The Impact of the Digital Divide on Older Adults’ Use of Financial Elderly Care Services

Abstract

With the digital transformation of financial services, the impact of the digital divide on older adults’ access to financial elderly care services has become increasingly prominent. Based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and theories of social exclusion, this paper analyzes how the digital divide hinders older adults from effectively utilizing financial elderly care services. The study finds that the digital divide primarily manifests as barriers to access, insufficient digital skills, lack of age-friendly design, and psychological resistance, leading to information asymmetry, restricted decision-making, financial exclusion, and social isolation among older adults in financial service usage. To mitigate these challenges, measures such as age-adaptive technology design, policy support, family-based digital mentoring, and service optimization are proposed to enhance older adults’ digital financial literacy and promote inclusive development of elderly care financial services.