Understanding how older Australians experience information literacy using mobile devices

Understanding how older Australians experience information literacy using mobile devices

This thesis reports on a Constructivist Grounded Theory study that investigated older Australians’ information literacy experience using mobile devices in their daily lives. A growing number of studies have revealed that information literacy is an important concept for older adults, and that considerably more work exploring the phenomenon is needed. While previous studies explored how older adults experienced information literacy, they did not focus on this phenomenon in the context of mobile devices. We live in, not just an information age, but also a technological age. Thus, this research project explores the following research question: How do older Australians experience information literacy using mobile devices?

Emanating from this proposed research question, the study’s objectives are: to contribute new knowledge (i.e., a new theoretical understanding) about how older adults experience information literacy using mobile devices; and to explore what this new knowledge may contribute to information literacy education and consumer information research using mobile devices. The findings may be used to support the information needs of older Australians.

This research adopts the Constructivist Grounded Theory method. Australians aged 65 years of age or older who use mobile devices were invited to take part in an indepth, semi-structured interview. Twelve older Australians living in a regional town in Queensland participated in interviews. The participants conversed in-person about how they use their smartphone and/or tablet computer as part of their information literacy experience in their everyday lives.

The outcome of this study is a substantive theory named Older Australians’ Mobile Information Literacy: A Grounded Theory, which provides a holistic view of older Australians’ information literacy experience using mobile devices. This theory consists of 6 categories, which are interconnected and were constructed through a Constructivist Grounded Theory analysis process. These categories are: Ageing; Learning to use and manage mobile devices; Being entertained; Enacting everyday life; Learning; and Managing relationships.

This work is of interest to the domains of information literacy, to mobile devices (including building and devising them for the seniors market), to library and information sciences and to information literacy community education research. It also contributes to our understanding of older Australians and their use of technology. Further, this study adds new understanding about older adults’ engagement with information using mobile devices in their everyday life. This research contributes to the expansion of information literacy research from a sociocultural perspective in a community context, with new knowledge and understanding about how older adults experience information literacy and how their information literacy experiences are socially and culturally influenced by their interactions within
that community.