Personal experiences of digital public services access and use: Older migrants’ digital choices

This paper presents a study of the personal experiences of older migrants as they use digital technologies and electronic services. Focusing primarily on digital health and social services, the aim of this research is to gain a better understanding of the digital divide at a micro-level. The concept of digital choice is used to analyse the personal decisions that lead to an engagement with digital technologies and internet services or a disengagement from online tools. A qualitative case study of Russian-speaking migrants in Finland utilised participant observation, interviews, and diaries to gain insights into the adoption of digital public services from the user perspective. This paper contributes to the view of digital engagement as a complex and multifaceted process that involves socio-demographic determinants, as well as individual agency and social context. The key findings of this study show that individual efforts and personal attributes, such as habits, sense of trust, and fears, play critical roles in shaping digital engagement. The context of ongoing digitalisation in the public sphere is discussed as an important push factor influencing the research participants’ adoption and use of digital services. •The study examines the experiences of e-government and digital healthcare systems access and use by older migrants.•Digital engagement is a complex phenomenon involving personal agency and contextual circumstances.•Digital choices involved individual efforts, routines and habits, laziness, fears, conservatism, and trust.•Government digitalisation created challenges that affected the access to the digital public services.•Language, digital skills, and knowledge of the welfare system proved important for digital public services access and use.