Published at : 03 Nov 2022
Volume : IJtech
Vol 13, No 6 (2022)
DOI : https://doi.org/10.14716/ijtech.v13i6.5920
Jia Yue Tan | Faculty of Creative Multimedia, Multimedia University, 63100 Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia |
Ah Choo Koo | Faculty of Creative Multimedia, Multimedia University, 63100 Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia |
Chui Yin Wong | User and Developer Experience (UXDX), Developer Relations (DevRel), Network and Edge Group (NEX), Intel Corporation, 11900 Malaysia |
Wan Teng Lai | Corporation, 11900 Malaysia 3Unit for Research on Women and Gender (KANITA), School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia |
Due to the
unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, mobile technologies, services, and Internet
connectivity have become critical among the Malaysian elderly as an alternative
to staying actively and socially connected. However, the elderly find it
difficult to adapt to online technology tools with restricted skills under
technology challenges. Studies related to mobile adoption and usage experiences
among the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic or endemic are not rigorously
conducted by researchers. Little discussion was focused specifically on aging
and gender perspectives, including the importance of an intersectionality lens
in understanding the interconnected factors that influence one's ability to
benefit from technology. To fill in the research gaps, this paper aims to use
an intersectionality lens to identify experiences on how female elderly use
their mobile phones and services, as women are constantly underrepresented in
Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) studies. The study
employed qualitative case studies method with seven older women in Malaysia, 60
to 77 years old, using multiple data sources through semi-structured
interviews, mobile walkthrough, and diary studies. Data were transcribed and
analyzed by categorizing the key themes digitally using Nvivo. The findings
showed that mobile culture and supportive environment; family roles;
socialization; education and economic backgrounds; digital literacy level;
well-being; and motivation were interconnected, shaping the experiences of the
seven female elderly in accessing, learning, and using their mobile phones.
This study has built an understanding of the intersecting factors that can
contribute to a more inclusive society, especially in promoting the elderly to
embrace mobile technologies in their lives.
COVID-19; Female elderly; Gender; Intersectionality; Mobile phone usage
The impact of the unprecedented COVID-19
pandemic has accelerated the need for digitalization among all walks of life,
including the elderly, as they are one of the most vulnerable groups (Chang et al., 2020). The only alternative to stay
socially connected are through online and digital technologies in this
"new normal" (He et al., 2021),
particularly the most basic communication devices like mobile phones and
services that have become a necessity to all. Previous studies in Malaysia
under the pre-pandemic revealed a mismatch between seniors' requirements and
smartphone application design, with many of them still
In Malaysia, female mobile phone users
were still relatively lower (41.6%) as compared to male users (58.4%) (MCMC, 2019). Based on the World Economic Forum (2021) reported on the global gender gap
(under Malaysia), females had lower percentages in STEM’s (Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics) (female 26.20% versus (vs) male 57.33%) and ICT’s
(Information and Communication Technologies) (female 6.17% vs male 8.23%)
education and skills attainment (World Economic
Forum, 2021). This reflects that males are still the dominant group in
STEM sectors and technological adoption or development. Generally, the key
barriers for women to own smartphones and access to mobile Internet are
affordability, low literacy and skills, safety and security issues, disapproval
by family, and perceived irrelevance (GSMA, 2020; OECD,
2019). Thus, the focus of the current paper is to study female elderly's
perspectives on using smartphone technologies and to identify issues and
challenges faced by them, in order to create a more digitally inclusive
Malaysia (EPU, 2021b).
Furthermore, this
study takes on a new leap in addressing the importance of gender analysis by
utilizing non-binary perspectives (beyond the biological definitions of male
and female). Its intent is to view gender as a social-cultural process
(European Commission, 2013) that influences how people perform certain roles or
are obliged to certain norms through the usage of technological tools. The
adoption of the intersectionality lens (Columbia
Law School, 2017) is used to provide a broader perspective on how the
experiences of female elderly mobile users can be influenced and shaped by
different overlapping variables, and gender itself as a social factor is
insufficient to address either dominance or subordinate position (Ceia et al., 2021; Rodriguez, 2018).
