Investigating the Adoption and Use of Smartphones in the UK: A Silver-Surfers Perspective

In this decade, smartphones are innovations that provide immense benefits and convenience to users in society. When considering users, Silver-surfers or older adults (50+) are one of the largest demographic groups that are overlooked by both the industry and academia. Currently, there is minimal knowledge of the reasons that older adults adopt and use smartphones. Bearing this in mind, this completed research study aims to investigate the adoption and usage behaviors of silver-surfers. For this purpose, the conceptual framework applied to this research draws factors from the theories of Unified theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), the Diffusion of Innovations theory (DoI) and TAM3. From the online survey of 204 completed replies it was found that observability, compatibility, social influence, facilitating conditions, effort expectancy and enjoyment are important to the adoption and use of smartphones within silver-surfers. The contributions of this research are an identification and understanding of the factors that encourage or inhibit smartphones use within the older adult population. Second, this research can inform the design of computing devices and applications used for silver-surfers. Finally, this research can enlighten policy makers when forming decisions that encourage adoption and use of smartphones within silver surfers.