Trust, Usefulness, and Social Influence in Lifelong Learning Platform Adoption: Implications for Digital Citizenship and Well-Being among Elderly in Southern Thailand

Thailand is considered a super-aged society, and older adults in the Muslim-majority provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat, remain among the least connected citizens in the entire country. This study investigates the extent to which aspects of digital platforms for lifelong learning in communities are acceptable to the Muslim elderly, and whether using the platforms in question results in increased digital citizenship and well-being. The study adopts the Technology Acceptance Model, the second version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, and the Information Systems Success Model, and incorporates trust as a culturally embedded belief. The resulting model includes perceived platform quality, perceived usefulness and ease of use, social influence and facilitating conditions, and trust, and assesses their relationship to the intention to use the platform, and the resulting digital citizenship and well-being. A cross-sectional study targeting Muslim elderly populations (60+) was conducted and 386 surveys were completed with the use of community-based sampling methods. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson, and multiple regression. The findings indicated that perceived ease of use, and social influence, as well as trust and perceived usefulness predicted the intention to use the platform, which in turn increased digital citizenship and well-being to a large extent. The findings extend technology-adoption theory to a faith-based, low-resource ageing population and offer practical guidance for designing platforms that work with, rather than around, the region’s pondok schools, mosques, and study circles.

lifelong learning; digital citizenship; well-being; Muslim elderly

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