This paper aims to use an
intersectionality lens to identify experiences of how female elderly use their
mobile phones and services under the COVID-19 norm. Section 2 consists of a
literature review, followed by methodology, data analysis, and results, and
lastly, the discussion and conclusion sections.
Literature Review
2.1. Impact
of COVID-19 on elderly mobile usage patterns
Adapting to mobile technology services
and the Internet has become critical during the lockdown and social distancing
practice. According to the media sources (Chandran,
2021; Noordin, 2020), several elderly
in Malaysia were reported to have learned and picked up new digital
technologies and skills to assist themselves in their everyday routine, for
instance, the adoption of online shopping (i.e. Lazada & Shopee) in order
for them to buy their household items, clothes or toiletries while staying
indoors. Some had learned to use a laptop or tablet for video-conferencing
platforms, such as Google Meet or Zoom, to join online activities, exercises,
and also communicate with family and friends (Chandran,
2021). One male elderly revealed navigating social media and e-commerce
platforms with the support of his two daughters (Chandran,
2021). Besides, Malaysia's contact tracing app (MySejahtera), e-wallet,
mobile banking, online food delivery, and other services have also been found
to play a key role in assisting the elderly in living through the pandemic (Noordin, 2020; Tandapany, 2020). A recent study
conducted by Ibrahim et al. (2021) during
the pandemic observed that older participants could even operate their mobile
devices and Google Meet platform independently after the training provided by
the researchers. Unfortunately, those elderly who were digitally illiterate or
lack of access to Internet connectivity had left many of them in the lurch (Anand, 2021; Seifert et al., 2021).
2.2. Construction
of gender
Gender appears naturally and deeply
embedded in our social practice; in fact, we are uncertain about how to
interact with or judge people without the attribution of gender to them (Eckert & McConnell-Ginet, 2013). Our society
mainly operates in a binary system (view gender as only two options or
biological definitions of male and female). Therefore, the ways of behaving,
roles, and activities are expected to match the biological sex assigned to a
person, which shapes what is appropriate for being "male" or "female's"
role (Eckert & McConnell-Ginet, 2013).
Gender from a non-binary perspective, is defined as "socially and
culturally constructed" where people learn behaviors, roles, and norms
within the social structures and cultural contexts they live in (Eckert & McConnell-Ginet, 2013; European Commission,
2013; Ton, 2018; WHO, n.d.). According to Judith Butler's notion of
"gender is performative", gender is viewed in less normative way,
which implies gender identity is formed through the repetitiveness of acts (Ton, 2018). When certain acts are repeatedly
performed by one of the genders, it becomes a cultural norm representing
gender, and therefore, stereotypes can also be formed. West and Zimmerman's
concept of "doing gender" noted that gender is performed or formed
through everyday interactions, and behaviors are evaluated based on the
societal expectations of gender conceptions (Eckert
& McConnell-Ginet, 2013). The construction of gender (Ton, 2018) influences how people perform those
roles, as well as socially and culturally, how women are expected to be,
obligated to play certain roles within families, such as care, connectivity,
communication, or even among communities. Gender represents not only relations
and identities but also influences the development and design of technologies
or systems, which may enable or inhibit women's participation (Aaltojärvi, 2009).
2.3. Mobile
phone is a place for gender performance
Ganito (2010) mentioned that "a
mobile phone is a place of gender performance, either to reinforce traditional
roles, or to transform gender, constructing new meanings." Mobile phone
blur the boundaries across multiple practices (work, professionals, private,
leisure) when it is embedded in everyday life (Ganito,
2010), it can be a medium where people carry out their traditional
gendered identities, such as activities regarded as appropriate for men
(practical work and enhancing digital skills) and women (domesticity and
communication) (Lemish & Cohen, 2005).
It can also be a medium that enables changes (beyond the traditional
practices), for instance, women have increasingly become the power users of
technology, with a growing interest in technological devices; they tend to
purchase gadgets, learn new digital skills and become producers. This reflects
that women are able to perform new cultural meanings through the adoption of
mobile phones (Ganito, 2010; Skog, 2002).
