Motivations for cell phone use by older Americans

Despite various limitations and challenges, older Americans increasingly use cellular phones. This exploratory study examined the positive reasons why community-dwelling older adults who lived in Midwestern towns located in the United States used mobile phones. Common responses generated from interviewing 18 senior cell phone users were placed on an original survey instrument given to 100 cell phone users, ages 57-97. Results showed that young old and old old users differed in terms of how and why they used their cell phones. An exploratory factor analysis identified two underlying and correlated factors measuring why older adults used cell phones: usefulness and security. Significant predictors of the level of importance assigned to a cell phone included education, the ability to drive, usefulness, security, and frequently traveling short and long distances.