The lived experience and life-course context of older adults' digitally-supported collective engagement

Despite the growing digitalisation of collective engagement activities, how older adults integrate everyday digital technologies into these engagement routines remains poorly understood – particularly in the context of life-course factors and daily lived experiences. This study examines the lived experiences and life-course contexts informing older adults' use of digital technologies for collective engagement. Employing a mixed-methods approach (policy stakeholder interviews; a national survey of 464 older retirement association members; 40 in-depth follow-up interviews; a participatory research translation forum), the study considers engagement across three spheres: social participation, information access, and advocacy. The findings demonstrate a multifaceted interplay between digital technology and collective engagement amongst older adults. While overall technology adoption rates amongst older participants are high, significant variations exist in usage patterns and comfort levels based on individual digital proficiency. The study identifies five key determinants influencing technology use for collective activities: lifelong development and engagement trajectories; geographies of engagement; social relationships; structural exclusion and ageism; and attitudes located on a continuum of acceptance and resistance. The research highlights that the transition to collective forms of digital engagement for older people is advancing at different rates for various groups. The study argues that the digital divide in later life originates in the conditions around older adults rather than in their capabilities, and that extending access does little where those conditions are unchanged. It calls for a digital transition that invests in these conditions to support agency in collective engagement, whether digitally mediated or not.