| Sumario: | Purpose In Western societies, digital literacy and the use of digital technologies is crucial to ensure social inclusion in later life. Consequently, the question why older adults use or do not use digital technologies has become a major question in gerontological research. Studies have repeatedly shown that older adults are less likely to use the internet (Hunsaker & Hargittai, 201 8) and generally show lower digital literacy (Kolland et al., 2011). However, in contrast to the strong empirical evidence on the barriers older adults face in their access to the internet, concepts that explain non-use of digital technologies in later life seem to be under-developed. A recent review suggested that most studies use technology acceptance models to explain technology non-use in later life, framing non-use as a result of low acceptance, low literacy or a rational decision by the older non user (Wanka & Gallistl, 201 8). Others have, however, argued that non-use might not only be a result of lacking acceptance or competence, but might be purposeful, instructive and well-planned by older adults (Knowles & Hanson, 2018). In this paper, we want to contribute to this debate and widen the perspective on non-use in later life by looking at the contexts and everyday practices (Shove et al., 2012) of non-use of digital technologies: What are circumstances and reasons for the non-use of digital technologies in later life? What does it mean to use or not use digital technologies in later life and might there not only be one form of non-use, but many (through, e.g., forms of digital avoidance, exclusion, but also resistance)? Method We conducted 15 semi-structured interviews with Austrians aged 60 years or older (Age range: 69-88, M=79.5), who have never used a computer and use the internet irregularly. Interview partners were asked to talk about their contacts with digital technologies and their daily life without them. The interviews were analysed following Grounded Theory of Strauss and Corbin (1999) (Strauss & Corbin, 1999). Results & Discussion Results show that non-use of digital technology is not only characterized by the absence of ICTs in everyday life but actively formed by older adults' through a wide variety of everyday practices. Most of our interview partners showed "passive usage", which included a variety of avoidance practices (e.g. asking others to search for information online or to share pictures). However, our interview partners did not only describe avoidance practices, but also usage practices, which can be labelled as "failed usage". Most of our interview partners tried to appropriate digital technology but failed, either because of lacking support or no usability in daily life. This highlights the precarious status of support structures older adults experience in their technology appropriation: Intergenerational support as well as professional learning programs were hardly available to our interview partners. Data therefore shows that non-use of digital technologies is not (just) a rational decision but embedded into social networks and (lacking) support structures. Non-use of digital technologies is multifaceted and involves active as well as passive usage and builds upon a magnitude on life experiences. This needs to be considered when designing programs to support digital literacy.
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