Research On The Use Of Smart Phone By Urban Elders From The Perspective Of Digital Divide Theory ——Based On A Qualitative Study Of Elders In Shijiazhuang City

With the development of mobile Internet,5G technology and artificial intelligence technology,smart phones have facilitated people’s daily life.However,due to the lack of technology suitable for aging and the physiological limitations brought about by aging,the elders are increasingly facing new technologies.Under such a realistic background,combining with the theory of the digital divide and starting from the problems encountered by the urban elderly when using smartphones,it is necessary to explore the digital dilemma encountered by the elderly and their solutions.This research summarized the development process of the theory by sorting out the theory of the digital divide and the new manifestations of the digital divide in the context of the intelligent media era,and analyzed the specific phenomenon of the digital dilemma faced by the elders.Based on the theoretical connotation of the digital divide,a qualitative research method combining in-depth interviews and grounded theory was used.On the basis of in-depth interviews with the elderly in the urban area of Shijiazhuang,grounded theory was used to interpret the concepts and relationships between the original materials obtained from the interviews..Firstly,in the selection of interviewees,snowball sampling method was used,referring to the sampling procedure of grounded theory,and a total of 26 elderly people were selected through three samplings for interviews until the content was saturated.Secondly,through the openness,main axis and selective coding of the interview content,the road map of smartphone usage of the urban elderly was initially formed.The study found that after the elderly group has a certain cognition and contact behavior of smart phones,the experience generated will furthelyr affect the cognition and use of smart phones by the elderly.In the process of transformation from cognition to behavior,family members,friends and society all have different influences on this process.The digital divide had also emerged in this process.The lack of media cognition among the elders creates an access gap,while differences in action thinking will catalyze the use gap.This study combined the current situation of smartphone use among the urban elders with the digital divide theory,enriched the theoretical connotation of the digital divide,and explored how society should use the advantages of digital technology to narrow the digital divide faced by the elders.With the rapid development of smart technology,researching the use of smart phones among the urban elderly will play a certain role in improving the level of social care and promoting the development of the digital economy.