Changing Technology Use, Confidence, and Support Needs Among Older Adults in United Kingdom Retirement Villages:...

Assistive technologies can support independent living among older adults, helping manage health and maintain independence, but uptake is often constrained by attitudes, confidence, and socioeconomic factors. The COVID-19 lockdowns accelerated technology use across all age groups, offering a natural experiment to examine changes in adoption.

This study aimed to examine changing patterns of technology use in older adults, to provide insight as to how service providers can support the use of technology to enhance resident independence and well-being.

Two cross-sectional surveys were conducted in United Kingdom retirement villages operated by a single housing provider, one immediately before the pandemic (2020, n=1707 across 19 sites) and one after lockdowns were lifted (2023, n=45 at one site), assessing technology confidence, device ownership, internet use, and learning pathways. Semistructured interviews with 8 participants in a technology trial scheme provided qualitative depth. Integration followed a connecting approach, with quantitative findings identifying patterns and qualitative data contextualizing them.

Technology adoption increased significantly between 2020 and 2023, with older adults reporting greater confidence (M=2.29 to M=3.36; P<.001), higher device ownership, and increased internet use across all activities. Self-education and informal support from family or friends were the most common pathways to adoption, with 69% (31/45) of 2023 participants reporting learning from friends or family compared with 20% (44/216)-28% (416/1491) in 2020. Age-related differences in confidence observed in 2020 were no longer apparent in 2023, although gender disparities persisted across all surveys, with men reporting significantly higher confidence (P=.007, r=0.42 in 2023). No significant differences were found based on socioeconomic indicators. Qualitative findings revealed that positive technology experiences were predominantly social in nature, while health-related features such as medication reminders went largely unused. Integration of the 2 strands showed that the qualitative data expanded, confirmed, or explained the survey findings, while the gender gap remained unresolved by the qualitative strand due to the self-selected nature of the interview sample.

Findings demonstrate that the pandemic accelerated lasting increases in technology adoption among older adults, though these changes also reflect broader societal, technological, and community-level factors. The persistent gender gap in confidence likely reflects cumulative life-course disadvantages in workplace technology exposure. Technology provision for older adults appears most effective when embedded within the social fabric of a community. These results provide evidence for housing providers and policymakers to formalize peer support pathways, introduce health-related technology through trusted social relationships, and design support that aligns with how residents are actually learning.