Digital Technologies and Generational Identity ICT Usage Across the Life Course

Citation

Pemble, C. (2018), "Digital Technologies and Generational Identity ICT Usage Across the Life Course", Journal of Enabling Technologies, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 142-144. https://doi.org/10.1108/JET-09-2018-057

For a researcher newly introduced to the multitude of literatures that attempt to document the evolving relationship between individuals, societies and digital technology the familiar cycles of a conceptual framework rising and falling from academic grace may appear to move at a breakneck pace when compared to other fields in the wider social sciences. No sooner had young people become “digital natives” (Prensky, 2001) aiding the “resistant” older generation than the construction was lambasted (i.e. Helsper and Eynon, 2010) and rejected. This offering by Taipale, Wilksa and Gillead (2018) provides a useful insight to the new and seasoned researcher alike, drawing together work from a range of perspectives including (but certainly not limited to) anthropology, gender studies and marketing to argue not only for a more nuanced understanding of how people interact with digital technologies themselves, but for how digital technologies can become integral to navigating the social world across the life course. Separated into three parts, Taipale, Wiksa and Gillead guide the reader through a process of ground-up exploration, beginning with a consideration of theoretical and methodological perspectives in Part 1, through an examination of how digital technologies (particularly mobile phones) are integrated in the peoples processes of daily living in Part 2 and concluding with a collection of work problematizing common understandings of who uses technology and why in Part 3.

Gilleard’s first chapter provides with a somewhat “whistle-stop” tour of some of the major tensions in the literature, which is particularly useful for researchers new to the field, from the understanding of technology as challenging and breaking generational boundaries, to its role in reinforcing generational identities in the “third age” who are, he argues, united in part by their rejection of the “fourth age” where individuals become isolated both from technology and from society. Following this, Bolin argues for an understanding of generational identity and media use that acknowledges both a coherent cohort moving together through time, and as one which “stands” between the generation preceding it and those that follow. Haddon’s offering closes the section with an introduction to generational analysis, with excellent signposting to further reading for those interested in pursuing the topic further, and a case study demonstrating how such perspectives might enhance the study of how people engage with technologies across the life course.

Part 2 draws on empirical works to demonstrate how such research interests might be conducted in practice. The section opens with the work of Tammelin and Anttila and an insight into how mobile technologies change not only the practices and routines of daily life, but how people conceive fundamental aspects of their shared social reality, such as time. Those with a particular interest in the impact of mobile phones on daily life will find the sections that follow, specifically Ganito’s investigation of women’s use of mobile phones across the life course in Chapter 7 and Tenhunen’s investigation of generational identity and mobile phone use in India (Chapter 10), of particular interest. Those with a more generalised curiosity will find these chapters interspersed with sections considering technologies more broadly. Taipale, Petrovičič and Dolničar challenge the idea of digital technologies and social media as disruptive of family, presenting an insight into how digital technologies can be integrated into family communicative practices, the impact familial solidarity and how this is liable to change between cultures. Fortunati’s chapter considers the role of younger relatives in facilitating the ability of older generations to engage with technologies, a concept she explores as “digital housekeeping”, arguing that this labour is both crucial to enabling older people to use technology and chronically under-recognised. Hirvonen closes the section by expanding this idea of digital technology as both a solution and an impediment by describing the varied roles of technology in facilitating caring for older people in Finland, emphasising the importance of the human element in building both confidence and trust in the electronic technologies introduced.

Kuoppamäki, Uusitalo and Kemppaninen’s chapter marks a notable shift in tone at the start of section 3. Focusing on the increasing integration of digital technology with the home space, as well as the tensions between luxury, time saving and time wasting, safe and “risky”, the chapter highlights the difficulty in arguing for a single generational “attitude” towards technology. Kekäläinen and Kokko follow this with one of the texts’ few quantitative reflections using data relating individuals personality traits when they are 42 with their engagement with social media and computers more generally at aged 50. The section closes with Vincent’s consideration of the emotional connections that are both facilitated by digital devices, and that are focused upon them as they become a fundamental aspect of daily life.

Down-playing the key role of digital technologies in the experiences of daily living across the life course would be to exclude a fundamental aspect of the modern (or post-modern) experience. The aim of the text, to demonstrate technology as interwoven both in the experience of daily life and in the experiences of aging over time, is extremely ambitious – the extent to which a reader might agree that this goal has been met is likely to cause some contention. Certainly the text provides a range of insights, all of which successfully eschew the idea of a simple divide between younger digital natives, and older resistant users. It is, however, limited in its focus as the content predominantly focuses on young adults and older – offering limited insight for those who might have an interest in exploring how children use digital technologies with to connect with older relations, despite its cover image. This is, however, an understandable sacrifice when curating a text with concludes within 230 pages. As a resource, I would recommend the book to those seeking to expand their knowledge on the roles of technology in facilitating individual and family lives across the life course, providing interesting starting material from which a learner can delve deeper at their leisure.