Rural and Non-Rural Digital Divide Persists in Older Adults: Internet Access, Usage, and Perception

Hee Yun Lee, Eun Young Choi, Youngsun Kim, Jessica Neese, Yan Luo · 2020 · Innovation in Aging

Summary. Older adults in rural America face a persistent digital divide compared to urban peers. Rural residents aged 50+ have 29% lower odds of internet access and use technology less across communication, financial, health, and media applications. Rural non-users also perceive technology as overly complicated and difficult to learn. The study calls for targeted interventions to expand broadband infrastructure and digital skills training in rural communities.

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Lee, H. Y., Choi, E. Y., Kim, Y., Neese, J., & Luo, Y.. (2020). Rural and Non-Rural Digital Divide Persists in Older Adults: Internet Access, Usage, and Perception. Innovation in Aging. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1329

@article{lee-2020-rural-non-rural-digital-divide,
  title   = {Rural and Non-Rural Digital Divide Persists in Older Adults: Internet Access, Usage, and Perception},
  author  = {Hee Yun Lee and Eun Young Choi and Youngsun Kim and Jessica Neese and Yan Luo},
  journal = {Innovation in Aging},
  year    = {2020},
  doi     = {10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1329},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1329}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Rural and Non-Rural Digital Divide Persists in Older Adults: Internet Access, Usage, and Perception
AU  - Hee Yun Lee
AU  - Eun Young Choi
AU  - Youngsun Kim
AU  - Jessica Neese
AU  - Yan Luo
JO  - Innovation in Aging
PY  - 2020
DO  - 10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1329
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1329
ER  -

Details

DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1329
Countries: United States
Regions: North America
Categories: broadband-and-digital, rural-healthcare
Added: 2026-04-28