The interrelatedness of digital practices and social connectedness: A study on older people’s smartphone use
A. Peine, M. Fernández-Ardèvol, E. Loos, A. Rosales, D. Blanche
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AbstractDigitization has become an inherent part of later life, but we are only beginning to understand what this means for the experience of ageing. The subjective experience of being connected is an essential ingredient supporting continued wellbeing in later life. This includes dimensions related, among others, to playfulness, leisure, health and social participation. So, it is important to get insight into the use of digital devices and the role they play in maintaining existing and shaping new forms of social connectedness. Today, smartphones are being increasingly used by people in their everyday life. But we still lack insight into the characteristics and dynamics of their use and its impact on social connectedness. For this reason we will first review empirical studies on older people’s smartphone use in everyday life, and we will then present the preliminary results of our empirical study, part of the international research project BConnect@Home (2) that we conducted in Canada, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden in 2019 (1).Keywords: tracking, survey, interviews, smartphones, older people, social connectedness
A. Peine, M. Fernández-Ardèvol, E. Loos, A. Rosales, D. Blanche (2022). The interrelatedness of digital practices and social connectedness: A study on older people’s smartphone use. Gerontechnology, 21(s),5-5
https://doi.org/10.4017/gt.2022.21.s.571.5.sp7