Barbara Ratzenböck, Bakk.rer.soc.oec. MA Media Relations – How and Why Older Women Care for Information and Communication Technologies Doctoral Thesis to be awarded the degree of Doctor of Social and Economic Sciences (Dr. rer.soc.oec.) at the University of Graz, Austria Ao.Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr.rer.soc.oec. Katharina Scherke Department of Sociology Ao.Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr.phil. Roberta Maierhofer, M.A. Center for Inter-American Studies Graz, March, 2020
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Barbara Ratzenböck, Bakk.rer.soc.oec. MA
Media Relations –
How and Why Older Women Care for
Information and Communication Technologies
Doctoral Thesis
to be awarded the degree of
Doctor of Social and Economic Sciences (Dr. rer.soc.oec.)
at the University of Graz, Austria
Ao.Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr.rer.soc.oec. Katharina Scherke
Department of Sociology
Ao.Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr.phil. Roberta Maierhofer, M.A.
Center for Inter-American Studies
Graz, March, 2020
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank Ao.Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr.rer.soc.oec. Katharina Scherke from the
Department of Sociology for her guidance as my first supervisor. I thank her for her onging
encouragement and generosity in sharing her sociological expertise. I could not have asked for
a better supervisor. I also thank Ao.Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr.phil. Roberta Maierhofer, M.A. from
the Center for Inter-American Studies (C.IAS). I am grateful for her continuous support as my
second supervisor and director of C.IAS. Her expertise in aging studies has inspired this project
and it is a privilege to be able to continue learning from her.
Special thanks go to my interviewees. I will forever remain grateful that they shared their stories
with me.
I would like to thank all colleagues at C.IAS. Special thanks go to the colleagues who helped
recruiting interviewees, and to the research assistants helping with transcriptions, particularly
the late Mag. Erika Mörth, as well as Dr. Oana Hergenröther for her precise proof-reading.
I thank the Ageing + Communication + Technologies Project (ACT), based at Concordia
University in Canada, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of
Canada (project no.: 895-2013-1018). Sincere thanks to Prof. Dr. Kim Sawchuk for facilitating
my research stay in Montreal in the summer semester of 2016. I am grateful for her hospitality
and mentorship. From the ACT group, I extend special thanks to Dr. Mireia Fernández-Ardèvol
(Open University of Catalonia), Associate Prof. Dr. Shannon Hebblethwaite
(Concordia University), Prof. Dr. Stephen Katz (Trent University),
Assistant Prof. Dr. May Chazan (Trent University), Associate Prof. Dr. Loredana Ivan
(National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest),
Prof. Dr. Eugène Loos (Utrecht University), and Associate Professor Dr. Galit Nimrod
(Ben-Gurion University of the Negev). They provided me with opportunities for presenting and
publishing my research and offered valued research advice.
I am also grateful to my private support network. First and foremost, I would like to thank my
parents, Helga Ratzenböck and Martin Seydl, for always encouraging my curiosity and
supporting my studies. Special thanks also go to my aunt, Elisabeth Ratzenböck-Wearden, MSc,
from whom I continue to learn about perseverance. I also thank Mag. Mag. Julia Wegerer who
is not only my best friend but also my mental coach. Thanks also go to Mag. (FH) Ursula
Glanzegg, Dr. Cornelia Stiegler, and Mag. (FH) Susanne Gorny for moral suppport. Finally,
I whole-heartedly thank my partner, Philipp Zach, for his continuous support and patience.
Table of Contents
Introduction – Researching ICT Use of Women Aged 60-70 in Austria ................................... 1
1 Theoretical Starting Points ................................................................................................. 9
1.1 Aging and Old Age .................................................................................................. 10
1.1.1 Age as a Social Category ..................................................................................... 11
1.1.2 Cultural Narratives of Aging and Old Age .......................................................... 15
1.1.3 What Does ‘Older’ Refer to in the Present Study? .............................................. 19
1.2 Age and Gender ........................................................................................................ 20
1.2.1 Theoretical Entanglements of Gender Studies and Aging Studies ...................... 21
1.2.2 Cultural and Social Intersections of Age and Gender .......................................... 22
1.2.3 Maierhofer’s Approach of Anocriticism .............................................................. 26
1.3 Generations ............................................................................................................... 31
1.3.1 Cohort vs. Generation .......................................................................................... 32
1.3.2 Mannheim’s Theory of Generations .................................................................... 35
1.4 Information and Communication Technologies ....................................................... 41
1.4.1 What Do ‘ICTs’ Refer to in the Present Study? ................................................... 41
1.4.2 The Social Relevance of Media Devices as ‘Things’........................................... 44
1.4.3 Theories of Media Adoption and Use .................................................................. 49
1.4.3.1 Theories of ICT Adoption Focusing on the Individual ................................ 50
1.4.3.2 Domestication Theory .................................................................................. 53
1.4.3.3 Media Generations ....................................................................................... 58
1.4.3.4 Media Biographical Perspectives ................................................................. 61
1.4.4 Current State of Empirical Research on Older Women’s ICT Use ...................... 62
2 Older Women Using ICTs in Austria ............................................................................... 66
2.1 Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Women Aged 60-70 Participating in an Online
Survey in Comparison to Older Women from the General Austrian Population ........ 67
2.2 Patterns of Media Use of Austrian Women Aged 60-70 Participating in an
Online Survey ............................................................................................................... 76
3 Research Design of the Main Qualitative Strand of the Study ........................................ 93
3.1 Research Questions .................................................................................................. 93
3.2 Methodology ............................................................................................................ 94
3.2.1 The Interpretative Paradigm ................................................................................. 95
3.2.2 Principles of Qualitative Research and their Implementation .............................. 97
3.2.3 Constructivist Grounded Theory ........................................................................ 101
3.3 Qualitative Research Methods ............................................................................... 104
3.3.1 Life Graph Discussions ...................................................................................... 104
3.3.2 Qualitative Guided Interviews ........................................................................... 108
3.3.2.1 Key Characteristics of Qualitative Interviews............................................ 109
3.3.2.2 Type and Design of Qualitative Interview ................................................. 110
3.3.2.3 Question Guide ........................................................................................... 115
3.3.2.4 Qualitative Interview Process ..................................................................... 118
3.3.3 Walking Interviews in Small Domestic Spaces ................................................. 124
3.3.4 Accompanying Documents ................................................................................ 131
3.3.5 Summary of Qualitative Methods Used and their Integration ........................... 132
3.4 Study Participants ................................................................................................... 134
3.4.1 Sampling ............................................................................................................. 134
3.4.2 Recruitment ........................................................................................................ 138
3.4.3 Ethics .................................................................................................................. 139
3.4.4 Characteristics of Participants ............................................................................ 142
3.5 Transcription .......................................................................................................... 148
3.6 Analysis of Qualitative Material ............................................................................ 150
3.6.1 Content-Structuring Qualitative Content Analysis ............................................ 150
3.6.2 Strategies and Techniques of Analysis in Grounded Theory ............................. 155
3.6.3 Generating Types ............................................................................................... 159
3.7 Reporting of Qualitative Findings .......................................................................... 161
4 Influential Biographical Backgrounds for ICT Use ....................................................... 163
4.1 Generation-Specific Patterns of Media Experiences in Childhood and
Adolescence ................................................................................................................ 164
4.1.1 Limited Availability of Media During Childhood and Adolescence ................. 165
4.1.2 The Importance of the Radio .............................................................................. 166
4.1.3 Collective TV Watching ..................................................................................... 171
4.1.4 Inhibitory Rules of Media Use ........................................................................... 177
4.2 Work-Related Patterns of Media Experiences in Adulthood ................................. 180
4.2.1 Ambivalent Experiences with Early Computers ................................................ 181
4.2.2 Initial Negative Experiences with Personal Computers ..................................... 184
4.2.3 Collective Knowledge Acquisition .................................................................... 188
4.2.4 Continuity of Computer Use .............................................................................. 190
4.3 Family-Related Patterns of Media Experiences in Adulthood ............................... 192
4.3.1 TV for Parenting ................................................................................................. 193
4.3.2 The PC as a “Family Thing” (I6) ....................................................................... 195
4.3.3 Limited Relevance of the Cell Phone in Adulthood .......................................... 197
4.4 Summary of Influential Biographical Backgrounds ............................................... 198
5 Patterns of Evaluation of ICTs in Everyday Life ........................................................... 200
5.1 Smart or Senior Phone? – The General Relevance of New and Old ICTs
in Interviewees’ Everyday Lives ................................................................................ 201
