Abstract

Peer-to-peer timebanking apps represent a paradigmatic shift in digital social innovation, directly counteracting the prevailing deficit-oriented design paradigms that marginalize older adults as passive care recipients. By institutionalizing the logic of prosumption - conceptualized as the synergistic confluence of service production and consumption - these platforms reconfigure older adults into co-creators of social value, thereby fundamentally operationalizing the core tenets of active aging as espoused by global health frameworks. This study investigates how a timebanking app designed for older adults supports their transition from passive care recipients to active prosumers by examining the need-gratification processes that drive adoption, use, and well-being outcomes. We conducted a post-implementation rapid qualitative evaluation of “Silver Hub”, a peer-to-peer timebanking application tailored to older adults. Semi-structured interviews were completed with 12 users and analyzed through the lens of the uses and gratifications (U&G) framework to map antecedent factors, gratifications sought, media uses (prosumption behaviors), and gratifications obtained. The results highlight the potential of timebanking apps for the older population to facilitate prosumer role fluidity, strengthen social connection, and restore later life purposes. We also demonstrated the need gratification process among Silver Hub users, including (1) antecedent factors (user characteristics, social contexts, and core psychological drivers) shaping gratifications sought, (2) gratifications sought (expectations, anticipated benefits, and specific goals of the users), (3) media uses demonstrating prosumer behaviors, and (4) gratifications obtained (user experience and well-being outcomes resulting from Silver Hub use). We conclude by critically examining design challenges and unaddressed opportunities within Silver Hub, culminating in actionable recommendations for iterative platform refinement and strategic implications for active aging policy development.

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