Older People’s Attitudes toward the Internet in Denmark and China〔*〕

Chen Xueli，Zhou Yunting，Lv Mei

(1.China Radio International Beijing Foreign Studies University,Beijing 100040；2.Anhui Economy and Management Institute,Hefei Anhui 230059；3.Hebei Foreign Studies University,Shijiazhuang Hebei 050091)



Older People’s Attitudes toward the Internet in Denmark and China〔*〕

Chen Xueli1，Zhou Yunting2，Lv Mei3

(1.China Radio International Beijing Foreign Studies University,Beijing 100040；2.Anhui Economy and Management Institute,Hefei Anhui 230059；3.Hebei Foreign Studies University,Shijiazhuang Hebei 050091)

This study examines and compares older Danes’ and older Chinese’s attitudes toward the Internet.Semi-structured,open-ended interviews were conducted among 32 older participants,which contain 15 computer users and 17 non-users.Major findings include:first,both older Danes and older Chinese agree that using the Internet is a sign of keeping up with the times and a way to keep their minds active.Second,older Chinese Internet non-users regard the Internet as a symbol of high-level economic and social status,while older Danish Internet non-users perceive the Internet as an everyday activity no matter what their status is.Third,for older Danish Internet users,using the Internet is a daily activity and it has no influence on participating in other social events;however,for older Chinese Internet users,they may tend to reduce the time they spend on other activities,especially at the beginning of learning how to use the Internet.

older Danes;older Chinese;attitudes toward the Internet;comparative study

Ⅰ.Method

1.Participants

Participants for this study were recruited from the local community in the capitals of Denmark and China (Copenhagen and Beijing),which included 16 older Danes and 16 older Chinese.A snowballing sampling technique is used when collecting data.Fifteen (47%) of these participants were Internet users and seventeen (53%) were non-users.The age of Danish participants ranged from 63 to 84 years old (M= 75),while the Chinese participants were within the age range of 60 to 78 years old (M=62).Seven (44%) of the Danish participants were male,and nine (56%) were female.Eight (50%) of the Chinese participants were male and eight were female.

2.Data collection

Semi-structured,open-ended interviews were conducted from May 2014 to January 2015.The average interview length was 48min (range=35-112).All participants were interviewed at home,library or senior activity center and eight (25%) were re-interviewed through telephone.Interview questions were:views about the Internet,views about factors that affect their use of the Internet,reasons for using or not using the Internet,views about changes in their lives when they began to use the Internet,Internet using in relation to other activities,and so on.Socio-demographic data (e.g.,age,gender,education,living arrangements) were collected at the end of the interviews.

3.Data Analysis

The interview data of this study is analyzed in line with the principles of Grounded Theory (Glaser and Strauss,1967),which is the data analysis began during the process of data collection and was driven by these data (Glaser and Strauss,1967).According to this approach,both the research data and previous literature enable the categorization of content into meaningful subthemes.Those meaningful subthemes were organized into conceptual structures focus on the attitudes toward the Internet among older Danes and older Chinese.

Ⅱ.Results

1.The Internet bring many positive benefits to older Danes and older Chinese

(1) Using the Internet helps older people to keep pace with the times

Almost all participants agree that the Internet is a symbol of social development and progress,and using the Internet is the requirement to keep pace with the times.The phrase “I am completely left out if I don’t know anything about the Internet” was used by a lot of participants.The feeling of being left out implies the lack of topics that older people can talk with other people around.

In an almost identical tone,a senior activity center instructor in Denmark expressed similar sentiments:“Maybe the older people do not have anything actually to use the Internet,but if they do not know anything about it,they will be completely left out.Their children,their grandchildren,all people around them use the Internet through computer or mobile-phone,so they need to know what it is.Maybe you do not have a TV at home,but you want to know what TV is,what you can see on TV.This is the same about the Internet.The older people need to know what they can do through the Internet.”

