Measuring and applying digital literacy: Implications for access for the elderly in rural China

Increasing the well-being of the rural elderly in developing countries is one of the vital objectives of facilitating equality and security, people-centered, sustainable social development, and inclusive globalization. From the perspective of digital literacy, the direction and theoretical mechanism of the effect of basic and advanced digital literacy on the sense of access of the rural elderly are analyzed in this study from a multi-dimensional and multi-level perspective based on the data of the 2018 China Elderly Social Tracking Survey (CLASS). The result of this study indicates that for the currently Internet-connected rural elderly in China, basic digital literacy is at a moderate to low level, and those with advanced digital literacy remain a minority, whereas basic and advanced digital literacy can enhance the sense of access of the above groups. The effects of both on the enhancement of sense of access are relatively close. Digital literacy is capable of reducing the cost of knowledge and effective information acquisition, strengthening risk appetite, increasing the efficiency of resource endowment allocation, and achieving a sense of access. Compared with the eastern region, the digital literacy of non-eastern rural elderly has more room for improvement. Furthermore, the effect of digital literacy on the rural elderly' sense of access is moderated by the presence or absence of family "digital feedbacks". The results provide important assistance to government departments in formulating precise and effective policies in an era where ageing and the digital economy converge.