Societal Participation of the Elderly Information and Communication Technologies as a "Social Junction"

The technoscape as a global configuration of technology influences lifestyles and living conditions; conversely, developing, implementing and utilizing technologies all shape the technoscape. Starting from this interdependence between human action and technoscape, we examine how sociotechnical configurations determine social participation among the elderly in rural regions. The primary question is how social space, concretely participation space is shaped by the use of information and communication technologies. Specifically, our study seeks to investigate the extent to which social participation of the elderly population may be enhanced by the use of technological devices suitable for everyday life. To this end, a tablet PC with a self-developed communication platform was submitted to a field test. Through the provision of low-threshold access to information and communication technology, newly developed or renewed virtual contacts and relationships were expected to lead to real-life interactions. The results of our qualitative analysis show three diverse developments concerning the interrelation between social life and the technoscape: the emergence of a new participation space, the extension of established participation space and engagement within the existing participation space. Technology as a "social junction" can thus have positive impacts on the social participation of the elderly.