(2)Using the Internet helps older people to exercise the mind and retard memory

The participants in both countries regard the Internet as a good way to help them keep their brain active and inspire their enthusiasm for new things.One Danish participant said,“The Internet is a wonderful thing,I usually use it for information.When using the Internet,I need to find ways to overcome various difficulties.I can also learn more in this process.In other words,challenges of the Internet technology make older people like to use it,because the process of overcoming difficulties is a high degree of brain functioning and thinking processes.” An older Chinese indicated:

Using the Internet gives me many opportunities to try new things.One thing is that when I want to download a piece of software,many web-pages suggested that I can download there.But,in fact,lots of such pages cannot provide the software I needed.In this case,I have to identify which page might be helpful for me.When I successfully download the software I needed after constantly trying and failing,I gain great satisfaction.

In fact,many older people sometimes have to practice the process of using the Internet repeatedly,because they cannot remember what they have learned before.One older Chinese Internet user mentioned:

My son is working in abroad.Sometimes he sends his photos to me through e-mail and I send him my photos,too.I always forget how to add attachments and I have to think hard how to do this almost every time.Of course,it is easy for young people,but you know,I cannot even remember what happened yesterday.Everything about the Internet is a challenge for me.But I know I should use the Internet because it can help me retain memory,otherwise I will even forget who I am.

2.Older Danes and older Chinese hold different views about using the Internet

(1)The relationship between the Internet and the level of economy and social status

In Denmark,most of the older people regard the Internet as a common thing;even non-users think they are the same with the Internet users.The non-users are not interested in the Internet,so they are not willing to use it.They are apt to deal with other social activities,or their physical condition couldn’t afford them to surf the Internet.Older people will use the Internet or begin to learn to use it if they want.These non-users think that there is no difference between the Internet users and non-users.As an older Dane stated:

Although I do not use the Internet,I know how to use it if I need to do so.We have a computer at home and it has access to broadband.My husband uses the Internet almost every day.I have a lot of friends,some of them use the Internet and some of them are non-users.I think using or not using the Internet is a natural thing.If we need to use it to do something one day,we can choose to use it and we can also get help from data rooms in our community if we don’t know how to use the Internet.

While in China,many older Internet users have good education or high economic status.When talking about elderly Internet users,some elderly non-users say that:“He is an intellectual men,he reads a lot of books.My educational level is low,we are different.” Some older Chinese lack in confidence about themselves because their family members think that they are old and the Internet as a new technology is for young people.As an older Chinese indicated:

I am old.My mind is not active any more.It is difficult for me to learn these new technologies and my kids told me that it is not suitable for me,even though I know the Internet is wonderful and I really want to use it.I am curious about the Internet,because my kids use the Internet almost all the time and some of my friends often talk about the Internet.However,I can understand that my kids are too busy to teach me and it will be difficult for them to teach older people to learn new technologies.

(2)The relationship between the Internet and the other daily activities

Some older Danes like to full fill their time after retiring,for instance,“I have to practice dancing with my friends on Monday,go swimming and see my doctor on Tuesday,go to data room to learn computer and the Internet and then go to the gym on Wednesday,and so on.” For those older Danish Internet users,the Internet is one of the many ways to keep physical and mental health.

However,in China,some older people would like to regard using the Internet as one of their interests.If they could use the Internet at home every day,they will reduce the participation in other social activities.In turn,older people that have other interests,such as dancing in parks,also think that they do not need to use the Internet because they will spend most of the time on other activities.An older Chinese non-user said:

We have a computer at home and my kids use it every day.I never use it because I do not know what to use it for.I am busy with other things.I have to go to parks dancing with other older people every evening.If I had time during the day I would practice the dance at home.You know,I do not want to be a drag on other people.In addition,I have to cook for my kids and send my grandson to school.As a result,I do not have time to do other things.

Older Internet users in China shared the same views with those non-users.An older Chinese Internet user said:“I think not every older people have to learn and use the Internet.It is enough if we have other things to do and we do not feel bored.You cannot ask us to do a lot of different things,because we are old and our energy is limited.”

Ⅲ.Discussion

1.Similarities between older Danes and older Chinese

This study finds that both older Danes and older Chinese have positive attitudes toward the Internet.Almost all of them believe that the Internet is a symbol of keeping up with the times and a way to keep the mind active and prevent memory degradation.Even for older Internet non-users,they agree that the Internet is a way to make life more convenient and independent (Adams et al.,2005;Shapira et al.,2007).

