Supplemental material for the research paper "The combined influence of attitudinal components on older adults’ adaptation to social media: A case study in China"

Previous studies have frequently overlooked or stereotyped digital technology use among older consumers, inaccurately assuming that they have a homogenized digital engagement driven by lacked digital literacy. With global aging and the pervasive use of social media, the older population is experiencing a transition from a binary digital divide to a “participation divide” where personal preferences and perceptions of technology are increasingly recognized as important factors. Based on data collected from an internet survey of 343 Chinese older adults, this paper aims to explore how components of attitude jointly influence older adults’ adaptation to social media platforms. This study finds that both cognition (perceived control) and affection (perceived enjoyment, fear, and trust) influence older people’s adaptation behaviors towards social media. Additionally, inconsistent with the existing technology adaptation models, both perceived opportunity and social influence have a statistically insignificant association with positive adaptation behaviors, and a lower degree of perceived control may not lead to technology avoidance. Integrating both attitudinal attributes provides a deeper and more holistic insight into consumers’ technological adaptation and use in a given context. Social media developers can also benefit from the study to profile older users and understand their patterns of engaging with social media platforms.