5.2 Positive Evaluations of New ICTs ......................................................................... 205
5.2.1 New ICTs as Objects of Utility: “Mein Handy, […],
[m]ein Werkzeug” (I10) ..................................................................................... 208
5.2.2 “Kontrollanruf” (I12) – The Cell Phone as Safety Net ..................................... 213
5.2.3 New Media as Connecting Tools ....................................................................... 215
5.2.4 New ICTs as Economical Tools ......................................................................... 218
5.3 Positive Evaluations of Old ICTs ........................................................................... 219
5.3.1 Old Media as Controllable Gadgets ................................................................... 220
5.3.2 Old Media as Informative Sources ..................................................................... 222
5.4 Summary and Comparison of Positive Evaluations of New and Old ICTs ........... 226
5.5 Negative Evaluations of New ICTs ........................................................................ 228
5.5.1 New ICTs as Promoting Cultural and Social Erosion ........................................ 230
5.5.2 The Internet as (Potentially) Unsafe Space ........................................................ 238
5.5.3 New ICTs as Time-Consuming Instruments ...................................................... 243
5.5.4 New ICTs as Complicated Instruments .............................................................. 247
5.5.5 New ICTs as a Health Hazard ............................................................................ 249
5.6 Negative Evaluations of Old ICTs ......................................................................... 251
5.6.1 ‘Primitive’ (I2) TV Programming ...................................................................... 252
5.6.2 ‘Hubbub’ (I11) on the Radio .............................................................................. 255
5.7 Summary and Comparison of Negative Evaluations of New and Old ICTs .......... 256
5.8 Sense of Familiarity with New ICTs ...................................................................... 259
5.8.1 Discrete Devices ................................................................................................. 260
5.8.2 Downplaying ICT Skills ..................................................................................... 262
5.9 Accessibility and Usability of New ICTs ............................................................... 265
5.9.1 Accessibility: New ICTs as ‘a question of cost’ (I4) ......................................... 265
5.9.2 Usability of New Media ..................................................................................... 268
5.9.3 The Challenge of Remembering Steps ............................................................... 269
5.9.4 Fear of Failure .................................................................................................... 271
5.10 Summary of Evaluations of ICTs in Everyday Life ............................................... 273
6 Patterns of ICT Use in Everyday Life ............................................................................ 276
6.1 Family-Centered ICT Use ...................................................................................... 277
6.1.1 Family Care Work with ICTs ............................................................................. 278
6.1.2 Family History Writing with ICTs ..................................................................... 289
6.1.3 Intergenerational Learning about New ICTs ...................................................... 294
6.1.4 Summary of Key Points Regarding Family-Centered ICT Use ......................... 307
6.2 Professional and Community-Oriented Use of ICTs ............................................. 309
6.2.1 Professional Service Use of ICTs ....................................................................... 309
6.2.2 Community-Oriented Use of ICTs ..................................................................... 312
6.3 Self-Oriented and Individually Fulfilling ICT Use ................................................ 314
6.3.1 Pursuit of Personal Interests and Self-Expression with ICTs ............................ 317
6.3.2 Self-Educational Use of ICTs ............................................................................ 329
6.3.3 Use of ICTs for “Casual Leisure” ...................................................................... 333
6.4 Summary of Patterns of ICT Use in Everyday Life ............................................... 343
7 Empirically Grounded Model of Older Women’s ICT Use in Retirement ................... 347
7.1 Core Category: ‘ICT Engagement in Service of Others’ ....................................... 348
7.2 Secondary Category: ‘Self-Oriented and Individually Fulfilling ICT Use’ ........... 350
7.3 Contributing and Differentiating Factors ............................................................... 352
7.4 Contributing Factors to ‘ICT Engagement in Service of Others’ .......................... 352
7.4.1 Influence of Intersections of Age and Gender ................................................... 353
7.4.2 Influence of Cultural Narratives of Aging ......................................................... 354
7.4.3 Influence of Media Biographies and “Generation Location” ............................. 356
7.5 Differentiating Factors in the Context of ‘Self-Oriented and Individually Fulfilling ICT
Use’ ............................................................................................................................. 357
7.6 Purposes vs. Extent of ICT Use in Retirement ....................................................... 359
7.6.1 Influence of Pre-Retirement Professional Experiences with ICTs ..................... 360
7.6.2 Influence of Current Living Situation ................................................................ 361
8 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 362
9 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 371
10 Appendix ........................................................................................................................ 396
10.1 Template Life Graph .............................................................................................. 396
10.2 General Research Process Protocol ........................................................................ 399
10.3 Question Guide ....................................................................................................... 400
10.4 Short Questionnaire ................................................................................................ 408
10.5 Recording Sheets .................................................................................................... 410
10.6 Transcription Scheme ............................................................................................. 413
List of Tables
Table 1: Family status of Austrian participants aged 60-70 of the ACT Cross-National
Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1, 2016
.......................................................................................................................................... 69
Table 2: Educational attainment of Austrian participants aged 60-70 of the ACT Cross-National
Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1, 2016
.......................................................................................................................................... 70
Table 3: Income of Austrian participants aged 60-70 of the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal
Study: Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1, 2016 .................... 72
Table 4: Employment status of Austrian participants aged 60-70 of the ACT Cross-National
Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1,
2016 .................................................................................................................................. 73
Table 5: Geographical location of Austrian participants aged 60-70 of the ACT Cross-National
Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1,
2016 .................................................................................................................................. 74
Table 6: Media used on the previous day by Austrian participants aged 60-70 of the ACT
Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment,
wave 1, 2016 .................................................................................................................... 77
Table 7: Internet use on the previous day by Austrian participants aged 60-70 of the ACT
Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment,
wave 1, 2016 .................................................................................................................... 79
Table 8: Places of Internet consumption by Austrian participants aged 60-70 of the ACT Cross-
National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment,
wave 1, 2016 .................................................................................................................... 83
Table 9: Phones in the households of Austrian participants aged 60-70 of the ACT Cross-
National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment, wave
1, 2016 .............................................................................................................................. 84
Table 10: Mobile phone calls sent and received and messages sent by Austrian participants
aged 60-70 of the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences in the
Digital Media Environment, wave 1, 2016 ...................................................................... 85
Table 11: Use of mobile phone functions by Austrian participants aged 60-70 of the ACT
Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment,
wave 1, 2016 .................................................................................................................... 87
Table 12: Media used to contact an old acquaintance by Austrian participants aged 60-70 of
the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences in the Digital Media
Environment, wave 1, 2016 .............................................................................................. 89
Table 13: Media used to announce a change in a party/dinner invitation to friends by Austrian
participants aged 60-70 of the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences
in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1, 2016 ............................................................ 90
Table 14: Preferred free time activities by Austrian participants aged 60-70 of the ACT Cross-
National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment, wave
1, 2016 .............................................................................................................................. 91
Table 15: Overview of interviewees' characteristics .............................................................. 147
Table 16: Main categories and subcategories of the main qualitative strand of the study ..... 153
List of Figures
Figure 1: Life graph template for interviewees ...................................................................... 105
1
Introduction – Researching ICT Use of Women Aged 60-70 in Austria
How do older women experience ‘new’ information and communication technologies (ICTs),
such as the Internet, computers, or cell phones? What do they think about them? What do they
use them for in their everyday lives? And how does all of this compare to their use of
‘old’ ICTs, such as TV or radio, as well as their media use in previous times in their lives,
before retiring? This study investigates continuities and changes in older women’s evaluations
and practices of ICT use over the life course. In doing so, it focuses on
women’s ICT experiences in retirement.
