Acceptance of information technology and the internet by people aged over fifty in Taiwan

Information technology and the Internet are becoming increasingly important in daily life for acquiring knowledge or information. Unfortunately, although the population aged over 50 is increasing, many current websites are not suitable for their use (Payne, 2002; Ryu, Kim, & Lee, 2009). We constructed a research model based on the technology acceptance model (TAM; Davis, 1986) and analyzed acceptance of accessible page systems by people aged over 50, using the Taoyuan Gueishan Township Office website as a representative sample. Results revealed a strong inclination toward using the websites and most users rated the webpage as easy to use and said it was a positive learning experience. The tangible benefits of this study are that the requirements for websites by those in the 50+ age group are identified, web developers can use the results to design a suitable website, and thus the results could lead to the development of more accessible pages for those ages 50 and over.