Predictors of Internet Use Among Older Adults With Diabetes in South Korea: Survey Study

Internet access in Korea has grown dramatically over the past two decades. However, disparities in internet use, referred to as the second level of the digital divide, persist.

This study aims to examine opportunity, motivation, and health variables that indicate internet use among older adults with diabetes.

Data were sourced from a nationally representative sample of people 65 years and older with diabetes (N=1919). Logistic regression was used to explore potential differences in predictor variables between internet users and nonusers.

Only 306 of the 1919 (15.95%) participants in the sample used the internet. They were more likely to be younger (odds ratio [OR] 0.89, 95% CI 0.87-0.92), well-educated (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.16-1.26), and able to afford leisure expenditures (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01-1.04). Additionally, they had more information and communications technology (ICT) training experience, were motivated to learn, volunteered, and reported good physical and cognitive function. Participation in ICT education and better health more positively correlated with a higher rate of internet use than did years of education or economic standing in older adults with diabetes.

To support older adults with diabetes in the internet age, policies and health care providers should focus on digital competency training as well as physical and cognitive function.