02150nas a2200337   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002260003000043653001000073653001400083653001500097653003400112653002400146100001700170700001800187700001900205700002200224700001600246700001700262700001700279700002100296700002000317700002000337700002300357700002000380700002500400700001700425700001900442245014300461520120800604       2016                            d  bASIS&TaSilver Spring, MD10aaging10aattitudes10asmartphone10amobile information technology10ainformation society1 aHeidi Enwald1 aMaarit Kangas1 aNiina Keränen1 aRaija Korpelainen1 aIsto Huvila1 aTimo Jämsä1 aAndrew Grove1 aDiane Sonnenwald1 aLauren Harrison1 aCatherine Blake1 aChristian Schlögl1 aIsabella Peters1 aBarbara Endler-Jobst1 aColleen Cool1 aYin-Leng Theng00aOpinions and use of mobile information technology among older people in Northern Finland - Preliminary results of a population based study3 aOlder peoples usage of mobile devices is increasing. This study is part of the GASEL project and seeks to increase the understanding of the use of mobile information technology and opinions towards it. Opinions are compared between genders and age groups. The population based data were collected by conducting a questionnaire survey. A random sample of 1,500 adults 65 years of age or older was obtained from the Finnish Population Register Centre. The number of respondents was 918 with a response rate of 61.2 %. About one fifth (n=169) had used a tablet computer and approximately one third (n=226) had used a mobile phone with a touch screen in the past 12 months without encountering major difficulties. The respondents had mostly thought that using the devices would not be easy. They had also thought that the usage would not be too expensive for them. Men and younger old people held more positive opinions towards these new technologies. Older people are slower in adapting and accepting new technologies and this should be taken into account when designing services, applications and content, as these technologies have the potential to enrichen the lives of this specific population group.