Negotiating technological engagement: resident care, identity construction, and interactive use among older adults in assisted living

Abstract

The primary purpose of this dissertation is to explore the complex relationship between technology and aging. Guided by the theoretical foundations of digital inequalities and narrative gerontology, the findings from this study reveal important insights into how technology can support elder care (gerontechnology), how older adults make decisions about their technology use, and how researchers can re-envision the way that they study use and non-use. ☐ The data collected for this dissertation come from interviews and observation at a privately owned, for-profit assisted living facility in northern Delaware. Interviews with and observations of staff members, residents, and family members of residents were analyzed thematically, and resident interviews were reanalyzed through a three-level positioning analysis, which explores how identity is constructed and performed through narratives (Bamberg 1997). ☐ Analysis of the data revealed important implications about the role that technology plays in the aging process. First, research should focus on the technological features of institutions in order to better understand how individual decisions regarding technology use are made within an institutional context. More importantly, studying assisted living facilities as technological institutions can contribute to the literature on gerontechnology by advancing knowledge on the uses of technology in elder care. ☐ Second, consistent with recent trends in research, this study reveals that technology use and non-use among older adults involves a complex decision-making process. Additionally, technology use and non-use play an important part in understanding identity and how individuals relate to the larger technological society. Thus, when considering the role that technology could play in the everyday lives of older adults, researchers and caregivers must consider individual identity and choice. ☐ Finally, previous methods of conceptualizing technology use are outdated. Technology use is interactive, particularly among older adults. Future research must approach technology use as a continuum that considers the degree to which use is dependent on others.