| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 圖書資訊學研究所 === 101 === This study explores Taiwan baby boomers’ internet use behavior, including internet use motives, online activities, using problems, problem solving ways, and the impacts of internet use on their daily life. Based on these analyses, this study aims to suggest the public libraries to develop or improve the internet services for the elderly.
This study conducted semi-structured interview and questionnaire to collect data. The 20 participants were collected by purposive sampling and snowball sampling techniques. Subjects’ age range from 50 to 65, mainly in the age range from 50 to 55, more females than the males. The results of this study can be summarized as follows:
I. Motives for using internet: The initial motivation is to “fulfill the work demands”. As spending more and more time online, the participants’ internet use motives change to “connect with others”, and “fulfill his/her own interests”.
II. Online activities: The main online activities include “reading internet news”, “send and receive e-mails”, and “search information by searching engines.” Besides, this study also finds out that “using social networking sites (Facebook) ” is a popular online activity among baby boomers. Other results of the online activities can be summarized as follows:
a. Baby boomers are usually “browsing” on the internet, but less to writing or interacting with strangers.
b. Baby boomers are interested in using social networking service (Facebook).
c. Usually use the Internet to search health information.
d. Usually use the Internet to study the information of stocks.
e. Internet replaces TV. The participants have highly demands on online video and music.
f. Baby boomers concern that with the danger of online shopping.
III. Internet using problems: It includes the age-related degeneration of the eye, fearing of the Internet crime, not familiar to use the keyboard, can’t find the functional hyperlinks on the websites, the systems have no response, and the low speed rate of the internet.
IV. The ways of problem solving: The participants tend to find someone to help them solve the using problems, especially their children or colleagues. They also try to solve the problems by themselves. If they can’t solve the problems by themselves or can’t find someone to help, they will give up to deal with the problems.
V. The impacts of using internet in the everyday life: There are positive and negative impacts on the baby boomers’ everyday life by using internet. But positive impacts are more than negative impacts. Using internet indeed help baby boomers to enhance their social support, to raise the quality of life, and to preserve independence. Furthermore, the baby boomers’ moods or emotion also become positive by receiving the pleasure information.
Based on the study, the researcher proposes three suggestions for public libraries to develop or improve the Internet services for the elderly. First, public libraries should provide the attractive and appropriate equipments for older people. For example, providing the handwriting or voice input equipments to help elderly who is not familiar to use the keyboard. Second, combines the interesting lessons and the ICT teaching, in order to help the elderly participants to know how to fulfill their personal interests by using the internet. Third, develops the elderly information services. For example, categorizing and providing the digital resources that fit to elderly’s interests. Public Libraries also can build a Facebook “Your Page”, in order to provide information to elderly or to answer their questions on the Facebook.
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