This study investigates whether the distinction between vertical (institutional) and horizontal (social) privacy is a valuable approach for comparing the antecedents of willingness to disclose personal information (WTD) across online contexts. We focus on e-commerce, social network sites, and instant messaging. Following the dual privacy calculus, we examine three factors of WTD, namely privacy concerns, perceived benefits, and perceived privacy control, in terms of both vertical and horizontal privacy. We develop an explanatory model and hypothesize about cross-contextual differences in the effects of vertical and horizontal privacy perceptions on WTD. The model and hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling and the generalized order-restricted information criterion approximation on data from 1,666 internet users from Slovenia. The results support the model, while the hypothesized cross-contextual differences are partially supported. This study shows that the distinction between vertical and horizontal privacy is a fruitful approach for cross-contextual analyzes of WTD.

Increasing digitalization presents challenges for many people, especially older adults, who often have limited internet skills and engage in fewer online activities or are simply nonusers. Many therefore rely on use-by-proxy – indirect internet use through others. Drawing on the Model of Internet Engagement and on Resources and Appropriation Theory, this qualitative study examines factors that shape use-by-proxy among older internet users and nonusers. We identified six groups of factors that affect engagement in use-by-proxy: personal categories, positional categories, social resources, perceptions and motivations, internet proficiency, and social and cultural environment. Societal and personal expectations related to internet use create feelings of pressure and exclusion, which are compounded by media portrayals and stereotypes that reinforce perceptions of older adults lacking digital skills. Older adults did not constitute a homogeneous group disinterested in the internet but instead exhibited varying levels of awareness and engagement and need support tailored to their specific circumstances.

Because of population aging, home-based e-care services (HBECSs) have raised interest among users and service providers. Recently, scholars have focused extensively on the needs and motives of older adults as care receivers that shape their pre-implementation acceptance of such technologies. Yet, little is known to date about post-implementation experiences and interrelationships between acceptance factors of market-ready services among care receivers and caregivers. To fill this research gap, an intervention study lasting up to eight weeks tested three market-ready HBECSs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven informal caregivers and six care receivers. Qualitative analysis combining grounded theory with thematic analysis was used to present a thematic description of participants’ experiences and inductively develop a substantive model of HBECS acceptance and use. The results detail the impact and expected benefits of such technologies and various barriers to HBECSs use in conjunction with their functionalities and users’ social interactions. Acceptance and future use are determined by a complex mix of interrelated factors. These range from contextual circumstances to characteristics of the caregivers and care receivers to the service properties and perceived outcomes of use, such as safety, psychological relief, and peace of mind.

With the closing of the age-related gap in mobile phone uptake and the aging of the population, older adults have increasingly become a desirable target group for mobile phone providers. Although there is abundant literature describing the use of mobile phones among older adults, segmentation studies on this group of consumers remain scant and inconclusive. Drawing on the benefit and behavioral segmentation, this study presents a segmentation model of older adults in the mobile phone market that incorporates a wide variety of consumer behavior, attitudinal, and acceptance variables relevant for the understanding of mobile phone (non-)usage patterns among users of feature phones and smartphones, as well as among mobile phone nonusers. The model is based on a hybrid approach with a two-step cluster analysis using data collected by a telephone survey from a representative sample (n = 1,581) of adults aged 55 or older in Slovenia in 2015. The analysis yielded two uniquely profiled clusters within each of the five a priori-determined segments, summing to a total of 10 clusters. The results show that older adults still prefer feature phones. Nevertheless, the mobile phone market has become highly heterogeneous, with clusters of older adults having distinguishable feature phone- and smartphone-use patterns as well as socio-demographic and life-course profiles. Since many of these profiles undermine the notion of older adults as “basic” mobile phone users, our findings represent a solid foundation for scholars and marketers to further investigate their specific needs in relation to more advanced smartphone and mobile internet usage.

Design guidelines and checklists are suggested as a useful tool in the development and evaluation of interface design of mobile phones for older adults. Given the intense evolution of mobile phone design, understanding how the design guidelines and checklists have taken into account the advances in mobile phone usability for older adults is important for their correct application and future development. Thus, this study explores the usability dimensions of mobile phone design for older adults and the related changes in terms of time and the type of device (feature phones vs. smartphones) based on an expert coding of the eight mobile phone design guidelines and checklists for older adults published between 2006 and 2014. The results of the expert coding show that design guidelines and checklists most frequently deal with visual and haptic issues (e.g., high contrast, button type, and button size), whilst they hardly ever address various elements of textual interface (e.g., ease of text entry, a button’s feedback, and font type). Over time, the design guidelines and checklists have become more complex in terms of the average number of included usability categories and dimensions. For smartphones, the guidelines, on average, put more emphasis on the screen, touchscreen, text, and exterior related issues, whereas the design guidelines for feature phones stress the usability of the keypad and menus. Besides revealing potential usability dimensions that could be further expanded in the guidelines, this study also highlights the need for research that would empirically validate the design guidelines and checklists in the future.