Levels of digital identity for older-adults learners. A validated scale for their digital inclusion

Abstract

[EN] This paper presents outcomes of a research program on the validation of a scale based on a theoretical proposal of three levels for the digital identity construction and development for older-adult learners. Age barriers for learning in our hyperconnected societies involve several gaps for the adults' lifelong learning and their full inclusion. Digital gaps include the motives and uses of older-adult learners for using digital platforms and resources, for this reason, in this paper the analysis of digital identity is associated with their Internet activity performances, aiming to analyze the relationship among the digital uses with their level of digital identity and digital inclusion. The scale was validated with a sample of senior learners (N = 659) aged 55 years old and over who already are involved in active aging programs of Adult Education in Spain. Twenty Likert-type items were used to measure the agreement with the relevance of the digital identity factors for the three levels, along with two other validated scales for the evaluation of their Internet uses and motivations. Exploratory and confirmatory analysis confirmed a factorial structure of three levels based on the location, access, and significance of digital identity. Results showed that uses and motives correlated with the digital identity of the older-adult learners, with key considerations for the design of digital literacy proposals in Lifelong Learning Programs.