Due to two major transformations currently taking place in many Western societies,
this topic is of great sociological relevance. These ‘two mega trends’1
(Doh, Wahl, and Schmitt 2005:35), which are currently changing the face of many
Western societies, are population aging and fast-paced technological development,
particularly in terms of digitalization (Charness and Boot 2009:253; Coughlin 2010:63;
Doh et al. 2015:177, 2005:35; Feist et al. 2010:69; Loos 2012:001, 2012:016;
Sayago and Blat 2010:105). As Doh et al. (2015:177–78) have pointed out,
these two developments are interconnected. On the one hand, in general terms,
technological advancement has contributed to the increase of life expectancy
(Doh et al. 2015:177). On the other, new technologies, such as ICT devices, are increasingly
also consumed by older adults (Doh et al. 2015:178). This study focuses on the latter –
on the use of information and communication technologies in retirement.
As will be discussed in detail later on (see section 1.4.4), in recent years there has been
a growing number of studies focusing on older adults’ ICT use. This increase in publications
on the topic can certainly be attributed to a growing societal awareness that aging and
digitalization are two of the most substantial trends Western societies are facing today.
However, despite this growing number of publications, there still are important
limitations in research. Firstly, although becoming more frequent, studies on older adults’
ICT experiences are still limited in numbers, both in terms of studies conducted by
the media industry and of scholarly investigations (Crow and Sawchuk 2015:187).
1 In the German original: “Zwei Megatrends” (Doh et al. 2005:35). Translation by the author of this thesis.
Unless indicated differently, all subsequent translations from/into English are by the author.
2
Secondly, if older adults are considered in studies on ICT use, they are often included
as an undifferentiated homogenous group (for example 50+) (Crow and Sawchuk 2015:187;
Ivan and Hebblethwaite 2016:12; Vollbrecht 2009:22). Thirdly, to date, very few studies on
older adults’ ICT use have focused on issues of gender (Gales and Loos 2020, forthcoming;
Ivan and Hebblethwaite 2016:22), although already early studies
(Richardson, Weaver, and Zorn 2005) did indicate that that there are relevant gender differences
in seniors’ use of ICTs. Hence, from an academic perspective, there is a need for more,
and particularly more nuanced, studies on older adults’ ICT experiences.
Beyond scholarly interest, older adults’ engagement with ICTs is also of general
societal concern. In an increasingly digital world, older adults are still at a higher risk of
social exclusion. Although older adults’ use of the Internet has been rising considerably
over the past decade, it still remains lower than that of other age groups (Statistik Austria 2019).
In 2019, 62.8% of Austrian women and 77% of men aged 55 to 74 years indicated to use
the Internet (Statistik Austria 2019). As can be seen from these numbers, in Austria,
particularly older women are at risk of potential exclusion from participating in a digital society.
As Richardson et al. (2005:220) pointed out early on, a key area to consider with regard to
the digital exclusion of older adults is e-governance. But also more generally, using the Internet
has become a prerequisite for participating in many areas of society,
since more and more services and interactions are becoming “digital by default”
(Hill, Betts, and Gardner 2015:421).2 In order to prevent such exclusion of older adults,
it is important to investigate what they think of new ICTs, such as the Internet, and how and
for what they use them. Such knowledge constitutes an important foundation for policies on
digital inclusion.3 To effectively counteract the digital exclusion of older adults, particularly of
older women, researchers, as well as policy makers, need to gain an in-depth understanding of
their ICT use. This involves understanding when, where, how, and why ICTs matter to
older women and how these relevancies connect to lifetimes of experiences with
media technologies.
2 For a similar argument, see Haddon (2006b:20).
3 See Yoon, Yoon, and George (2011:1012) for a similar argument.
3
Secondly, there is a need to challenge common stereotypes of older ICT users, both within
the research community and in society more broadly. As pointed out by others before
(e.g. Östlund 2005:25–26; Mitzner et al. 2010:1719), there is a wide array of common
misconceptions about older ICT users. In addition to the assumption that older adults generally
have a limited interest in engaging with ICTs (critical: Sayago and Blat 2010:117),
these include the notions of older adults as outright resistant adopters of new technologies
(critical: Östlund 2005:26) and as “technophobic” (critical: Neves and Amaro 2012:2,
italics in the original; Suopajärvi 2015:113). On the other hand, investigating older adults’
ICT use should also question overly positive stereotypes, such as the portrayal of seniors as
“silver surfers” (critical: Suopajärvi 2015:113, Selwyn 2004:380). In short, engagement with
older adults’ ICT use calls for a critical mind-set.4
Addressing digital inequalities demands broad vision and shifts in perspectives. This includes
particularly recognizing older women’s expertise and skills with regard to ICT use.
To share but two examples from this study: Firstly, as will be shown, older women’s discourse
of new ICTs as unsafe does not necessarily represent insecurity, but can equally represent an
accurate understanding of real risks and thus of actual expertise (see section 5.5.2).
Secondly, results of the study suggest that older women tend to downplay their actual
ICT skills.5 Considering this practice, one might wonder whether statistically lower percentages
of older Austrian women’s Internet use compared to older men – as cited above – are in part
the result of older women’s downplaying and underreporting of ICT use. This suggests that the
issue is not only accessibility, but also includes social norms surrounding age, gender,
and technology use. Thus, it is imperative that measures addressing the digital exclusion of
older women take sociological perspectives into account.