Thus, mobile phones can empower women to challenge the socially expected
gendered behaviors and reduce unequal gender power relationships, particularly
to assist the socially marginalized women in attaining socio-economic status (Pei & Chib, 2020). However, it is arguable
that mobile phones can also disempower women if they are still bound to the
patriarchal oppression in domesticity and society. For instance, women lack
decision-making power in their patriarchal households despite their economic
empowerment through the adoption of mobile phones (Pei
& Chib, 2020). In the social-psychological perspectives, the
masculine assumption collectively shaped the negative stereotype that women
were "chatterboxes", "less tech-savvy users," and
"less interested in ICT", whereas men were perceived positively as
"tech-savvy" and "have higher competence" when it comes to
technology adoption and usage performance (Comunello
et al., 2016; Gales & Hubner, 2020). Additionally, the biased
perception that older individuals were less competent than younger ones in
technology usage added more negative stereotypes for female elderly users (Comunello et al., 2016).
2.4. Intersectionality
lens for explaining relationships
Intersectionality, introduced by legal scholar
Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989) is a theory that originally highlights how
marginalized social groups exist on the periphery of society, with unequal
access to resources and opportunities (Fehrenbacher
& Patel, 2020). The purpose of intersectionality is to illustrate
the interconnected nature of more than one aspect rather than independently
that influences individuals’ or groups' identities and experiences of
privileges or oppressions (Rogers et al., 2020).
Gender is only one of the social factors people face in every part of the
world. It is still insufficient to address either a dominant or subordinate
position (Ceia et al., 2021; Rodriguez, 2018).
Thus, intersectionality helps to address the other factors expanding to the
influence of, for instance, the ethnic groups of Malay, Chinese, and Indian in
Malaysia, age, education level, economic status, ability, and religious or
cultural practices (Ceia et al., 2021).
Based on the theory of intersectionality, all these identities and categories
are interlocked, resulting in various experiences and characteristics,
including the formation of stereotypes and inequalities among the local female
elderly mobile user group.
2.5. Online
research set-up and conducts
During the COVID-19 pandemic, conducting
qualitative research through online interviews or group interviews has become
the last resort due to restricted movement. Researchers have to rely on
technologies, particularly video conferencing software, multimedia computer,
and connectivity, to enable the setting of interview sessions. Dodds & Hess (2020) identified the advantages
of using online group interviews for qualitative research. Their findings
showed the benefits of online media when conducting research. The benefits of
online interviews enable both researchers and participants to feel comfortable,
non-intrusive, and safe; engaging and convenient; direct communication; and
easy set-up. However, one key aspect of the limitations is the lack of non-verbal
communication. Other issues are poor device set-up and privacy intrusion and
access issues.
In sum, the adoption of mobile phones
and participation in the digital world not only improves the lives of older
populations but also empower elderly females, their families, and communities
in helping to reduce gender inequalities. In Malaysia, several gender studies
have been found to investigate mainly the interests of students and adolescents
in relation to their usage and adoption of digital technologies (Ahmad et al., 2019; Aziz & Aziz, 2020; Maon et al.,
2021). However, there is a lack of research and discussion focused
specifically on aging and gender perspectives, including the insignificant use
of intersectionality as an important lens to understand the formation of power,
privileges, and gender inequalities. Therefore, the intersectionality lens is
used in this study to better understand the relationships between age, gender,
and individuals' unique interaction with mobile phones and services.
This research employed qualitative case
studies as an empirical method in enabling researchers to gain in-depth insight
into how female elderly (as individuals) interact and experience their mobile
phones within the real-life context (Yin, 2018).
As the focus of this study is on the female elderly, thus, the criteria for
selecting the participants were female who 1) aged 60 years old and above, 2)
lives in Klang Valley (center of the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia), 3)
have at least three months of smartphone usage experience, and 4) stay with at
least one of the family members. Participants were recruited either from a
senior learning community or by snowballing method (introduced by
participants).
The study utilized an online medium for conducting
an in-depth study of seven cases of elderly women. There are three main
activities during the study, which are 1) in-depth interview, 2) mobile
walkthrough, and 3) diary writing, followed by a diary explanation designed by
the research team, hosted, and led by the first author. Prior to conducting the
study, an introductory session was conducted with each participant. They were
briefed about the three activities of the study. Their consent to participate
in the study was sought by signing the informed consent form. At the end of the
study, all participants were given a token to thank them for their efforts and
time commitments.
