Use of Electronic Mail by Educated Older Adults in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study presents preliminary findings on the use of e-mails by educated older adults in Nigeria-based areas of residency.  This study is based on a quantitative survey (n = 167) which investigated the level of awareness and use of e-mails, reasons for use and non-use, as well as continuance and intention to use e-mail by older adults in three settings (urban, semi-urban, and rural areas) of Oyo state, Nigeria. A questionnaire was used to collect data. Results showed that about half of the educated older adults were aware of e-mail with a higher percentage of those aware residing in the urban area. There was a low level of usage of e-mail, especially among the semi-urban and rural dwellers. The major purpose of using e-mail was to receive alerts for banking transactions. E-mail users at the three locations intended to continue using e-mail, although the intention was stronger among the semi-urban and rural dwellers. Most non-users in the semi-urban and rural locations were not aware of e-mail, while most did not use e-mail because they had alternative means of communicating with people and saw no need for it. Concerns about the security of e-mails, lack of awareness of the benefits of using e-mail, and lack of literacy in e-mail use are some other reasons for non-use. Most of the non-users had the intention to use e-mail in the future, especially those in urban and semi-urban areas.  It is recommended that efforts be geared towards creating more awareness about the importance of e-mail among the older population as well as developing training interventions on the use of e-mail, especially among the semi-urban and rural dwellers.