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Although information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as smartphones, tablets, and the internet have all become increasingly important during the COVID-19 pandemic, we often forget that not everyone has access to the internet or uses ICT devices. Individuals on the wrong side of the digital divide are often older adults living in long-term care facilities (LTCFs), such as "old–old" adults, who often have various functional impairments. To shed light on the initial situation shortly before the pandemic, three data sources from Switzerland were used in this study to answer the following questions: (1) Do older adults want to have internet access if and/or when they move into a LTCF? (2) What form does ICT use take (specifically internet, smartphone, and tablet use) among LTCF residents, and what need do they have for ICT support? (3) What is the state of LTCFs' ICT infrastructure and residents' level of involvement in the decision-making process related to acquiring new technologies? Community-dwelling older adults in this study reported a desire to have internet access when moving into LTCFs, and 21% of LTCF residents reported using the internet just before the pandemic began. Internet access and ICT infrastructure in LTCFs, in general, are both limited, however, and LTCF managers seldom involve older adults in the ICT decision-making process. While modern ICT usage has reached the long-term care sector, the results of this study show that compensating for a lack of physical social contacts by relying on digital solutions during the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be the sole solution. The current pandemic has reminded us that a digital gap exists and that non-use of ICTs during the pandemic can produce additional feelings of social isolation.

We live in a world where we are constantly connected to devices (e.g., smartphones, computers, tablets) and are encouraged to go online to find information about most things in society. This constant digital connection provides the means whereby many individuals communicate and exchange social support. For most demographic groups, this results in being online and connected to devices multiple times each day. Older adults have been slower to adopt and use emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs). Their digital divide in comparison to other age groups may not be an accurate representation of their technology use and the reasons for this use. This descriptive study examines this view of digital inclusion by focusing on older adults and their uses of technology. We provide an overview of technology usage by different older adult age groups in the United States using existing national‐level data. We utilize life course and aging theoretical perspectives to help articulate how older adults use a wide variety of ICTs and whether they are constantly connected, and we note that while a constant connection to devices may be normative for younger age groups, this may not, and perhaps should not, be the case for older adults. The article concludes with a discussion of the social construction of digital inclusion and emphasizes the significant variation that exists in this construct, measurement of technology use in large‐scale datasets, and variation in technology use across older adult life course groups.

Given debate about the existence of a digital divide in the United States, the question remains: If individuals are in situations where all have access to the Internet (e.g., a university), will aspects of a digital divide still exist? The authors examine whether a racial digital divide exists among college students in the odds of their using the Internet and the different levels and types of usage. Data are from a random sample of full-time, residential college freshmen. Results indicate that aspects of a digital divide exist in terms of whether one uses the Internet for specific purposes; however, once individuals begin using the Internet, few racial differences exist. Internet experience and gender affect particular types of Internet usage, suggesting that the digital divide is multilayered. A policy implication from this study is that bringing individuals into structured environments with assured access may help to decrease aspects of the digital divide.

This volume examines wide-ranging aspects of culture, communication, and [new] media broadly defined. Themes include the interplay between [new] media and any of the following: culture, communication, technology, convergence, the arts, cultural production, and cultural change in the digital age

This volume brings together nine studies of mediated childhood and youth. The studies shed light on the emerging contours of young people's web engagements and social practices. More specifically, the volume contains research speaking to scholarship dealing with four key topics: digital differentiation, media use, social problems, and cyberbullying

Sponsored by the Communication and Information Technologies Section of the American Sociological Association, this volume brings together nine studies of the digital public sphere. The contributions illuminate three key areas of digital citizenship, namely political engagement, participation networks, and content production. In the first section, authors address relationships including: new media and efficacy, YouTube and young voters, political interest and online news. In the following section, the contributions speak to the importance of participation in social, scholarly, familial, and support networks. Subsequently, in section three on production, two contributions offers insight into unequal production, more specifically, gendered digital production inequalities and the varied responsiveness of microbloggers to different kinds of media events and issues. As a whole, the contributions revisit old questions and answer important new queries about netizenship and the digital public sphere. ; https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/faculty_books/1331/thumbnail.jpg

