Effects of digitalisation in (post) COVID-19 era on quality of life, and social inclusion of older adults (DIGOLD)

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a series of turbulent changes in society, the extent and direction of which cannot yet be fully identified. Controlling the spread of the COVID-19 disease also included limiting contacts and closing national borders. At the same time, ICT was the safest opportunity to socialise, study, shop, work, and conduct other forms of cooperation. As a result, this COVID-related digitalisation has triggered the accelerated use of ICT, especially in certain groups of people, and caused digital exclusion in others. This raises the key question of how broad and universal the adoption of ICT was due to the “pressure” of digitization during COVID-19. Has it led to increased levels of life quality and social inclusion in older adults, and are newly acquired ICT skills be maintained in the post-COVID-19 period as well? Hence, in the current situation, we perceive a unique opportunity to understand how major societal changes affect the lives of older adults in the context of demographic aging and long live society. The research project pursues the following objectives: (i) to test the theoretical hypothesis of ICT promotion among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of country-specific measures by the secondary analysis of time series of quantitative empirical data and policy expert interviews; (ii) to determine, by secondary analysis, by representative survey, and by in-depth interviews, the prevalence of ICT use among older adults and whether it was and still is a ""democratic"" process, paying special attention to the comparison of older adults with younger adults, and different groups of older people, according to age, gender, education, income, ICT experience and place of residence, (iii) to identify, using multiple stages of triangulation, the impact of ICT use on quality of life and multidimensional social inclusion in older adults. As we assume that intercultural differences, social structures, and other factors at the macro level are among the factors influencing the use of ICT among older adults along with their digital literacy and social inclusion, we designed the research project around cooperation between Slovenia and the Czech Republic. The research results (conference papers, journal articles, chapters in scientific monographs, a scientific monograph, participation in conferences, workshops, and round tables) will have practical, theoretical, and comparative value and make a contribution to policy formation in digital and ageing societies. They will help to answer general questions about the capacity for learning ICT in later life and about the promoters and inhibitors of social inclusion in older adults. The research results will improve the planning, implementation, and evaluation of strategies, policies, and practices in the areas of ensuring digital literacy among older adults at the micro, mezzo and macro levels, especially in times of dynamic social change. They will be useful both for the authors of strategic and legislative documents and for decision-makers and organisations working in the field of the digitalisation of society in the context of reducing the digital divide. The research project results will also provide the general professional public with important insights for the formulation of more general policies relating to older adults and their quality of life.