All of the above meeting sessions were
conducted via Zoom video meetings and supported by communication tools, i.e.,
computer, WhatsApp, Adobe Fill and Sign, and Zoom screen sharing feature.
Despite the drawback of not being able to meet the participants in person with
insufficient non-verbal communication clues on the bodily reaction, the rest of
the non-verbal communication, such as facial expressions, could be clearly seen
via the video. The other features and support tools or virtual space provided
by Zoom were supportive towards research set-up, such as recording of the
sessions, making online interaction with research participants at ease and
convenient, non-intrusive, and safe.
The data was collected until it met a
saturation point where no new or refreshed data was found (Saunders et al., 2018). After the data collection
ended, recorded videos were transcribed into text-based data for data analysis.
All the primary data were coded, categorized, and analyzed using NVivo 12
software to identify key patterns (themes) of meanings (Braun
& Clarke, 2006).
This section presents the results from the case studies on female
elderly's mobile phones and services usage experience in daily lives and their
perceptions. The findings were grouped into the following themes and discussed
accordingly.
4.1.
Participants' Demographic and Mobile Status
A total of seven
participants (see Table 1) aged between
60-77 years old were recruited for the study. Since Malaysia is a multi-racial
and cultural country, the participants comprised of three main ethnic groups - Malay, Chinese and Indian - to study the diverse
mobile culture. All of them are married except P2 is single, and P6 is a widow.
There is also no surprise that three of the participants were involved in
interracial marriages (P1 with Malay, P3 with Indian, and P5 with Chinese) in
Malaysian society. Regarding their employment status, five participants are
retirees and three female elderly are housewives. Participants who
worked before are supported by their retirement savings or monthly pensions for
their living. Two participants work as part-timers or engage in investment
activities to earn their passive income. In contrast, participants who are
housewives receive income support or pocket money from their spouses or
children.
Table 1 Participants' demographics and mobile status
Participants |
Age |
Race/ Ethnicity |
Employment Status |
Education Level |
Marital Status |
Financial Status |
Mobile Phone Background |
P1 |
60 |
Chinese |
Housewife |
Tertiary |
Married (Interracial marriage) |
Supported by spouse and children |
Huawei smartphone. Had 9 years of
smartphone usage experience. |
P2 |
64 |
Chinese |
Retiree |
Secondary |
Single (All-time) |
Retirement fund, investment as passive income |
Huawei smartphone. Had 9 years of
smartphone usage experience. |
P3 |
63 |
Chinese |
Housewife |
Secondary |
Married (Interracial marriage) |
Supported by spouse and children |
Oppo smartphone. Had 4 years of
smartphone usage experience. |
P4 |
61 |
Malay |
Retiree |
Tertiary |
Married |
Working savings, passive income |
Samsung smartphone. Had
5 years of smartphone usage experience. |
P5 |
62 |
Malay |
Retiree |
Tertiary |
Married (Interracial marriage) |
Monthly pension, supported by children |
Samsung smartphone. Had
5 years of smartphone usage experience. |
P6 |
72 |
Indian |
Retiree |
Tertiary |
Widow |
Monthly pension, part-time income,
supported by children. |
Oppo smartphone. Had 6 years of
smartphone usage experience. |
P7 |
77 |
Indian |
Housewife |
Secondary |
Married |
Supported by spouse and children |
Samsung smartphone. Had
3 years of smartphone usage experience. |
Nevertheless, expenditure for their
mobile phone and infrastructure is not much an issue among the participants as
their retirement scheme or family members financially support them. Due to its location at Klang Valley, Selangor
(the most developed state in Malaysia), most had received tertiaryeducation
(i.e., college, polytechnic, university), followed by upper secondary
education. Overall, all seven participants owned a smartphone. Before, they had around 3 - 9 years of experience in
using smartphones, indicating that they are not new smartphone adopters. Table 1 provides an overview of the
demographics and mobile status of the participants.
4.2. Female
elderly mobile usage experiences
Participants
described their general experiences and relationships regarding their
smartphone and mobile services usage. Five sub-themes emerged under this theme:
4.2.1. Connectivity and
Accessibility
Connectedness and
accessible are the
main aspects for the female elderly to develop intimacy with their mobile
phones, whether in their everyday lives or during the lockdown imposed.
