Warm experts among us: Conceptualising the challenges of informal digital support for older adults
2025-10-29
This critical conceptual analysis explores the key challenges associated with warm experts, such as family members and friends, in providing informal digital support in later life. We examine the challenges that stem from the dyadic relationship between warm experts and older adults, as well as the individual, social and societal characteristics of being a warm expert with limited resources to provide digital support to older adults. In conclusion, while the contribution of warm experts to digital support in later life is evident, they may lack the necessary resources to meet the heterogeneous needs of older adults from an individual standpoint. From a social perspective, the primary limitation of warm experts as providers of informal support lies in the unequal distribution of the informal digital support they offer. In societal terms, we argue that warm experts should not be seen as the sole solution to the challenges posed by digital inclusion and digital inequalities related to ageing.