifts because of historical increases in life expectancy and in retirement age, as well as because of better psychosocial functioning in later life. We investigated historical changes in within-person trajectories of the perceived onset of old age using data from 14,056 participants who entered the German Ageing Survey at age 40-85 years and who completed up to eight assessments across 25 years. Using longitudinal multilevel regression models, we found that at age 64, the average perceived onset of old age is at about age 75 years. Longitudinally, this perceived onset age increased by about 1 year for every 4-5 years of actual aging. We also found evidence for historical change. Compared to the earliest-born cohorts, later-born cohorts reported a later perceived onset of old age, yet with decelerating trend among more recent birth cohorts. Within-person increases of the perceived onset of old age were steeper in later-born cohorts. The described cohort trends were only slightly reduced when controlling for covariates. Being younger, male, living in East Germany, feeling older, reporting more loneliness, more chronic diseases, and poorer self-rated health were each associated with a perceived earlier onset of old age. Our results suggest that there is a nonlinear historical trend toward a later perceived onset of old age, which might have meaningful implications for individuals' perspectives on aging and old age. Public Significance StatementIn this study, we observed that the perceived onset of old age, which describes from which age on individuals perceive a person as "old," has changed across historical time. Middle-aged and older adults believe that old age begins later than did their peers 1 or 2 decades ago, yet the trend seems to be decelerating recently. Moreover, when getting older, people's perceived onset of old age increases to a steeper extent today compared to the past. As the historical trend toward a postponed subjective onset of old age were still observable when controlling for sociodemographic, psychosocial, and health-related factors, more research is needed to understand why old age is perceived to begin increasingly later across historical time.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Digitization might be another important factor. According to data from the German Ageing Survey, more middle-aged and older adults had internet access in 2021 than in 2014, and use of internet for specific purposes such as social contact or online shopping increased in that time period as well (Bünning et al, 2023). Given that heightened internet use is associated with a younger subjective This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.…”

Section: Other Potential Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postponing old age: Evidence for historical change toward a later perceived onset of old age.

Wettstein,

Park,

Kornadt

et al. 2024

Psychology and Aging

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Toward harmonization of aging and technology research: German adaptation of the mobile device proficiency questionnaire (MDPQ) for older adults

Schlomann,

Wahl,

Schmidt

et al. 2024

Eur J Ageing

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The Mobile Device Proficiency Questionnaire (MDPQ) is a well-established, reliable, and valid instrument to measure basic and advanced mobile device skills among older adults. We offer a German adaptation of the MDPQ and report reliability and validity findings. A controlled translation procedure was applied. The translated scale was tested in two analytical samples with an age range of 50–95 years in 2020 (n = 548) and 2022 (n = 276). To assess reliabilities, internal consistencies and test–retest reliabilities are reported. To assess validity, we analyze the scale in the context of gender, age, and educational differences and its associations with measures of technology use and attitudes towards technology (convergent and divergent validity). The German adaptation of the MDPQ was found to be reliable and valid as the original version. The scale demonstrated an excellent internal consistency in both studies with α = 0.95 (study 2: α = 0.92) and ω = 0.95 (study 2: ω = 0.93). Subscale internal consistencies were all ≥ 0.65. Test–retest reliabilities with measurement waves 2 years apart showed excellent values (MDPQ full scale: rtt = 0.84, p < 0.001). We also found the expected factorial structure of the scale, positive associations with education, mobile device use and technology attitudes, and negative associations with age. Women scored lower than men. The German adaptation of the MDPQ can serve as a useful tool to estimate mobile device skills in older adults in German speaking countries in a reliable and valid way, for example in survey research, research projects, and practice contexts. Translating and implementing the MDPQ in other European countries will help to further strengthen internationally harmonized assessments in technology and aging research.

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Online Engagement and Loneliness Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Examination of Gender Differences

Liu,

Zaborenko,

Zhang

2024

Popul Res Policy Rev

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Digital Gender Gap in the Second Half of Life Is Declining: Changes in Gendered Internet Use Between 2014 and 2021 in Germany

Cited by 12 publications

References 41 publications

Postponing old age: Evidence for historical change toward a later perceived onset of old age.

Postponing old age: Evidence for historical change toward a later perceived onset of old age.

Toward harmonization of aging and technology research: German adaptation of the mobile device proficiency questionnaire (MDPQ) for older adults

Online Engagement and Loneliness Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Examination of Gender Differences

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