Science AI Journal
Social Sciences · Research topic

Open research questions in Technology Use by Older Adults

370 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 2,477 Technology Use by Older Adults papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • The accumulation of information and the fragmentation of navigation paths in digital communication infrastructures. The lack of consistency in the presentation and organization of content. The need to develop an integrated analytical model to assess digital waste, communicative noise, cognitive accessibility, and institutional orientation toward older adults.

    Digital Waste and Communicative Noise in Age‐Friendly Municipal Communication · 2026 · DOI

  • The study does not directly assess users' subjective experiences, - The analysis is based on a systematic content analysis of municipal digital ecosystems, - The study leaves user-experienced public value to be tested directly in future research

    Digital Waste and Communicative Noise in Age‐Friendly Municipal Communication · 2026 · DOI

  • Older adults' encounters with significant barriers in social learning environments. The need for age-friendly design and technological adaptation to support older adults' digital health management. The challenge of maintaining long-term learning motivation in digital technology among older adults.

    Digital technologies-enhanced older adults health management: developing a five-dimensional extension of social learning theory for community settings · 2025 · DOI

  • individuals with severe cognitive impairments or communication difficulties were excluded, - small sample size of 20 older adults, - limited to Macao's unique socio-cultural context

    Digital technologies-enhanced older adults health management: developing a five-dimensional extension of social learning theory for community settings · 2025 · DOI

  • The study identifies technological anxiety and perceived risk as key challenges to the adoption of online medical services among older adults. The study also notes that the lack of trust in online medical services is a challenge. The study highlights the need for adequate training and technical support for older adults to use online medical services.

    Exploring the factors influencing the adoption of online medical services by older adults: a modified UTAUT2 based study · 2025 · DOI

  • Further research should investigate the role of price value in the adoption of OMS, - Future studies should explore the impact of technological anxiety and perceived risk on the adoption of OMS, - Research should be conducted to develop strategies to increase trust and reduce technological anxiety among older adults

    Exploring the factors influencing the adoption of online medical services by older adults: a modified UTAUT2 based study · 2025 · DOI

  • Physiological factors, such as declining vision and motor skills, create difficulties in adopting smart integrated devices. Psychological barriers, such as technophobia, also pose challenges for older adults. Social obstacles, including limited digital literacy, hinder the adoption of smart devices among the elderly.

    Examining factors influencing the adoption of smart integrated devices by the elderly in the digital era: insights from behavioral design theory · 2025 · DOI

  • investigate the mechanisms by which Mahjong affects cognitive function, - examine the effects of Mahjong on cognitive function in different populations, - explore the potential benefits of Mahjong for other aspects of health and well-being

    Longitudinal associations between the frequency of playing Mahjong and cognitive functioning among older people in China: evidence from CLHLS, 2008–2018 · 2024 · DOI

  • physical and cognitive impairment can prevent older residents from using technological solutions, - residents with reduced muscle function may find it particularly difficult to operate handheld devices, - older residents tend to lack the digital competence to operate digital devices on their own.

    Socially connected while apart: the use of technology to increase social connection between nursing home residents and their relatives · 2024 · DOI

  • The mechanisms underlying the relationship between internet use and cognitive functioning in older adults remain insufficiently understood in the literature. There is a need to investigate the associations between different dimensions of internet use and cognitive performance in older adults.

    Multidimensional internet use related to cognitive performance in older persons: a nationwide cross-sectional study · 2024 · DOI

  • One challenge is the potential for cognitive decline and physical limitations in older adults, which may affect their ability to participate in board games. Another challenge is the need to develop board games that are suitable for older adults, with appropriate levels of difficulty and engagement. A third challenge is the need to investigate the long-term effects of board game playing on well-being in older people.

    Aging with board games: fostering well-being in the older population · 2024 · DOI

  • Few studies have investigated the role of play activities, such as board games, in promoting well-being in older people. There is a need for research on the effectiveness of board games in promoting well-being in older people, particularly in terms of the level of difficulty.

    Aging with board games: fostering well-being in the older population · 2024 · DOI

  • The mediating role of Internet use was not statistically significant in the weighted estimates, suggesting a modest pathway that warrants further investigation.

    Longitudinal associations between impairment in Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and depressive symptoms in older adults: the mediating role of internet use based on longitudinal lagged mediation analysis in a decade-long five-wave prospective cohort study · 2026 · DOI

  • While individual risk factors for loneliness in old age are well-documented, contextual factors are scarcely explored, such as digitalization.

