Participation and the Web: factors in engaging older people in social and digital services

Transcription

1 Participation and the Web: factors in engaging older people in social and digital services Bridgette Wessels University of Sheffield

2 2 Introduction Valuing older people as active, reflexive and with agency The dimensions of inclusion and digital engagement a focus on participation Locating participation within digital services recognizing creativity and specific needs and desires The dynamics of user-generated digital services within the different life-worlds of older people Framework to enable engagement Concluding comments

3 3 Older people participating in digital inclusion The diversity of older people and their situations (Walker, Warren) Active ageing - optimizing for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life (WHO) Older people s agency and creativity in social strategies situations and levels of resources (Wessels) Different lifestyles - locating and integrating digital services within older people s types of engagement (Wellman) Recognizing specific needs whilst also understanding digital engagement as emerging from people and their social relations (Silverstone)

4 4 The dimensions of inclusion and digital engagement a focus on participation Inclusion and digital engagement in terms of participation (Castells, Wyatt) Dimensions of social inclusion: belonging, trust, access (Wessels & Miedema) Participation focuses on engagement the resources and social relations of engagement (Steinert) E-accessibility; fostering skills; support services; institutions; digital resources fitting into routines of everyday life (Wellman) Beyond inclusion older people actively shaping the sociodigital landscape through participation

5 5 Locating participation: creativity and specific needs and desires in digital engagement Key characteristic of the Web (& digital services) is that it is shaped by users (user/producers & user/consumers, Castells) This has tended to be ignored by policy makers and those developing services focus in including people whereby people have to fit into the demands of the technology (Cornford) Need skills, access and support but the key factor is that using digital services is based on the value and relevance of those services (Wessels) Engagement occurs when users shape of digital services (Eriksen)

6 6 User-generated digital services within the different life-worlds of older people Working with established needs of a variety of older people but in new ways (new technologies can unfreeze ) (Cornford) Build in key prerequisites such as e-assessibility, support in learning skills, integrating digital services into everyday life, create user-centred e-services (Wessels) Recognize and involve communities of interest, communities of practice and social learning amongst older people (Wenger) Explore innovative ways for older people to develop ideas and engage socially and digitally learning by doing within a supportive framework (Wessels)

7 7 Framework for engagement: addressing the factors Research shows that older people do engage in digital services (uneven) identify specific needs and desires (Haddon) Address digital skills in creative and socially engaging ways ways (e.g. tea dances, Eriksen) Foster creativity through community based design in use frameworks (institutional, social, individual) that are flexible (York, Eriksen) Foster feedback and innovation loops into older people s networks and wider community networks (Wessels et al.)

8 8 Concluding comments See older people as shaping digital services Digital engagement is located in, and emerges out of people s situations, needs, desires and creativity Rethink the planning and design of digital engagement, start with older people s ideas Involve older people in the ongoing development of digital services a community based design in use approach The above is both socially and digitally engaging and can support active ageing

9 9 Appendix: Digital divide - dynamics of inclusion and participation Unequal levels of ICT access and skills that adds a fundamental cleavage to existing sources of inequality and social exclusion (Castells, 2001: 247) Riga Ministerial Declaration (11 June 2006): e-inclusion to reduce gaps in ICT usage and to promote the use of ICT to overcome exclusion Multi-dimensional character of exclusion/inclusion: call to address participation (Steinert & Pilgram, 2007) - cf. resources: infrastructure/capacity/support