Drawing on a definition of the American Sociological Association (2019 n. p.),
sociology can be described as “a social science involving the study of the social lives of people,
groups, and societies.” Hence, it takes into account micro-, meso-, and macro perspectives.
It investigates how people’s individual lives are formed by and contribute to forming
social matters, such as norms, values, and practices. It also looks into the role social circles
play in this process (from families to peers and friends or organizations). And, in doing
all of this, sociology always takes into account society as a whole.
4 Haddon (2006b:27) also makes this point more generally with regard to “the study of ICTs in everyday life.”
5 This finding is supported by results of studies conducted in other regional contexts
(e.g. Richardson et al. 2005:227–28 for New Zealand; Comunello et al. 2015:447–48 for Italy). For further
discussion, see section 5.8.2.
4
Building on such a multiperspectivist understanding of sociological inquiry, the present study
investigates older women’s individual and collective experiences of ICT use in retirement.
This means understanding older women as individuals as well as members of various social
collectives, including gender groups, generations, social milieus and classes, but also regional
and local communities and organizations, as well as families and circles of friends.
Two particular theoretical vantage points that have been of importance to the study in this regard
are Roberta Maierhofer’s (2003, 2004b, 2004a, 2007, 2012) approach of “anocriticism” and
Karl Mannheim’s (1952 [1927/28]) idea of “generation location.” As a cultural critic,
Maierhofer (2004b:156) originally developed the concept of anocriticism (see section 1.2.3)
in the context of American Studies “as a method of tracing the aspect of female ageing in texts
of American literature.” However, it can also be used as a lens guiding the analysis of
any cultural representation of the intersection of age and gender. Put more generally,
anocriticism is “an interpretational approach that validates individual experience of age and
aging in resistance of normative assumptions” (Center for Inter-American Studies 2019).
Importantly, it emphasizes the difference between chronological age and cultural assumptions
about aging and old age (Maierhofer 2007:111–12). In this study, anocriticism is used as
an analytical tool to draw attention to older women’s own and individual interpretations of
their lives – and thus also their ICT experiences. In contrast, Mannheim’s (1952 [1927/28])
genuinely sociological concept of “generation location” (see section 1.3.2) serves as a
vantage point for exploring the influence of collective experiences within time for the
interpretation of interactions with ICTs over the life course. In his approach, Mannheim
(1952 [1927/28]:296) emphasizes the importance of early life experiences with regard to
their potential for shaping worldviews. Thus, in addition to current media experiences,
special focus is also put on older women’s past media experiences.
As Margaret Morganroth Gullette (2011:6), a founding figure of aging studies, has argued,
conceptualizing and investigating interplays of individual biographical experiences and
collective, generational influences on people’s lives is difficult. She states: “The least studied
theme in life-course understanding used to be the interplay between historical circumstances
and personal experiences. Even now, the practice of demonstrating the interplay is hard and
lags behind in the conceptual models” (Gullette 2011:6). This thesis has taken up this challenge.
5
In addition to building on the theoretical starting points just outlined,
the major qualitative strand of the study has employed a general research approach inspired by
“Grounded Theory” (Glaser and Strauss 2009 [1967]; Corbin and Strauss 2015)
(see sections 3.2.3 and 3.6.2) to examine the interplays of individual media biographical
experiences and generational media experiences.
The empirical investigation consisted of a major qualitative strand and a
supplementing quantitative component. Although the study’s design does not represent
a classical mixed methods approach, it can be categorized as a variation of an
“embedded design” (Creswell and Plano Clark 2011:90–96). An embedded design is a
mixed methods approach in which “the researcher collects and analyzes both quantitative and
qualitative data within a traditional quantitative or qualitative design […]”
(Creswell and Plano Clark 2011:71). In this study, the “primary approach”
(Creswell and Plano Clark 2011:92) of the empirical investigation was qualitative
(see chapter 3) and a quantitative online survey was used as “supporting data”
(Creswell and Plano Clark 2011:73) (see chapter 2). As Creswell and Plano Clark (2011:92)
note, the latter “is used in service to the guiding approach.” Although mixed methods designs
are demanding in terms of required skill sets and time required for data collection and analysis
(Creswell and Plano Clark 2011:17), they also have multiple advantages. By design,
mixed methods studies produce “more evidence” (Creswell and Plano Clark 2011:12),
as well as “multiple forms of evidence” (Creswell and Plano Clark 2011:21). Among others,
using multiple methods and sets of evidence enables researchers to reveal contradictions that
can invite further inquiry (Creswell and Plano Clark 2011:8). For example, in this study,
the question arose of why a substantial number of older women in the quantitative online survey
stated to play online games (see subchapter 2.2, Table 7), while this was hardly a topic in the
qualitative interviews. Although the sampling of interviewees might have played a role
in this regard, the analysis of the qualitative material indicated that older women’s ICT use is
also connected to social norms revolving around gender and age, which facilitate the
foregrounding of certain kinds of ICT engagement. It is thus accurate that
“[q]ualitative research and quantitative research provide different pictures, or perspectives and
each has its limitations,” as Creswell and Plano Clark (2011:8) emphasize. Thus, in the
present study, the main qualitative strand and the supplementing quantitative component
together constitue the ‘big picture’ of older women’s ICT use, as will be illustrated in the
chapters discussing the empirical findings.
6
In order to gain an in-depth understanding of the meanings that older women ascribe to ICTs,
how these meanings relate to previous biographical experiences, and how they actually use
ICTs in their everyday lives, the major qualitative strand of the study employed
three qualitative methods: life graph discussions, qualitative guided interviews, and
walking interviews in small domestic spaces. All of them were conducted on the same day
at the home of the interviewees. In total, 12 women between the ages of 60 and 69
(at the time of the interview) participated in the qualitative strand of the study.
Amounting to almost 30 hours of audio recordings, the qualitative material collected has been
examined repeatedly in numerous analytical sessions. In doing so, Kuckartz’ (2018)
‘content-structuring qualitative content analysis,’6 analytical strategies and techniques of
Grounded Theory (Glaser and Strauss 2009 [1967]; Corbin and Strauss 2015), as well as
strategies of creating typologies outlined by Kluge and Kelle (2010) have informed the inquiry
(see chapter 3). This qualitative investigation represents the core of the present thesis.
In addition to answering the main research question, namely how older women experience ICTs
in their everyday lives, a second aim of the major qualitative strand of the study was
to contribute to methods development. In this context, the qualitative strand explored what
difference the method of walking interviews in small domestic spaces makes in investigating
older women’s ICT experiences (see section 3.3.3).
To contextualize the qualitative material, statistical data (n=1,281) from the Austrian data set
of the first wave (2016) of the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences in the
Digital Media Environment, in which the author participates as coordinator of the Austrian
data set, has been analyzed. In addition to looking into statistical accounts of media use of
Austrian women aged 60 to 70 years who use the Internet, in comparison to men of the
same age, basic statistics of this group have been examined, using data from Statistics Austria,
in an effort to present the overarching societal context of which the women who participated in
the qualitative strand of the study are part (see chapter 2).
