Control and Connection: Exploring Elderly Attitudes Towards Digital Assistants in Home Care
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New-age technologies have great potential to facilitate older individuals’ independent living in the community (aging in place). However, there is a mismatch between the elderly’s appreciation of assistive technology in theory and their adoption in practice. The current study investigates, via a mixed methods approach, key variables that influence the perception of the elderly towards in-house digital assistants. A prominent theme was that of control: Participants want to maintain some sense of autonomy. This factor has not (yet) been included in current technology acceptance models but may be an influential factor in the adoption and acceptance of technology by the elderly. Additionally, participants weighed the impact on their community (rather than themselves) heavily, accepting that adoption of assistive technology will greatly support their family, caregivers and/or the healthcare sector. Emphasizing these two factors may therefore increase the adoption and acceptance of digital assistants, allowing longer aging in place.