Gender differences exist in both general and specific uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Most of this research has focused on computers and the internet to the exclusion of mobile phones. Little research has examined gender differences in specific types of mobile phone usage, especially among youth. This issue is examined using data from a random sample of middle-school students. Although gender differences exist at the bivariate level, the picture changes in multivariate models. Boys exhibited greater frequency of use for non-social, gadget-like features of mobile phones; no gender differences existed in more traditional communicative mobile phone uses.

Abstract
Older adults, 65 years and older, are a heterogeneous group in terms of their information and communication technology (ICT) use. Few studies, however, have examined how ICT use patterns may vary between employed older adults versus those who are no longer in the workforce. We expand research on this topic by examining whether variations in ICT use, as well as attitudes toward ICTs and online self-efficacy, exist between these 2 groups. Key outcomes include online self-efficacy, attitudes towards new technology, length of time online, average daily hours online, and number of ICTs used. Data were collected in 2017 through an online survey from a national sample of U.S. older adults (N = 1,142) matched with the demographic characteristics of the 2010 U.S. Census for individuals aged 65 and older based on age, race, sex, and education. Data were analyzed using OLS regression, binary logistic regression, and mediation analysis. Employed older adults, compared to retired older adults, had higher online self-efficacy, more positive attitudes towards new technology, spent more time online (years), and were more likely to use 2 or more ICTs. Being retired was associated with fewer years online, which was mediated by more negative attitudes toward technology and less online self-efficacy. Longitudinal research is needed which examines the types of technologies used in the workforce by older adults, the exposure to others' uses of technologies, and how use changes over time—all of which may potentially affect older adults' technology skills and attitudes.

The objective of this article is to explore how parental status, gender, and their interaction influence a variety of aspects of searching for online health information. Drawing on nationally representative survey data, the results show that in a number of ways parenting and gender have separate but significant influences on the following: online searching behavior, whether the information is used, and feelings about the information obtained. The authors found that although female parents are more likely than male parents to put the health information they have found online into use, parenting and sex have more independent than combined effects. This is particularly the case regarding whether respondents search for information for themselves or others, their feelings about the information found, and the process of finding online health information.

All marital relationships are not alike. The quality of the marital relationship may be an important determinant of health outcomes. The authors suggest that low marital quality is stressful for married people and that resources (i.e., self-esteem, mastery, and social support) may mediate the effects of relationship quality on distress. Using data from the "Americans' Changing Lives (ACL): Wave 1" data set, they examine a series of path models to determine the mediating effects of these resources on distress. Marital harmony is more strongly associated with psychological distress than other relationship characteristics. Self-esteem and mastery account for much of the mediating effects, with and without the inclusion of support resources. No gender differences in relationship quality, resources, or social support were found at the multivariate level. The results reflect the importance of self-esteem and mastery for health and well-being over and above the effects of relationship quality and social support.

The development of computer skills, as well as computer self-efficacy, has increased in importance along with the role of technology in everyday life. Childhood is a critical time for the development of these skills since early inequalities may substantially impact future life outcomes. In a context of a computing intervention designed to improve digital inclusion, we hypothesize that students' enactive learning experience (conceptualized as their computer usage) and their vicarious learning experience (conceptualized as their perception of their teacher's computer usage) are associated with the development of perceived technology efficacy and STEM (Science, Technology, Education, and Math) attitudes. Data are from a sample of elementary school students from an urban school district in the Southeastern United States. The results show that both their direct experiences and their perception of their teacher's computer usage have strong impacts on students' technology efficacy and STEM attitudes, and the former is the stronger predictor of the outcomes examined. The findings suggest that programs aiming to improve digital inclusion should emphasize students' direct learning experience, which would later improve their attitude toward STEM fields.