Participants were still able to foster close connections with their family
members, friends, and acquaintances mainly via the usage of WhatsApp (a popular
communication app in Malaysia) video calls, voice, or text messaging. Besides,
the participants experienced
accessibility because it is convenient for them to reach a particular person, sources of information, and
services anytime or anywhere. Mobile phones could be identified as a "time-saving" tool that allows
the participants to keep
themselves updated, make purchases, join online activities, and schedule
appointments without much effort.
"Usually, [when using] smartphone, we are very happy
with WhatsApp because near and far you can just connect within seconds, you
know." (P3)
It
is also interesting to learn about Malaysia's unique mobile culture and how
participants of various ethnic backgrounds use their phones to stay connected
with their families and social networks daily. The findings reported a similar
pattern among the Malay, Chinese and Indian participants, where they tend to
send greetings and wishes (in an e-card format of their own language; see Figure 1) as part of every morning routine or
during any celebrations in their social groups. P5, who is engaged
in an interracial marriage, is an open-minded woman who always takes the
initiative to design e-cards associated with different languages and send them
to her family groups to maintain close and harmonious relationships:
"Yes, like I will put up our family photos [refers to editing] you know, when Hari Raya, Chinese New Year in our family photos to be the wishes, then we can post it. We did it a lot here because my family has Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims."
Figure 1 E-card greetings sent by
participants with different ethnicity
Nevertheless,
connectedness is associated not only with kinships and friendships but also
with the extent of social connectedness to any happenings occurring nationally
and internationally. Reading news
(i.e., politics, social affairs, COVID-19 updates) is quite a common activity
for all the participants to keep themselves updated and connected with the
outside world while being retired or at home, as P7 expressed her sentimental feelings after reading online news of
an Indian young man:
"Then while browsing through the Google, [I] came across the
hanging of NaD [Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a Malaysian due to his injustice
execution case], felt very sad." (P7's diary)
4.2.2. Essentiality and Dependency: An "intimate" Relationship for
Fulfilling Basic Needs
Smartphone has become an intimate
tool to all the participants in the sense that they felt insecure, desperate or
even "despair" without it, as
they conveyed:
"Without a phone, we're desperate." (P6)
"Very important, this phone, it's like our
second IC [Identity Card]
already. [If I] don't have a phone, I can't survive." (P2)
Since
the implementation of the lockdown, the participants have developed a stronger
bond with their smartphones. The
participants were increasingly becoming
dependent on their phone as it was essential and helpful in many ways to serve their daily routines and needs. Their mobile phone assisted them in coping with the feeling of isolation and anxiety while staying at
home or indoors for a long period during movement control orders (MCO) imposed
by the Malaysian government. When asked
how they felt about their relations with smartphones, one of them stated:
"Of course, we spend more time with handphone
than anything else… I mean, we [used to] travel, we go out, we don't spend so much time on the
phone, you see, now [during the lockdown] you got nothing else but the
phone." (P1)
Apart from communication,
several participants revealed that they spent more time accessing
information (i.e., news, updates, live videos) through mobile web browsers, applications
(such as Google and YouTube), or social media platforms. Other mobile services, such
as location-based apps, tend to ease
traveling and provide location guides, online shopping, food
delivery, e-banking, and e-wallet, which were essential apps for
household convenience with minimal traveling. In terms of safety, Malaysia's contact tracing app (i.e.,
MySejahtera) was created to facilitate contact tracing efforts which were
compulsory for all Malaysians, including the elderly, during the COVID-19
outbreaks.
Due to the MCO, all
female elderly utilized their phone to aid them in maintaining good health and
well-being (in the aspects of physical, emotional, and mental health).
For instance, the participants recognized the importance of
playing brain teaser games to stimulate their brains and prevent old-age
diseases such as dementia.
Some of them engaged in virtual
exercises, leisure, or spiritual activities to continue to stay fit and active.
One of the participants (P2) reflected in her diary and wrote:
"Singing exercises your heart and lung, and
releases endorphins, making you feel good."
4.2.3. Discovery and Exploration of the "wonder" of application
features
Positive
affection (relates to moods, feelings, and attitudes) can be one of the key
motivators for participants to continue learning or using mobile apps and
services. As such, participants
expressed their new discovery and pleasure of using various mobile apps.
