Technology and transportation’s role in social isolation in rural older adults

This study examines the perceptions and experiences of rural older adults. More specifically, their community experiences, connections, technology, and transportation. Past literature, when examining these topics, took a quantitative approach utilizing scales. This study takes a qualitative approach, utilizing semi-structured interviews to examine the feelings behind the experiences of the participants. Interviews were conducted with four older rural adults. The four participants were female and were of varying marital statuses. Three of the participants were Caucasian, and one was African American. Four themes were found in this process. It was found that the participants were content with the connections that they had, alluding to the quality of connections outweighing the quantity of connections. The theme of community awareness was evident in how the participants were diligent in connecting to their communities. The fear and education of technology were found as themes in the interviews. It was found that older adults were scared of messing up technology while simultaneously not wanting education on technology. The last theme was concerns of public transportation, meaning that there were needs for public transportation and improvements that needed to be made to existing infrastructure. The themes point to the need to simplify practices when utilizing technology and increase communication regarding public transit.