Digital Technologies Supporting Active Ageing: A Bibliometric Analysis of Emerging Trends and Thematic Structures.

IntroductionDigital technologies play an increasingly important role in supporting active ageing. Although research in this area has grown rapidly, the literature remains fragmented, and its underlying knowledge structure is not well understood. This study aims to map the research landscape of digital technologies supporting active ageing and to examine how different research streams are organized and interconnected.MethodsBibliographic data were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection on January 2, 2026, yielding 837 publications from 2006 to 2025. Bibliographic coupling and co-word analyses were conducted using VOSviewer to examine intellectual structures and thematic patterns.ResultsThe results indicate a substantial increase in publications after 2018, reflecting growing scholarly attention. Five major research clusters were identified, including technology adoption and enabling environments, digital lifestyle interventions, digital participation and smart environments, eHealth-based behavior change, and machine learning-based ageing assessment. Co-word analysis further reveals key themes related to digital inclusion, physical activity, health risk analytics, and quality of life. While the field is shifting toward functional ability, participation, and personalized digital support, emerging areas such as AI-based ageing assessment remain at an early stage and should be interpreted cautiously.ConclusionThis study maps the research field and highlights how digital technologies are increasingly embedded within sociotechnical systems shaped by both opportunities and constraints. Given the descriptive nature of bibliometric analysis, the findings should be interpreted with caution. Future research should move beyond descriptive mapping to examine the effectiveness and contextual conditions of digital interventions in supporting active ageing.