These discovering experiences resulted from a mixture of affection and
discovery feelings (such as enjoyment, excitement, fun, etc.) and learning
experiences:
"Love this wonderful social website where we
can collect and share, imagine of anything you find interesting." (P2's
diary)
"The [crossword puzzle] game was quite the brain
teaser and I enjoyed myself." (P3's diary)
The
findings also revealed that smartphone benefits most participants due to the
existence of free app or web-based services, unlimited cloud storage and
membership privileges, particularly free communication services, which could
assist female elderly in establishing family and social ties (locally and
globally) without worrying about the cost. In this regard, the
participants expressed their sense of
enjoyment and satisfaction of these services:
"It's great that we can talk free of charge on
WhatsApp!! How awesome (P6's diary)
"Shopee [e-shopping app] you will have free
delivery, or you have coins [rebate voucher], you can collect coins...
benefit for Shopee user." (P1)
Besides,
few participants expressed their gratitude not only to the invention of mobile
phones but also to the "pandemic", because both had afforded them more opportunities to empower or enrich
themselves intellectually and digitally.
4.2.4. Concerns about online fraud and security issues
Despite the advantages and affection (intimacy) feeling towards their
mobile phones, one of the biggest worries by all participants are issues on
cybersecurity (hackers) and frauds (scams and fake news). Many of the female
elderly (4 out of 7 participants) had experienced receiving scams or unknown
calls and messages (6 out of 7 participants) received fake news before, which
made them anxious and cautious. Therefore, they were very mindful in handling
any calls and took every protection measure they could to prevent online scams
and frauds. They took the initiative to download security apps (TrueCaller ID),
read or share news to increase fraud awareness with friends and family, filter
fake information, and check for reliable sources.
"I stopped forwarding or you know, when I
received something, I'm very cautious about what I forward to, and I always
say, 'please check if it's genuine.'” (P4)
“You have to be really aware of the danger of your
accounts, scams, and all those; that is the most difficult part.” (P5)
Moreover,
security and trust issues have posed a challenge among female elderly
participants, particularly those who were less tech-savvy in the penetration of
mobile banking, e-transaction, and payment services in the current society. Two
participants revealed they preferred not to adopt it or use it with the guidance of family members:
“Very worry about scams. That’s why I dare not do
anything online, but even going banking online, I resisted a lot.” (P3)
“So basically, I still pay cash at the counter or I
go to the Petronas [petrol station] and pay that kind of thing. I haven't really used
the online payment just yet.” (P4)
4.2.5. Challenges faced by aged users
Other potential barriers reported by the participants were old-age
barriers, lack of motivation, and circle of support. As they age, it is common
for the elderly to experience a deterioration in visual and cognitive abilities.
Five participants commented the phone screen size is still restricted for them
to view a bigger picture whenever they want to read information or participate
in online activities. Therefore, they use it interchangeably with their
computers. Log-in to an app with a password is a challenge for the female
elderly as they tend to forget their password easily.
“I forgot my password. Maybe people like us, we are
very careless about the password, you know, not like you young people…” (P3)
Besides, few factors caused motivational issues.
For example, the participants discontinued the use of some mobile applications
or features that were inconvenient or complicated to use; three participants
were quite conservative about advancing themselves in using their mobile phones
due to some self-perceived reasons, such as retiring from work, low level of
digital literacy, or security knowledge. Four out of seven participants
reported that they lacked immediate or empathetic support from their family
members and were forced to self-learn and seek external help.
Furthermore, P3 and P7 participants
reflected that smartphones could negatively affect their well-being. For
example, they were aware that they spent too much time on their phones due to
addiction, and it caused them eye-strain issues and nuisance (bombarded with
excessive information). Hence, the awareness to control and the determination
to refrain from spending long hours on their phones should be a solution to
curb the challenges.
4.3. Perceptions of their male counterparts of
using mobile phones and services
Although the male respondents were not
involved in this research, their female counterparts had provided perceptions
of their male counterparts. A mixed
perception occurs that their spouse generally has some differences from them.