6 In the German original: “inhaltlich strukturierende qualitative Inhaltsanalyse” (Kuckartz 2018).
7
This thesis is structured into four main sections. Chapter 1 will discuss
theoretical starting points of the study, including the discussion of key theoretical approaches
and terms, as well as the current state of empirical research on older women’s use of ICTs.
As outlined, chapter 2 examines statistical accounts of media use of Austrian women
aged 60 to 70 years who participated in the ACT online survey, in addition to describing
basic statistical characteristics of this group in comparison to Austrian women aged 60 to 70
from the general population. Chapter 3 details the research design of the
major qualitative strand of the study. Here, the main research questions informing the
qualitative strand, its methodological basis, the qualitative research methods employed,
sampling and recruitment of participants of the qualitative component, ethical considerations,
as well as the transcription, analysis, and strategies of reporting qualitative findings
will be described. Chapters 4-7 discuss empirical findings from the major qualitative strand of
the study. Chapter 7 integrates all findings from the main qualitative strand of the study and
chapter 8 contains a concise summary of the most important results overall and
further considerations with regard to older women’s ICT experiences.
Before going further into detail and starting to discuss theoretical starting points of the study in
chapter 1, there is one last thing to address. A common question researchers investigating
older adults’ use of new ICTs, such as cell phones or computers, are frequently
confronted with is: “But will this topic not become obsolete soon?”. In asking this question,
on the one hand, people refer to the fast-paced development of new ICTs. Every year,
new ICT devices are launched into the market and new technologies emerge –
such as virtual reality interfaces. In the face of this rapid technological development,
is it still worth-while to investigate what today’s seniors do with their cell phones, PCs, laptops,
and tablets – let alone TV sets and radios? Soon, is the underlying assumption, these devices
will have been replaced by others. On the other hand, people asking this question refer to the
inevitable succession of generations.7 In a few decades, those who have grown up with
cell phones and laptops will have become society’s seniors. They, people asking this question
assume, will effortlessly continue to engage with all kinds of ICTs. The question of whether the
topic of older adults’ engagement with today’s ‘new’ ICTs will not become obsolete soon thus
seems to be justified.
7 See Loos (2012:001, 2012:006) for an account on a similar experience.
8
However, those asking this question can rest assured: This will not happen. There will always
be a need to research what older adults think about and do with all kinds of ICTs.
The reason for this is twofold. As Hill et al. (2015:415) have pointed out, the on-going
development of ICTs also implies a need for an increase in digital literacy. The emergence of
new devices will make the topic even more salient.8 Secondly, while specific ICT devices might
change and get replaced by new ones over time, people’s basic modes of interaction might
not change at the same speed. Seniors of the future might be familiar with smartphones
and laptops – but perhaps not so much with virtual reality and other interfaces.
Thus, as Charness and Boot (2009:257) pointed out early on, it is likely that future generations
of seniors will differ in their adoption of technology and “lag” behind.9 – Whether older adults’
creative and reflexive engagement with ICTs can indeed be characterized in terms of a ‘lag’ is,
however, another question that will be critically examined on the following pages.
8 For a similar argument, see Loos (2012:006).
9 A similar point is made by Loos, Haddon, Mante-Meijer (2012:2).
9
1 Theoretical Starting Points
“[…] [Q]ualitative researchers are like quilters, borrowing
and interweaving viewpoints and multiple perspectives.
They make do with a variety of data – all of which are partial
and mismatched – in order to construct a meaningful,
aesthetically pleasing, and useful research synthesis […].”
(Tracy 2013:26)
The main strand of this study is a qualitative investigation of older women’s ICT experiences
in retirement. As proposed by Tracy (2013:26) in the above quote, qualitative researchers are
“quilters.” Building on Tracy’s (2013:26) thoughts, one might say that they put together a
variety of theoretical and empirical pieces of fabric, in order to create something new,
which is both functional – in understanding and explaining phenomena – and aesthetic and thus,
perhaps, also accessible. Similar to quilting, conducting qualitative research is a craft
(Kvale 2007:48–49; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:84–95). Although there are some tricks of the
trade to be learned and applied (see chapter 3), qualitative research remains a flexible and
creative endeavor that relies as much on evidence as on imagination with regard to how pieces
of evidence might fit together.
While chapters 4-7 will discuss the empirical findings of the main qualitative strand in detail,
this chapter deals with the study’s theoretical ‘pieces of fabric.’ When quilting – to stick with
Tracy’s (2013:26) simile – one needs to cut pieces of fabric, choosing and matching different
textures and patterns, in order to make them fit together. The same might apply to engaging
with different theoretical terms and approaches in qualitative research. Once they are deemed
fitting for a project, they are examined closely, looking for their most relevant features,
which ought to be foregrounded in the investigation. The following subchapters will describe
the theoretical vantage points of the study, starting with the definition of key terms for the
investigation and the discussion of theoretical approaches, before giving a brief overview of the
current state of empirical research on older women’s ICT use.
10
1.1 Aging and Old Age
In the social sciences, study subjects and research processes are interrelated in distinct and
intricate ways. Sometimes, just being observed by researchers causes people to actually change
their behavior. This effect has been called ‘reactivity’10 or the‘Hawthorne effect’11
(Diekmann 2013:341, italics in original). However, reactivity does not only occur during field
work; theoretical definitions of social issues can also have practical consequences.
How social scientists theoretically frame their research interests can influence people’s
lived realities. As Calasanti and Slevin (2001:17) highlight in the context of studying old age:
“Social constructions of old age have real consequences for those so defined. As a result,
how scholars of aging define old age is critical at many levels – including policy formation,
public perception, and self concept.” For this reason, and also to outline the understanding of
aging and old age that the present study builds on, this section discusses prominent
scholarly definitions of these concepts.
Generally speaking, the terms ‘aging’ and ‘old age’ can mean many different things.
As Scherke (2012:9) notes, particularly during the last decades, the definition of ‘age’
has become increasingly broad. Different disciplines have developed varying concepts
of aging and old age, with different specific meanings and foci (Katz 1996:1;
Künemund and Schröter 2014:17). However, also within disciplinary boundaries,
there sometimes is no precise definition of what ‘old’ means. Mahr (2016:140,
italics in original), for example, states that in much of the work in sociology of aging,
‘no explicit definition of the terms ‘age’ and ‘aging’’12 is offered.
In broad terms, scholars frequently distinguish between biological, chronological, social, and
psychological age (e. g. van Dyk 2015:12–14). To this list, scholars in aging studies have also
added a cultural dimension of aging (e. g. Maierhofer 1999:130; Calasanti and Slevin 2001:14;
Maierhofer 2003:37, 2003:39, 2004b:171; Katz 2005d:14; Maierhofer 2007:111, 2012:97,
2012:100–101; Scherke 2012:9; Cruikshank 2013:2). Biological age refers to people’s physical
aging process (van Dyk 2015:12; Künemund and Schröter 2014:17). Chronological age
designates people’s age in terms of calendar years (van Dyk 2015:12;
Künemund and Schröter 2014:17), which serves as important social marker (van Dyk 2015:13).
