Relationships Between Technology Use and Views on Aging: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial

TL;DR

This study explores how using aging-in-place technologies affects older adults' subjective views on aging over time.

Contribution

It reveals how compensatory technologies may influence perceptions of aging gains and losses.

Findings

Intervention group showed decreased AARC-Gains in the first six months followed by an increase.

Control group showed increased AARC-Gains followed by a decrease.

Frequent use of technologies was linked to higher perceived AARC-Losses.

Abstract

Previous research has shown that views on aging affect self-regulatory behavior and may thus also influence technology use. However, trials assessing the effect of technology use on older adults’ quality-of-life have rarely considered the role of subjective aging. Our objective was to investigate the associations between Awareness of Age-Related Change (AARC) and the use of compensatory aging-in-place technologies as part of the i-evAALution randomized controlled field study. The analytical sample contained 72 community-dwelling older adults (mean age: 76.7). 36 participants were randomly assigned to an intervention arm, using technologies like an emergency watch and a tablet with various functions, across 6-month and 13-month follow-up assessments. The 36 controls received no intervention. Primary outcomes were different quality-of-life variables, whereas AARC-Gains and -Losses were assessed as secondary outcomes. Here, we focus on the latter. Participants in the intervention group revealed a decrease in AARC-Gains during the first six months, followed by an increase up to the 13-month assessment. In contrast, participants in the control group showed an increase first, followed by a decrease. No significant difference between both conditions at the 13-month assessment and no main effect for AARC-Losses were observed. Furthermore, participants who used the emergency watch and the tablet more frequently perceived more AARC-Losses than persons who used them less frequently. Aging-in-place technologies with a strong compensatory focus may result in a dilemma such as increasing feelings of safety on the one hand, but in parallel impacting negatively the subjective experience of one’s aging.