Relatively, the participants perceived that their spouse had more interest in
their “male-oriented” topics of interest (i.e., technical, engineering, and adventurous
topics) or as aligning to the gender norms that their spouse were less
socialized by using the phone and had more authority in the financial decision;
whereas topics related to gossip, household purchase matter, entertainment, and
exploration of apps features are more dominance among the females. Indeed,
there is an obvious difference between the gendered use of the mobile phones
and apps of choice:
“I personally think no differences between the gender
on the [digital]
knowledge, it is more of… interests rather than the gender-based.” (P1)
“[…] he [husband] is not the customer, so usually
purchased, I will be the one who purchased.” (P1)
“He [husband] is more into YouTube and looking at what people send
messages and all that [read info and text-messaging]; he doesn't play
games at all.” (P7)
“[…] my husband will download all the [apps]... he's into
cars and engineering and things like that. So, he always looks at all that
kinds of stuff.” (P4)
On
the contrary, there are also participants who observed that their spouse is
less tech-savvy and a conservative user (use only the basic or necessary
functions) compared to themselves. P1 and P5 had mentioned that their spouse
tends to seek technical assistance from them.
“He’s also like me, not so much of smartphone…” (P3)
“He's not IT savvy. Sometimes he sorts of jealous,
you know, envy [laugh], because we are more advanced than him.” (P5)
Discussion
The intersectionality lens in this section
explains the key interconnected factors that shaped the female elderly’s mobile
usage experiences (Figure 2). The findings showed several contributing
factors that influenced the relationship between female elderly and their
mobile phone intimacy as follows:
Figure 2 Key factors identified that shaped female elderly’s mobile usage
experiences
5.1. Female elderly and their access
to mobile infrastructure and apps
Firstly,
the participants could access mobile infrastructure and mobile apps (i.e.,
devices, mobile broadband, and telecommunication services) without many
hindrances. This indicates that the supportive family and mobile culture
environment are essential for their daily phone usage, such as monthly bill
payments, seeking information, e-purchasing, etc., especially since they are
living in an urban context that is undergoing rapid development to Industrial
Revolution 4.0 and digital society (EPU, 2021a).
The factors that influence the female elderly to learn digital skills are
education background, digital literacy level and prior computing experience
acquired through their previous working experience. These intersecting
backgrounds determine their confidence level and learning attitude when
adapting to new technological devices. Besides, it is imperative to have a
higher level of mobile literacy to educate and protect themselves from online
scams and frauds which are very rampant in this digital era.
5.2. Motivating factors leading to
women’s mobile adoption and advancement in new skills
Secondly,
the findings revealed that mobile phones enable female elderly to perform
family and social roles conveniently as well as have the autonomy or
flexibility to organize their everyday lives and personal interests. It is
found that women are still bound to their traditional gender roles as family
caretakers. Mobile apps and online services offer many conveniences to female
elderly for their weekly and monthly purchasing or executing their household
responsibility without much depending on their family members, as indicated by Sitorus et al. (2019) in the mobile banking
context that the intention to continue adopting banking services were strongly
impacted by satisfaction, compatibility, ease of use and usefulness.
Connectedness and accessibility are the main reasons for female
elderly to own mobile phones. According to Ndukwe (2020), “mobile phones afford women the opportunity to build and maintain
multiple relationships,” from family and social ties to casual acquaintances
for shared interests and needs, as well as it could be a “melting pot” of
culture and language for individuals with a different ethnicity to embrace
diverse culture in the Malaysian context. The mobility of a phone allows female elderly to
freely access resources (without time and geographical barriers) to constantly
keep themselves updated and enhanced with knowledge, skills, and general
information, which is why they build a close relationship with their phones.
Mobile phone has also played
a role in increasing female elderly's resilience and adaptability in responding
to many challenges (Berawi, 2020; Sofyan et al.,
2021), including health challenges faced in a pandemic and endemic
situation, while still being able to keep active and productive in an
optimistic way. Commonly, the elderly face health challenges for depression,
anxiety, old-age diseases, and declination of physical ability (World Health
Organisation (WHO), 2021). The present study has discovered that mobile phone is useful and
beneficial for female elderly in self-care, supporting their overall health and
well-being, and developing a culture for them to practice a healthier
lifestyle. The independency gained by mobile phones enables them to spend time
healthily, cope with loneliness, and enrich their lives meaningfully.
