When technology non-use troubles good ageing

Area of Science:

• Gerontology and Digital Health
• Sociology of Technology
• Social Care Research

Background:

• Older adults' digital technology non-use is often framed as problematic marginalization.
• Recent gerontological studies critically re-evaluate technology non-use as diverse and deliberate.
• Existing research often focuses on self-identified non-users or researcher-defined criteria.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the multifaceted nature of technology non-use among older adults.
• To examine conflicting perceptions of technology use and non-use between older adults and service providers.
• To understand how non-use negotiations relate to concepts of 'good ageing' in digital social care.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative interviews with older adults and providers of digital social care services.
• Participant observation within a digital social care service context.
• Analysis of differing ascriptions of 'non-user' and negotiations of use/non-use.

Main Results:

• Ascriptions of 'non-users' to older adults can originate from various actors and conflict with older adults' self-perceptions.
• Frictions between differing views on technology engagement reveal negotiations around 'good ageing'.
• Negotiations about technology use in digital health and social care services reflect diverse understandings of 'good ageing'.

Conclusions:

• Non-use in digital social care is intertwined with diverse, enacted notions of 'good ageing'.
• Developing 'response-ability' among diverse actors can accommodate varied forms of 'good ageing'.
• Shifting focus from non-use as a problem to an indicator for improving 'good ageing' together.