    Early Adoption of Digital Devices and Change in Loneliness Over 10 Years Among Late Middle–Aged and Older Adults: Longitudinal Cohort Study · 2026 · DOI

  • For intervention strategies, both technology-based and social intervention show positive effects on reducing loneliness and social isolation, but the evidence is limited due to the heterogeneity and methodological weaknesses.

    The Impact of Loneliness and Social Isolation on Older Adults and the Effect of Intervention s · 2026 · DOI

  • Yet, the practical mechanisms by which SHEC initiatives translate policy goals into inclusive, community-based care are insufficiently explored.

    Understanding smart health and elderly care implementation in China: a qualitative TOE-C framework analysis of 24 cases · 2026 · DOI

  • Thus, little is known about how Canadians perceive and understand the privacy, data collection, and safety elements of their SHTs.

    Examining Canadian Smart Home Technology Users’ Perceptions of Privacy, Risks, Safety, and Data Collection Purposes: Cross-Sectional National Survey · 2026 · DOI

  • For probable cognitive impairment, the direct association remained significant, and the significant indirect components were limited to the burden route.

    Low Digital Engagement, Depressive Symptoms, and Probable Cognitive Impairment Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Shanghai: A Cross-Sectional Path Analysis of Self-Perceived Burden, Uselessness, and Loneliness · 2026 · DOI

  • Low engagement with digital technologies is increasingly recognized as a health-related correlate in later life, yet the psychosocial variables linking it to mental and cognitive health remain unclear.

    Low Digital Engagement, Depressive Symptoms, and Probable Cognitive Impairment Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Shanghai: A Cross-Sectional Path Analysis of Self-Perceived Burden, Uselessness, and Loneliness · 2026 · DOI

  • However, limited research has explored the influence mechanism of this social integration.

    Intergenerational digital feedback and digital social integration of older adults: an empirical study from personal initiative perspective · 2025 · DOI

  • Despite smart technologies' promising potential, the cognitive and behavioral intentions of older adults living in underdeveloped areas remain poorly understood.

    When “Aging” meets “Intelligence”: smart health cognition and intentions of older adults in rural Western China · 2025 · DOI

  • BACKGROUND: Mobile gaming applications are increasingly marketed as cognitive training tools for older adults, yet their scientific validity and accessibility remain uncertain.

    Mobile Gaming for Cognitive Health in Older Adults: A Scoping Review of App Store Applications · 2025 · DOI

  • Additionally, while research has concluded that internet use is significantly associated with higher levels of subjective wellbeing, it remains unclear whether these associations might become insignificant or negative under certain conditions.

    The dark side of the association between internet use and older adults’ subjective wellbeing: the role of subjective social class · 2025 · DOI

  • However, the relationship between internet use and frailty among older adults remains underexplored.

    Internet use patterns and their relationship with frailty in older Japanese adults · 2025 · DOI

  • Few studies have focused on exploring family caregivers’ (FCGs) behavioural intention of using such innovation, and even fewer have employed a technology acceptance framework.

    Family caregivers’ acceptance of Artificial Intelligence-enabled technologies for providing care to older adults · 2025 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Technology Use by Older Adults

Most recent work

Find a gap in your own Technology Use by Older Adults sub-topic

This page shows what the Technology Use by Older Adults literature already flags as unresolved. To narrow it to your specific question, run the guided finder — it searches the gap library on demand and checks candidates against 250M+ OpenAlex works.

Open the Research Gap Finder →

Related topics in Social Sciences

Legal Issues in Turkey
2,430 open questions
Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis
2,108 open questions
Higher Education Research Studies
1,907 open questions
Global Educational Policies and Reforms
1,881 open questions
Teacher Education and Leadership Studies
1,849 open questions
Social Work Education and Practice
1,735 open questions
Science Education and Pedagogy
1,620 open questions
Electoral Systems and Political Participation
1,568 open questions
370 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 2,477 Technology Use by Older Adults papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

Tools for your next paper

Gaps & Literature SearchFind open questions in any field — 120,000+ open gaps mined from our own library.Pre-CheckIs your paper ready? A Tier 1–5 acceptance probability in seconds.Journal FinderA ranked shortlist of target journals from a 17,500-venue index.Duplicate Publication CheckerCheck prior-publication & salami-slicing risk across 8 sources.Citation GeneratorFreeA DOI or title → APA, MLA, Vancouver, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS. No signup.Graphical Abstract MakerFreeTurn your findings into a colorblind-safe graphical abstract.

Compare the category — Honest roundups of the AI research tools, ours listed alongside the alternatives.

Command palette

Jump anywhere, run any action.