Barriers and Facilitators to Using Information and Communication Technology Among Older Adults in Rural China

China is experiencing rapid aging and digitalization. This study examines how older adults in rural China negotiate the adoption of information and communication technology within their specific sociocultural context. Findings from focus groups and in-depth interviews reveal that digital exclusion is relationally produced and culturally embedded. While mobile Internet expansion has narrowed the access gap, persistent disparities are intensified by the emotional costs of help-seeking, particularly the fear of losing face in peer networks and the burden of asymmetric intergenerational knowledge transfer. Participants employ agentic strategies, including selective self-reliance and emotional management of family tensions to navigate these constraints. ICT engagement facilitates resocialization as a transformative process of identity reconstruction. Policy implications emphasize synergistic interventions that address not only skills and infrastructure, but also the emotional and relational ecologies of technology adoption.