Digital Citizenship Among Older Adults in Thailand: Key Lessons and Prospects for Development

Abstract

This article forms part of the research project entitled ‘Digital Citizenship in Older Adults,’ which aims to examine the levels of knowledge and understanding, as well as the factors influencing the level of digital citizenship among older adults in Thailand to competently use digital technologies for various activities with awareness and responsibility. This research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining survey data from 845 older people, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions. The findings indicate that aging itself is not the primary barrier to the development of digital skills. Rather, disparities in education and economic status are the key factors driving digital inequality and limiting older adults’ capacity to develop digital citizenship. The findings show that middle- and late-stage older adults remain capable of learning to use digital technologies even when learning begins only after entering old age; however, their digital citizenship scores are significantly lower than those of early-stage older adults with prior digital experience. This suggests that digital experience and usage patterns are more important than chronological age. These factors are closely linked to education and income, as evidenced by the finding that older adults with higher levels of education and income tend to exhibit higher levels of digital citizenship. Furthermore, respondents with higher digital citizenship scores typically spent at least three hours per day online, and those who allocated their online time to learning and news consumption demonstrated higher levels of digital citizenship than those who primarily used digital technologies for communication or entertainment. The findings, therefore, highlight that digital inequality is a critical factor shaping older adults’ digital citizenship. Accordingly, efforts to enhance digital competencies should not be postponed until later life but should begin well before individuals reach old age. Importantly, such efforts should extend beyond skill-based training and be accompanied by systematic reforms of economic and social infrastructure.