10 In the German original: “Reaktivität” (Diekmann 2013:341, italics in original).
11 In the German original: “Hawthorne-Effekt” (Diekmann 2013:341, italics in original).
12 In the German original: “keine explizite Definition der Begriffe ‘Alter’ und ‘Altern’”
(Mahr 2016:140, italics in original).
11
With regard to the question of which chronological age equals ‘old age,’ there is, again,
no common definition (Neves and Amaro 2012:1). Thus, as Woodward (1999:x) pointed out
early on, there is an “omnipresent numerical discourse on aging” revolving around the question
of which chronological age corresponds to old age. In many EU countries, people aged 65 and
above are officially considered old, while some supranational institutions,
such as the World Health Organization (n. d., as cited in Neves and Amaro 2012:1),
already define ‘old’ as aged 60 and above (Neves and Amaro 2012:1). Scholars, such as
Calasanti and Slevin (2001:18), however, have argued against using homogenizing categories,
such as ‘50 and above,’ ‘60 and above,’ or ‘65 and above.’ After all, these categories include
many decades of life and thus probably also many different experiences and circumstances of
life (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:18). Psychological age refers, among others, to aging processes
in terms of self-perception and related psychological developments (van Dyk 2015:14).
1.1.1 Age as a Social Category
Of most interest in the context of the present study are social and cultural age.
Although, as noted above, there often is no explicit definition of age in works of sociology of
aging (Mahr 2016:140), sociologists usually do agree that age is also socially constructed
(Mahr 2016:142; van Dyk 2015:16). And indeed, as the review of the literature shows –
also beyond the discipline of sociology – there is broad agreement among scholars in
cultural studies and social sciences that (old) age is, at least in part, socially constructed
(e.g. Woodward 1999:x; Calasanti and Slevin 2001:192; Maierhofer 2003:23, 2003:27,
2003:37, 2003:39, 2004b:171, 2012:97; Scherke 2012:9; Settersten and Angel 2012:7;
Cruikshank 2013:187; Helfferich 2017:90; Künemund and Schröter 2014:177).
On the one hand, the social construction of (old) age takes visible shape, if we consider how its
meaning has changed historically. As many have pointed out, meanings of (old) age always
have to be examined considering their historical context (e.g. van Dyk 2015:11;
Pickard 2016:80). On the other hand, the social construction of (old) age becomes visible in
specific contemporary social contexts. An instructive example in this regard is the area of
professional sports, where athletes are often considered ‘old’ in their disciplines at ages where
they are still seen as ‘young’ in society at large (Künemund and Schröter 2014:18).
12
However, while, as van Dyk (2015:16) points out, sociologists usually do agree on the fact that
age is also a social construct, there is less agreement on how this process of construction works
and which areas of life it affects. Some tentatively refer to the general importance of processes
of ascriptions of meaning in relatively vague terms (Settersten and Angel 2012:7).
Some emphasize the relevance of people’s everyday life interactions in this context
(Helfferich 2017:90). And others again highlight the hierarchical power dimensions,
which are inherent to the construction of the meaning of age, and assert that understandings of
one’s own age “come […] from outside of us rather than from within” (Cruikshank 2013:6).
No matter how the process of constructing social age is conceptualized in concrete terms,
however, there is broad agreement in the literature on the general relevance of age as a
social category. This is not least due to the fact that age represents a special social category.
Age differs from gender, class, or ethnicity in important regards. If we are lucky enough and
do not die before, we will all go through different phases of life in a particular sequence
(van Dyk 2015:31; Helfferich 2017:93) and, eventually, we will all become old
(Calasanti and Slevin 2001:192, 2001:193, 2001:203; van Dyk 2017:40; Woodward 1999:x).
Thus, age is a remarkably “fluid” (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:192, italics in original)
social category.13 This makes age a special category, because changes in their age allow people
to experience both advantages and disadvantages related to their own age over the life course
(Calasanti and Slevin 2001:20, 2001:192).
Furthermore, as Calasanti and Slevin (2001:179) and Calasanti, Slevin, and King (2006:17)
have argued, age is relational. In this context, the authors foreground three aspects.
Firstly, they argue that age constitutes a “social organizing principle”
(Calasanti and Slevin 2001:179; Calasanti et al. 2006:17, partly in italics in original) in society
at large. Secondly, different age groups relate to each other and, through this very relation,
they “gain identities and power” (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:179; Calasanti et al. 2006:17,
partly in italics in original). Thirdly, and this is the main point Calasanti and Slevin (2001)
repeatedly emphasize in their seminal book, “age relations intersect with other relations
of power” (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:179; Calasanti et al. 2006:17, partly in italics in original).
13 Calasanti and Slevin (2001:192) do note that also membership in other social categories (such as gender) can
change over an individual’s life course; however, this happens most often in the context of age.
13
With regard to the first point, the function of age as a “social organizing principle,”
(Calasanti and Slevin 2001:179; Calasanti et al. 2006:17, partly in italics in original),
it can be stated that age structures society on a macro level. – Different norms, rights, and duties
(Calasanti and Slevin 2001:15; Calasanti et al. 2006:17) are ascribed to different age groups in
a given society and subsequently different opportunities are open to them (Pickard 2016:66).
Thus, as Woodward (1999:x) pointed out early on: “age is also clearly a relation of difference.”
In this regard, it is important to note that these differences between age groups are not void of
power dynamics, but organized hierarchically (Pickard 2016:3). Considering age as a
social category, there is an imaginary binary of young and old, whereas middle age is
conceptualized as more or less age-less (Maierhofer 2003:27, 2004a:322, 2004b:156, 2007:115;
van Dyk 2015:6–7).14 Thus, similar to gender, where the general point of reference usually is
men, middle age often serves as an implicit point of reference in the context of age
(van Dyk 2015:133; Helfferich 2017:93). Because of this privileged position in discourses and
sense-making processes, adulthood constitutes the most powerful life phase (Pickard 2016:66).
Pickard (2016:33) even speaks of an “age patriarchy,” which favors adulthood and
“subordinates” other ages. This is exactly what Calasanti and Slevin (2001:179) and
Calasanti et al. (2006:17) mean by stating that ages and their inherent potentials of power can
only be understood properly in relation to each other. In this context, being old always entails
a certain loss of power (Calasanti et al. 2006:17), as well as status (Calasanti et al. 2006:17;
Cruikshank 2013:9). As Cruikshank (2013:14) highlights, this social devaluation puts
old people at risk: “Although people of any age are vulnerable to disease, disability, loss of
friends, and lack of respect based on some arbitrary characteristic, elders are especially
vulnerable to these and other conditions.”
However, often it is not old age alone that increases old people’s risk of social exclusion and
vulnerability. As noted, Calasanti and Slevin (2001:179) and Calasanti et al. (2006:17) also
point out that age needs to be considered in concert with other social categories.
What old age is like for specific individuals and groups also depends considerably on their
social location in terms of other social categories, such as gender, ethnicity, class, and
sexual orientation (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:14, 2001:16), as well as health status and
(dis)ability (van Dyk 2017:30).
