‘For older folks like me, these things are over us...’: the challenge of embedding iPadsin everyday life within a long-term care facility

Castleton, Alexander; Cid, Alejandro; Silva, Derek

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Autor/es

Castleton, Alexander ; Cid, Alejandro ; Silva, Derek

Fecha

2020

Extensión

pp. 167-181

Abstract

As smartphones, tablets, and myriad computing devices increasingly permeate the public sphere, the adoption, navigation, and utilization of modern technologies continues to be an interesting field of research for scholars of technology and society. Much research has focused on the introduction of ICTs in older people, but it has generally understood them as external factors who act as a sort of independentvariable thatimpactsthe seniors’ lives. There remains a dearth of empirical research into how aging and technology areco-constructed (Neven and Peine, 2018). We therefore contribute to this field by analyzing the development and establishment of a sociotechnical network in a long-term care facility that housesseniorsin Montevideo, Uruguay. Deploying qualitative ethnographic research comprised of semi-structured interviews, jottings, and field notes, we explore the adoption of new ICTs, and the corresponding actor-network, by seniors who have typically resisted such technology. Our findings suggest that not only was the establishment of the sociotechnical network rife with complexities, disruptions, and fissures, but that the user was heavily influenced by her self-perception of the potentialities of modern ICTs.