Fear-Specific Technophobia as a Mediator Between Daily Technical Support and Instrumental Versus Hedonic Technology...

Population aging and rapid digitalization have intensified concerns about older adults' digital participation. Although access disparities have narrowed, older adults continue to differ from younger groups in how they use digital technologies, with their use skewed toward instrumental rather than hedonic purposes. Technophobia is a salient psychological barrier; yet, its distinct fear dimensions and their links to different forms of technology use remain insufficiently differentiated. Daily technical support (DTS) may provide an important sociotechnical context for understanding these relationships.

This study aimed to test how DTS promotes older adults' instrumental and hedonic technology use by reducing multidimensional technophobia (fear of inconvenience, fear of personal failure, and human-machine ambiguity) and whether these mechanisms differ by gender.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among Chinese adults aged ≥55 years recruited via online platforms and offline communities in Nanjing (June-October 2024). A total of 212 valid responses were included (mean age 66.96, SD 6.96, range 55-86 years; 142/212, 68.4% women). Measures assessed day-to-day technical support, 3 dimensions of technophobia, instrumental versus hedonic technology use, and demographic variables. We used partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with 5000 bootstrap resamples to test direct, indirect, and moderated mediation effects, reporting 95% bias-corrected and accelerated (BCa) CI.

DTS significantly reduced fear of inconvenience (β=-0.455, 95% BCa CI -0.632 to -0.229; P<.001) but did not significantly affect fear of personal failure (P=.12) or human-machine ambiguity (P=.26). Fear of inconvenience and human-machine ambiguity negatively predicted instrumental use (IU; β=-0.215, 95% BCa CI -0.410 to -0.009; P=.05 and β=-0.211, 95% BCa CI -0.389 to -0.001; P=.04). DTS had a positive direct effect on IU (β=0.104, 95% BCa CI 0.009 to 0.203; P=.04) but not on hedonic use (HU; β=0.075; P=.11). The indirect effect of DTS on IU through fear of inconvenience was significant (β=0.097, 95% BCa CI 0.020-0.204). Gender moderated the effect of DTS on fear of inconvenience (β=0.287, 95% BCa CI 0.052-0.518; P=.02), and such conditional indirect effect was significant for men (β=0.098, 95% BCa CI 0.001-0.219) but not for women (β=0.036, 95% BCa CI -0.002 to 0.116).

DTS was associated with greater instrumental technology use among older adults through lower fear of inconvenience, with a stronger indirect association among men, whereas no comparable pathway emerged for HU. This suggests that gender may shape how older adults benefit psychologically from technical support rather than reflect general differences in support needs. Interventions should move beyond one-size-fits-all approaches by providing targeted, task-oriented support that addresses older adults' specific technological fears and practical barriers.