14 For a similar point, see Woodward (1999:xvii).
14
Especially the intersection of age and gender is powerful and consequential, as Susan Sontag
argued early on in her seminal essay “The Double Standard of Aging” in 1972.
Since the intersection of age and gender is of particular interest for the study at hand,
its dynamics will be discussed in detail in subchapter 1.2. As a consequence of the intersection
of age with other social categories, the fact of when someone gets labeled as ‘old’ differs for
different groups of people (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:191, 2001:192; Calasanti et al. 2006:17).
– Or put differently: Some social groups age faster than others.
In addition to being “fluid” (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:192, italics in original) and relational
(Calasanti and Slevin 2001:179; Calasanti et al. 2006:17), it is also a particular characteristic of
age that it is both a process and a state and marker of difference (van Dyk 2015:6, 2015:11).
Van Dyk (2015:6, 2015:11) has termed this the ‘double character’15 of age.
Similarly, Künemund and Schröter (2014:16) differentiate between age as a
‘structural category’16 and aging as a ‘process category.’17 While the first refers to aging as a
process, and thus to the interconnectedness of different phases of life, as well as transitions
between them, the latter refers to the ascription of a particular status to individuals or groups
(Künemund and Schröter 2014:16).
However, age and aging are not only socially relevant with regard to their functions as
markers of identity or frameworks for understanding processes of transition. Often, aging is
also framed as a social problem (Cruikshank 2013:7), and so is old age (Gullette 2004:7).
This constitutes another dimension of the social relevance of age and aging.
The problematization of aging and old age includes an alarmist societal discourse of
demographic change, which positions all old people in opposition to an imaginary coherent
younger demographic (van Dyk 2015:139). As Scherke (2012:9) points out, in this context,
politics and media are particularly concerned with a rising need for care for the elderly and its
burden on the social welfare system. Maierhofer (2003:46) has also highlighted an array of
negative associations with old age on the societal level, including loneliness,
economic precarity, and dependency.
15 In the German original: “Doppelcharakter” (van Dyk 2015:6, 2015:11).
16 In the German original: “Strukturkategorie” (Künemund and Schröter 2014:16).
17 In the German original: “Prozesskategorie” (Künemund and Schröter 2014:16).
15
Such discourses are not without consequences. Among others, they have contributed to the
perseverance and spread of ageism. Coined as a term by Robert Butler in the 1960s
(Calasanti and Slevin 2001:19; van Dyk 2015:126; Katz 2005d:13, 2005c:92;
Woodward 1999:x), ageism refers to stereotypes and prejudices, as well as discrimination
against old people (Woodward 1999:x; Maierhofer 2007:113; Cruikshank 2013:4;
van Dyk 2015:126). As a social phenomenon, it is particularly interesting because,
as Calasanti and Slevin (2001:193, italics in original) emphasize, “ageism is the one oppression
that we will all face.”
1.1.2 Cultural Narratives of Aging and Old Age
Ageism is closely connected to cultural aging and cultural imaginaries of old age.
As noted before, particularly scholars in aging studies have highlighted the cultural dimension
of aging (e.g. Maierhofer 1999:130; Calasanti and Slevin 2001:14; Maierhofer 2003:37,
2003:39; Gullette 2004; Maierhofer 2004b:171; Katz 2005d:14; Maierhofer 2007:111, 2012:97,
2012:100–101; Scherke 2012:9; Cruikshank 2013:2). But what does it mean in concrete terms
that “[h]uman beings are aged by culture,” as Margaret Morganroth Gullette (2004:12)
famously phrased it? According to Gullette (2004:11), most importantly, this implies that
our understandings of age and aging are strongly influenced by “narrative ideas.”
As one of the most prominent narratives in the context of aging, Gullette (2004:13)
has identified the “[d]ecline narrative.” Within this prominent cultural narrative, old age is
essentially synonymous to “disease and physical and mental decline” (Calasanti et al. 2006:20).
Thus, old age is frequently equated with dependency (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:21).
Such notions, however, only paint a one-dimensional and predominantly negative picture
of old age (Cruikshank 2013:200–201). In addition, it also involves the idea of old age
as a permanent deficit (Maierhofer 2007:114; van Dyk 2015:145, 2017:37). As concrete
evidence of old age’s societal conception as deficit, van Dyk (2017:37) draws attention to
all the positive attributes that are frequently used in conjunction with the term of ‘old age,’
such as ‘active’ or ‘wise.’ As van Dyk (2017:37) notes, these adjectives are used to balance the
inherently negative and deficient connotations of old age.
16
Another feature of the “[d]ecline narrative” (Gullette 2004:13) is that it leaves little room
for individual variation. As a consequence, old people are culturally imagined to be a
homogenous group (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:26). The vastly negative understanding of
old age in contemporary culture (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:185; Woodward 1999:xiii) also
goes hand in hand with its denial (Woodward 1999:xiii), as well as people’s practices of
distancing themselves from it (van Dyk 2015:149).
However, as more and more people will live longer lives and the share of older people will
continue to increase in many European countries over the next decades (European Commission
2011:65),18 there is a need for a more nuanced understanding of what it means to be old. –
Or, as van Dyk (2017:44) has put it, we need to transcend the currently prevalent
‘misery perspective’19 with regard to old age and develop a more diversified understanding
of it. But so far, this has proven to be a complex endeavor. While we are in dire need of
more nuanced understandings of old age and the diversity of people’s lived experiences,
there simultaneously is a danger of developing overly positive stereotypes of old age, which are
as one-dimensional – and thus far from people’s actual lived realities – as their negative
counter-parts. In this context, Katz (2005d:19) has observed the “emergence of cultural aging
and its problematic ‘positive,’ ‘successful,’ and ‘active’ mandates as a new form of ageism and
an element of current bio-demographic politics and its enforced ethics of self-care and
individual responsibility.” And indeed, in recent years, policy-makers have made considerable
efforts to change the public perception of old age. – In the European context, there has
for example been the “European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between generations”
in 2012, which aimed at promoting more positive attitudes towards population aging among
EU citizens (European Commission 2014). The imperatives of ‘active’ and ‘successful’ aging
also matter with regard to ICT use. As Taipale, Wilska, and Gilleard (2017:4) note,
‘successful’ aging also includes “having the ability and the desire to keep up with the
technological developments that signify ‘the new’ and ‘youthfulness.’”
18 For example, according to the 2010 Demography Report of the European Commission and Eurostat, in 2060,
30% of the people in the EU will be aged 65 or above (compared to 17.4% in 2010)
(European Commission 2011:65).
