Older adults facing the smartphone: two taps away from frustration, and two taps away from empowerment

Note: you can also read this blog post in Spanish here. 

The global comparative research project ASSA analyses the relationship between ageing, health, and smartphones. How can we study the relationship between older adults and new technologies, such as the ubiquitous smartphone? In my case, I volunteered at cultural centres in Santiago, Chile, for over a year, teaching older adults how to approach this brave new device. As usual with ethnography, I had to unlearn my own experience (with the smartphone) in order to see it from the perspective of the research participants, older adults aged between 60 and 80.

 

This short film portrays my experience teaching older adults to use the smartphone in cultural centres for over a year. This rewarding experience allowed me to acknowledge the multi-layered complexity and challenges of digital literacy for older adults. 

 

Our upcoming book, The Global Smartphone, Beyond a youth technology, devotes a whole chapter to the relationship between ageing and smartphones. The English version will be out in May this year, while the Spanish one will be available later in the year.