Background
Methods
Participants
Background information | Men n = 7 | Women n = 11 |
---|---|---|
Living situation | ||
Living alone | 2 | 3 |
Living with spouse, partner, or child | 5 | 8 |
Number of children | ||
1 | 1 | 0 |
2 | 4 | 9 |
3 | 2 | 2 |
Number of children living in the same municipality but not in the same house | ||
0 | 3 | 2 |
1 | 2 | 5 |
2 | 2 | 4 |
Residence | ||
Single unit detached housing, owned | 5 | 8 |
Single unit detached housing, rented | 1 | 1 |
Multi-unit housing, rented | 0 | 2 |
No response | 1 | 0 |
Highest level of education attaineda | ||
Primary education | 1 | 5 |
Lower secondary education | 0 | 4 |
Upper secondary education | 3 | 0 |
Post-secondary non-tertiary education | 2 | 0 |
Tertiary education—level unspecified | 1 | 0 |
No response | 0 | 2 |
Occupational field before retirementb | ||
Occupations requiring advanced level of higher education | 3 | 1 |
Occupations requiring higher education qualifications or equivalent | 1 | 1 |
Administration and customer service clerks | 0 | 3 |
Service, care and shop sales workers | 0 | 3 |
Agricultural, horticultural, forestry, and fishery workers | 1 | 0 |
Building and manufacturing workers | 2 | 0 |
Mechanical manufacturing and transport workers, etc. | 0 | 1 |
Elementary occupations | 0 | 1 |
Unspecified working tasks (self-employed) | 0 | 1 |
Has accessa to technology at home | Uses technology daily | Uses technology occasionally | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | |
Stationary computer | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
Laptop computer | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Tablet/handheld computer | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Printer | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Mobile telephone | 4 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
Smart telephone | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Game console | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Internet | 4 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
Data collection
Data analysis
Findings
Theme | The juxtaposition of narrowing offline social networks and expanding digital opportunities for social participation | ||
Categories | Experiencing conditions for social participation in a state of flux | Perceiving drawbacks of urbanization on social participation | Welcoming digital technology that facilitates daily and community living |
Subcategories | Prioritizing time for doing preferred activities Changing social and activity spaces and expanding online Adapting social groups and codes influencing engagement Faltering participation despite membership in community or organization Wanting to contribute to society | Receding contact with service providers creating insecurity Drawing key social players away through technology and urbanism Viewing driving as freedom | Finding relevance in available information Preferring technology based on need for personal contact and feelings of security Desiring service and technology developments as societal support Weighing interests against usability and data protection |
Experiencing conditions for social participation in a state of flux
2b W51: I think time is too short. There is so much I would like to do, but I might not really manage…W4: If one is not pressured, then things can take time. It is so nice not to be stressed.W5: I can just sit and enjoy half a day deciding on what I want to do today.
1a M1: I had a grandchild in the United States in…W1: …[city1]! Yes, we had Skype then. We still use it now, even when he doesn’t live in the U.S. anymore…M2: I have a daughter in [city2], and I have seen her entire house via Skype.
3a W7: I told my husband, you can go over and talk to the neighbor because he is waving at us. My husband wouldn’t dare to go there because he had garden boots on.M6: So typical! (laughing).W8: But it shouldn’t matter.
1b M1: It seems like organizational activities are dying out…W2: That’s because nobody wants to get involved.M1: No one wants to accept the chairmanship…W2: And nobody wants to be involved in the board.M1: Before, it was an honorable assignment to be on the board. Nowadays, it is the opposite.W1: They don’t even come to the meetings because they are afraid they must do something.
3a W6: I go there every day and bring the mail of those who have difficulty to walk. We talk for a while. They think it is fun because they just sit in their flats. Since I can still walk and have a car, I can bring them wherever they want. I exert effort, but at the same time I think it is fun.W7: I always thought that you do a fantastic job, helping there.
Perceiving drawbacks of urbanization on social participation
1a W1: I was the one who had to make the phone calls and fix everything for [my mother], even though she could manage herself.W2: Those who have had a stroke or something similar would have difficulties following instructions.M2: By the time you pressed [telephone buttons] to where you should be, then the telephone hours are over.W1: It can happen that you ring right on time, but all time slots are filled.
1a M1: [Social events] have slowed down now, there were more before.W2: There is nothing now. But these events come sporadically…M2: Yes, but doesn’t this have to do more with the general social development, that all jobs are brought to the big cities?W2: We have enough youth, but they have other interests nowadays… and their need to meet does not seem to be so strong.
1b W2: The car is a must when one lives like this.M2: It is. You know, you go to [city1] to meet people… I realized this when I was out dancing last Friday in [city2]… I wouldn’t be able to go there if I didn’t have a car. I have to move, in that case to have social activities, closer to where there are more people.
Welcoming digital technology that facilitates daily and community living
3a W8: Many [people] share everything. One can get crazy with that.W6: It’s just nonsense.
1b M2: The only security is the telephone. If that doesn’t work then it doesn’t matter if I have a computer or not.W1: A security alarm might not work either.M2: It is, you know, the security for me to be able to live where I live.
Participants admitted getting discouraged, discontinuing activities, and turning off the computer when they encountered technology issues, like having a slow device or non-functioning interfaces and getting too many junk e-mails. They agreed that computer instructions that were often in English or technical jargon posed additional difficulties. Furthermore, they discussed that they felt suspicious of or threatened by Web sites or programs requiring personal information, as well as worried over fraudulent Internet activities to swindle older people. To solve technical problems, participants acknowledged that they often relied on their grandchildren, even remotely. Some participants described having joined a course to be able to use a computer, while other participants admitted that they were not interested to use computers.3b W7: I remember when I was a child and somebody said, Think about it. It would surprise me that on one beautiful day we can see each other when we talk on the telephone. Nowadays, we can do that. I would never have believed it then.W6: Yes, it has gone unbelievably fast. Can’t wonder why one doesn’t manage to keep up with it. One managed to learn some things, like TV and this (waving her mobile telephone)… But nowadays it has been so fast, that everything becomes outdated in no time.M6: One should have so little technology as possible. One would manage anyway.
4b W9: I have actually attended some computer course, but it did not lead to me using [the computer]… I am really not interested in it!W10: It is that which is important—interest and curiosity.