Hence,
the prevalent use of mobile phones and services has positively triggered their
intimacy and engagement with their phones. This has resulted in their high
motivation to self-learn and acquire new digital skills.
5.3 Demotivating factors to women’s
mobile phone adoption and skills advancement
On the other hand, the overlapping factors that
cause intimidating experiences to the female elderly are aging barriers, lack
of digital literacy and supportive environment, security concerns, and negative
well-being in using mobile phones and services. Even though they received
technical support (from family or externally), generation gaps existed. Some
participants have perceived difficulties in getting guidance and support from
their children (young people) on mobile technical know-how. In fact, they
mentioned their children are still willing to help or support them, but as they
were committed to their work, they couldn’t spend much time in providing
supportive guidance. Hence, it causes some misperceptions between the female
elderly and the younger ones, where the younger ones are sometimes perceived to
be impatient. However, this may not always be the case. Some misconceptions
maybe happen between the generations.
5.4. Empowerment and gender
transformation
Lastly,
this research also re-examined the stereotypes and power relations associated
with gender and technology. The lens of female elderly on their male
counterparts revealed the gender differences primarily on usage purposes,
interests, and division of roles, implying they encountered less constraints
from their family, religious and social-structural contexts in terms of
technology access and usage, but the reinforcing of traditional gendered roles
still perpetuates. The intersecting background (i.e., urban or sub-urban
location, highly educated, economic empowerment, etc.) has placed this group of
female elderly users in a more privileged and empowering position which
constitutes to more equal gendered power relations between them and their
family members (Pei & Chib, 2020). They not only have the authority in
decision-making from household to personal matters or in helping their spouse
with online tasks and purchasing a phone, but they also value every opportunity
to learn technologies more than men. As a result, as female elderly are
becoming the power users of the smartphone, their experiences and interests
have progressed, which enabled them to keep abreast or even compete with the
male users. Ganito (2010) and Haraway (1991) highlighted that “technology can
empower women or at least allow for gender transformation,” males in this case,
are not necessarily portrayed as advanced mobile phone users or have a strong
interest in learning digital skills as compared to their female counterparts.
Overall, the pandemic has enriched the lives of the
female elderly’s mobile usage experiences and built strong and intimate
relationships with their devices compared to the intimidating experiences.
Mobile phones have promoted connectivity, reachability, intellectuality, and
well-being, especially during the lockdown when mobile services are becoming
essential. The themes or factors identified are the general trends of findings
based on this group of participants only. The intersections of gender grouping
or variables (male and female) have shown the differences in mobile usage and
experiences. The intergeneration group (elder and young people) has shown
differences in perception toward each other’s free time and ability to help
troubleshoot on mobile phone. The culture or ethnicity attribute did not show
much difference in general, but the socio-economic (i.e., mobile expenditure,
self-investment in digital skill class), educational background, and supportive
environment did possess significant impacts on mobile phone usage and
experiences.
Limitations and Future Works
This study's sample sizes were limited;
therefore, it might be argued that the participants were not representative of
the aging population at large of the Malaysian aging population. The main principle
of qualitative research is for researchers to gain in-depth and rich insight of
certain social phenomena, behaviors, or lived experiences of an individual or
focused group. The study did not aim to generalize the findings, so it could be
concluded that the researchers had investigated the “advanced” senior
smartphone users’ group in-depth. Additionally, the researchers are aware of
the biases imposed in this study as it focuses on female elderly residing in
the urban and suburban areas where they experienced more technical advantages
in terms of accessibility and mobile usage capability. The future study plans
to investigate the older-aged group elderly (70-80 years old) in Malaysia
living in semi-urban, lower-income
groups of, their experiences and behavioral patterns in mobile phone usage,
incorporating gender and intergeneration perspectives.
Acknowledgment to the
International Development Research Centre Grant (IDRC, Canada) and Carleton
University through a grant entitled “Designing Mobile Service Design for Ageing
Women in Malaysia”. This is one of the projects, namely Project ID 50, under
Gendered Design for STEAM in LMICs. Grant ID is MMUE 190212/ ID 50, 2020-2022.
Special thanks to the research participants for their willingness in this
study.
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