PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Social technology can improve the quality of social lives of older adults (OAs) and mitigate negative mental and physical health outcomes. When people engage with technology, they can do so to stimulate social interaction (stimulation hypothesis) or disengage from their real world (disengagement hypothesis), according to Nowland et al.\'s model of the relationship between social Internet use and loneliness. External events, such as large periods of social isolation like during the COVID-19 pandemic, can also affect whether people use technology in line with the stimulation or disengagement hypothesis. We examined how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the social challenges OAs faced and their expectations for robot technology to solve their challenges. We conducted two participatory design (PD) workshops with OAs during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, OAs\' primary concern was distanced communication with family members, with a prevalent desire to assist them through technology. They also wanted to share experiences socially, as such OA\'s attitude toward technology could be explained mostly by the stimulation hypothesis. However, after COVID-19 the pandemic, their focus shifted towards their own wellbeing. Social isolation and loneliness were already significant issues for OAs, and these were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, such OAs\' attitudes toward technology after the pandemic could be explained mostly by the disengagement hypothesis. This clearly reflect the OA\'s current situation that they have been getting further digitally excluded due to rapid technological development during the pandemic. Both during and after the pandemic, OAs found it important to have technologies that were easy to use, which would reduce their digital exclusion. After the pandemic, we found this especially in relation to newly developed technologies meant to help people keep at a distance. To effectively integrate these technologies and avoid excluding large parts of the population, society must address the social challenges faced by OAs.
摘要：
社会技术可以改善老年人的社会生活质量，并减轻负面的身心健康结果。当人们接触技术时，他们可以这样做，以刺激社会互动(刺激假说)或脱离现实世界(脱离接触假说)，根据Nowland等人的说法。社交互联网使用与孤独感关系的模型。外部事件,例如在COVID-19大流行期间的长时间社会孤立，也会影响人们使用技术是否符合刺激或脱离假设。我们研究了COVID-19大流行如何影响OAs面临的社会挑战，以及他们对机器人技术解决挑战的期望。在COVID-19大流行期间和之后，我们与OAs进行了两次参与式设计（PD）研讨会。大流行期间,OAs主要关心的是与家庭成员的远距离沟通，普遍希望通过技术帮助他们。他们还想在社会上分享经验，因此，OA对技术的态度主要可以用刺激假说来解释。然而,在COVID-19大流行之后，他们的注意力转向了自己的福祉。社会孤立和孤独已经是OAs的重要问题，COVID-19大流行加剧了这些情况。因此,这种OAs在大流行后对技术的态度主要可以用脱离接触假说来解释。这清楚地反映了OA的现状，即由于大流行期间技术的快速发展，他们已经被进一步数字化排除在外。在大流行期间和之后，OAs发现拥有易于使用的技术很重要，这将减少他们的数字排斥。大流行之后,我们发现这尤其是与新开发的技术有关，旨在帮助人们保持距离。为了有效地整合这些技术，避免排除大部分人口，社会必须应对OAs面临的社会挑战。