The positive attitudes of the older Danes and Chinese toward the Internet show that older people want to keep up with the times and they regard the new technology as a good thing.Moreover,older people believe that using the Internet can help them build up their mind and keep a good memory.Newspapers and television can not compare with it.Older people’s positive attitudes also show that they will become the major source of the future netizens.Therefore,our government should establish suitable policies accordingly to encourage and help old people to enjoy the convenience of the Internet,not let them feel lonely and dropped out due to not keeping up with the times.

2.Comparison between older Danish and older Chinese Internet non-users

Many older people in both countries do not use the Internet because they do not like using it,even though they master the skills for the Internet.This finding is consistent with a study conducted in England and Wales that found older people who do not use computers were simply not interested in using a computer when compared with other pastimes and activities that they were participating in (Selwyn et al.,2003).In China,there are also some older people who do not use the Internet because of their economic status and (0) literate level,which are the two factors limiting their Internet usage;nonetheless,almost no older Danes think that there exists relationship between the Internet and economic status and (0) literate level.

The reason why the elderly in Denmark and China hold different attitudes towards the Internet is that Chinese government did not formulate such policies for older people as Danish government,and the society has not provide enough help for them.In contrast,in Denmark,over 100 data rooms can provide help to older people about how to surf the Internet.If older people want to learn how to use the Internet,they can get help very conveniently.In that case,it totally depends on people themselves whether they want to learn and surf the Internet instead of the social and economical factors.It is obvious that the most effective measures to eliminate the older people’s fears of the Internet are the effective policy made by the government.In addition,the society should provide constant help for older people.

3.Comparison between older Danish and older Chinese Internet users

Although many older Danes and Chinese like to use the Internet in their daily life,there are some differences because of the differences in personal preference.Concerning the relationship between using the Internet and doing other activities,older Danes regard using the Internet as one activity in parallel with other activities,which means that using the Internet will not has any impact on their other activities.

However,many older Chinese see using the Internet as an interest and they usually reduce the time that put on other activities when they start to use the Internet.In China,to some extent the old Internet users feel better than nonusers and they tend to have a sense of superiority.Comparing with the square dance and the mahjong,they think using the Internet is a more elegant behavior.Consequently,the elderly Internet users will have less time to attend in other social activities and the people who can not surf the Internet tend to participate in the activities that they like and have less interest in computers.

Ⅳ.Conclusion and limitation

This study shows that there are both similarities and differences between the older Danish and Chinese participants’ attitudes toward the Internet.When almost all the people around them use the Internet,older people began to worry that maybe they cannot keep up with the times and can not communicate with other people better if they don’t know anything about the Internet.Both older Danes and Chinese want to learn new technologies if their own conditions permit.

As individuals,it’s reasonable for older people to hold different attitudes towards the Internet.However,the different attitudes that older people have in two countries show that using the Internet has become an indispensable part of their daily life in Denmark,just like exercising.Older people can decide whether to use it or not according to their taste and their choice has nothing to do with their social status.

While in China,older people regard using the Internet as a kind of interest or ability.Sometimes they tend to reduce the time that they put on other activities if they can use the Internet.At the same time,they take the Internet as a more elegant activity that can reflect their higher social status.

This study suggests that,in addition to comparing the differences between people with various nationalities,it is also important to make efforts to find the causes from the aspects of social culture and personal preference that result in these differences.Only in this way,the policy makers can strive to remove the social cultural obstacles that negatively affect older people’s Internet usage and improve their conditions to access to new technological things.

One of the shortcomings in the present study is that the sample is small,which cannot represent the huge number of older people in both countries.Besides,generalization of the results of this study is limited due to the factors that data were collected only in the capital of both countries,where the Internet use as a percentage of local population are at the top level in both countries,especially in China.Therefore,the conclusions of this study should only be considered as the beginning to explore older people’s attitudes toward the Internet among different nationalities and cultural contexts.

Notes:

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About the author：Zhang Haiming,lecturer of School of Foreign Languages,East China Normal University,research field:art English,English for General Education.