Abstract:

Under the background of high-quality elderly care, in order to respond proactively to the multiple attributes of the digital society, the elderly need to possess functional operational capabilities, information discrimination abilities, and dynamic technological adaptability in their digital lives. Their endogenous motivation mainly stems from the release of subjectivity under the necessity of survival, the perception of identity crisis in the iteration of digital intelligence technology, and the need for social reintegration after “digital alienation”. The essence of the elderly’s capabilities in the digital life is to seek digital “entry”, technological “following”, and social “integration” from the subject level, thereby obtaining substantive freedom and welfare and avoiding possible “digital poverty”. The effective paths to enhance the capabilities of the elderly in the digital life include government-led inclusive policy design and service supply, the formation of a social support network for technological assistance, enterprises strengthening their social responsibility for the production of age-friendly digital products, and the establishment of intergenerational mutual assistance mechanisms within families.

Key words: elderly, digital viability, endogenous motivation, social support, entry-following-integration