Why Facebook, Video Calls and Artificial Intelligence Matter for Age-Friendly Communities

Rutgers researchers find that digital tools and technology play critical roles in encouraging active aging

Contrary to common stereotypes, seniors' digital savvy is surging. New research from Rutgers University-New Brunswick suggests one reason why: digital tools are essential for development and maintenance of age-friendly initiatives - programs and policies designed to support and include older adults.

"Our paper calls attention to the fact that technology is critical to making aging-related changes to our societies," said Natalie E. Pope, a doctoral candidate at the Rutgers School of Social Work and coauthor of the study published in the journal Innovation in Aging. "That includes both how older adults interact with technology, and how we, as people who care about aging, use technology in our work."

In the United States, 1 in 6 people is age 65 or older, a population increasing at its fastest rate in more than a century. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of older adults rose by 38.6% to 55.8 million adults, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Age-friendly communities are a global movement to make localities more welcoming to older residents. More than 1,000 U.S. municipalities, counties and states have formally committed to age-friendly progress - from passing affordable housing laws to building more accessible parks.

To examine the role of technology in these initiatives, Pope and Emily A. Greenfield, a professor in the School of Social Work and director of the Rutgers Hub for Aging Collaboration, partnered with AARP to survey leaders of age-friendly community programs.

Written responses were collected by AARP from 200 community leaders nationwide, and the researchers then conducted an additional 13 in-depth interviews. Participants were asked about their use of 16 digital platforms in their work.

They found that 92% of leaders used at least one digital tool in program planning and outreach. The five most common tools, used by more than half of respondents, were online surveys, social media, video conferencing, websites and collaborative file sharing. Facebook was by far the most common social media platform, used by 61% of respondents.

The least-used digital technologies included group text messaging, customer relationship management software, project management software, chatbots and digital marketing platforms.

Participants also reported adjusting their communications and outreach methods based on perceptions of older adults' access to email, websites and social media.

Greenfield said the study was designed to deepen understanding of how digital tools can support the creation of more age-friendly communities. Because most older adults will age in place, she said, thoughtful planning is essential.

"Think about how our communities support the development of kids," Greenfield said. "There are schools and youth programs and well-established systems to help kids flourish. We're asking, 'What do we offer that's similar for people as they age?'"

Part of the answer is informed by their work. In Ocean County, N.J., Greenfield is collaborating with community leaders and Rutgers Cooperative Extension to deploy an artificial intelligence-assisted texting platform for senior services. Scheduled for a soft launch later this month, the system uses a tailored AI model to enhance access to community services through on-demand text and reply based on a curated, localized database.

"So many communities have joined the movement to be age-friendly, and the knowledge that we've derived with this study helps to explain how they're doing that work," Greenfield said. "Maybe to some people's surprise, digital technologies are a huge part of these efforts."

Explore more of the ways Rutgers research is shaping the future.