Exploring Predictors of Mobile Device Proficiency Among Older Adults

Technology adoption rates of older adults typically lag behind those of their younger counterparts; a digital divide. This is unfortunate because technology has many potential benefits for older people. Among older adults, attitudes and cognitive abilities predict computer and Internet adoption, use, and proficiency. However, an important trend over the past two decades has been the rise of mobile computing (specifically with respect to smartphones and tablet computers). High quality interactions with mobile technology critically depend upon individuals’ technology proficiency, making it important to understand how mobile device proficiency might be anticipated. This paper explored predictors of mobile device proficiency among older adults (65+) using a dataset from a cognitive intervention study that included 60 participants. Measures of computer and mobile device proficiency were obtained. Demographic variables and assessments of reasoning ability, processing speed, and executive control were collected and explored as predictors of mobile device proficiency. Even within this older adult sample, mobile device proficiency was related to age, but contrary to predictions, cognition was not significantly related to mobile device proficiency; the strongest predictor of mobile device proficiency was computer proficiency. This implies some transfer of proficiency from one technology platform to another. These results have implications for predicting quality technology interactions given the link between interaction quality and technology proficiency.