Communities, Connectivities and Later Life

The rapid diffusion of forms of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), mobile technologies and social media have transformed many aspects of social relationships and enabled new forms of social connectivity. However, the impact of virtual connectivity on community and communication for those in later life is not well understood.  Research suggests that for older people internet use and its impacts are multifactorial and differ according to the nature of social relations. Research in this area has produced ambiguous results.  Researchers have found that, where older people were previously socially isolated, by becoming internet users they were able to keep in touch with friends and family often across large physical distances. Others have found cyber communities to have a negative impact in terms of withdrawal from the outside world leading to a contraction in the use of social and physical space. It is certainly the case that the expansion of social networks beyond the local neighbourhood that domestic ICT allows can lead to profound changes in the nature of community in later life. Research on the internet has tended to focus on a digital divide, on the impact on community and social capital and on political and cultural participation. While the most common uses of computers by older people appear to be related to communication and social support, leisure and entertainment, health information, educational information, and productivity; this is not that different to younger groups. The presentation will address; theoretical approaches to new technologies and social relations in later life, trends in internet use among older people, research addressing the digital divide, patterns of motivation and use, the impact on social relations and social networks and the consequences of technological change for older people in temporal and spatial terms.