19 In the German original: “Misery-Perspektive” (van Dyk 2017:44, italics in original).
17
As scholars in aging studies have pointed out, however, although often well-intended,
concepts such as ‘active aging’20 or ‘successful aging’21 are ridden with prerequisites and are
problematic with regard to efforts of social inclusion. Multiple aspects need to be noted
in this regard. Firstly, popular concepts such as ‘successful aging’ obscure many of their
underlying assumptions (Cruikshank 2013:181). To no small extent, being able to age
‘actively,’ ‘successfully,’ or ‘productively’ depends on people’s socio-economic location and
resources (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:183–84; Calasanti et al. 2006:15; Cruikshank 2013:2–3;
van Dyk 2015:105; Katz and Calasanti 2015:29; Pickard 2016:97). As Calasanti et al. (2006:15)
have poignantly put it: “Successful aging requires maintenance of the activities popular among
the middle aged privileged with money and leisure time.” Here, they also refer to a second
important point of criticism with regard to concepts such as ‘successful aging’:
their implicit point of reference is always middle age (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:45, 2001:182;
Calasanti et al. 2006:15).22 As Calasanti and Slevin (2001:45) argue, this is problematic because
old people are only considered to be valuable members of society as long as they are essentially
like the middle aged in terms of productivity and activity. Thirdly, ‘active,’ ‘successful,’
or ‘productive’ aging are conceptualized as individual endeavors and efforts to be made
(Katz 2005a:136; Katz and Marshall 2018:68), and not, for example, tied to
state responsibilities (Katz 2005a:136). Fourthly, ‘active aging’ is more of an imperative than
an option (critically: Katz 2005a:133; van Dyk 2015:104; Pickard 2016, 2016:98).
People who refuse to comply to norms of ‘active’ and ‘productive’ aging, risk being portrayed
as irresponsible towards society at large (critical: van Dyk 2015:104). Thus, such
normative understandings of aging and old age leave little room for individual interpretations
of this stage of life, as well as individual agency (Katz 1996:6). Fifthly, there is
also a problem of measurement. As Katz and Calasanti (2015:17) have shown,
‘successful aging’ has been measured inconsistently within and across different studies.
20 According to Katz (2005a:127), the notion of ‘active aging’ became influential after the Second World War
in an effort to re-conceptualized old age in terms of activity instead of “contemplative pursuits.”
21 As a scholarly concept, “successful aging” was initially developed by Rowe and Kahn (1997; 1987,
as cited in Pickard 2016:96). As Pickard (2016:96) points out, Rowe and Kahn’s concept primarily focuses on
“medical, psychological and social characteristics.” According to Katz and Calasanti’s (2015:26) evaluation, it has
become “one of gerontology’s most successful ideas” and has influenced the subsequent development of
buzzwords such as “productive aging,” “positive aging,” “optimal aging,” or “effective aging.”
22 This criticism has also been emphasized by others, such as van Dyk (2015:131) or Pickard (2016:98).
18
Sixthly, positive stereotypes of aging do not paint a diverse picture of experiences of aging,
but essentially mirror their negative counter-parts in their one-dimensionality (Katz 2005d:16,
2005a:136). Concepts such as ‘successful aging’ are simplistic (Cruikshank 2013:4;
Pickard 2016:98) and divide people into two groups of “successful or unsuccessful agers”
(Katz and Calasanti 2015:29), which again leaves little room for individual variation
(Katz and Calasanti 2015:29). Finally, as van Dyk (2017:45) notes, any essentialist and
one-dimensional conceptualization of old age – even the most positive one – still identifies
old age as inherently ‘different’ from youth.
Instead of promoting positive stereotypes, van Dyk (2015:137, 2017:44–45, 2017:35–38)
suggests the deconstruction of prominent ideas of old age in scholarship and policy-making.
Most importantly, she argues, this includes not only understanding youth and old age as socially
constructed, but also middle age, which serves as an implicit point of reference
(van Dyk 2015:137). All popular conceptualizations of old age have in common that they
compare it to middle age (van Dyk 2015:133). Also, when old age is framed positively,
either as ‘still similar’ to middle age (for example in terms of ‘productivity), or as ‘different’
(for example as ‘wise’), middle age remains the implicit baseline (van Dyk 2015:133).
In addition to questioning middle age as an implicit point of reference, a more nuanced and
diversified understanding of old age also includes the acceptance of some differences.
In this context, Calasanti and Slevin (2001:202) rightly state: “Bodies – old bodies – matter.
We cannot ‘construct away’ or ‘cure’ many of the physical changes that we face. To this extent,
the old are not, in fact, just like the middle aged only older. They are different.”23
At the same time, there is of course a “wide variety of ways of being old,”
as Calasanti and Slevin (2001:203) emphasize. Thus, a nuanced understanding of old age
involves both, acknowledgement of similarities and the acknowledgement of differences
across and within different age groups.
23 Also see Cruikshank (2013:187) for a similar argument.
19
1.1.3 What Does ‘Older’ Refer to in the Present Study?
The study at hand focuses on ICT use of ‘older women.’ – But what does ‘older’ refer to
in this context? In terms of chronological age, women aged 60 to 70 years at the time of the
investigation were included in the study. As will be explained in detail in section 3.4.1,
the reason for limiting the age range in terms of chronological age was the need to create a
comparable group of participants in terms of media biographical backgrounds. The study thus
focused on the ‘young old’ and not the ‘old old,’ 24 to build on a distinction originally developed
by Bernice L. Neugarten in the 1970s (Mahr 2016:152).
With regard to social age, it is noteworthy that no participant of the main qualitative
investigation was engaged in formal full-time work anymore at the time of the intverview.
Some had retired fully from formal work (I1, I2, I3, I4, I6, I11, I12), others continued to work
formally part-time in retirement (I7, I9, I10), and one interviewee had been a homemaker and
family caregiver for most of her life, not pursuing formal employment for any considerable
stretch of time (I5). In the short questionnaire administered after the walking interview in
participants’ homes (see section 3.4.4), all interviewees but I5 clearly self-identified
as ‘retired.’25 Remarkably, I5 chose not to reply to the question of ‘Are you retired?’26 by ticking
either ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ However, she did answer to the question of ‘What did you do before
[retiring]?’27 by noting down ‘homemaker’28 (I5) on the questionnaire. Thus, I5 gave a
somewhat ambiguous answer to the question of whether she is retired or not. As will be
discussed in detail in section 1.2.2, I5’s answer makes perfect sense considering that women do
usually not retire from household work (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:100;
Cruikshank 2013:133; Buse 2009:1152) and family care work (Backes 2007:167, 2007:172;
Calasanti and Slevin 2001:100).
24 Cited as “junge[…] Alte […]” and “alte[…] Alte[…]’ in Mahr (2016:152).
25 In the German original: “in Pension.”
26 In the German original: “Sind Sie in Pension?”
27 In the German original: “Was haben Sie davor [vor der Pension] gemacht?”
28 “Hausfrau” (I5)
20
However, in terms of their lacking, ended, or reduced participation in formal work,
participants of the qualitative strand belong to the so-called “third age” (Laslett 1991,
as cited in Pickard 2016:81), which represents “[t]he stage of life that follows working life but
precedes old age […]” (Quan-Haase, Martin, and Schreurs 2016:691). Because it coincides with
retirement, entry into the ‘third age’ as a separate life stage is thus highly institutionalized,
as van Dyk (2015:22) points out. However, the concept frequently does not only refer to the
life phase immediately following retirement from formal work in descriptive terms, but also to
normative dimensions of aging. In particular, these include associations of the ‘third age’ with
high levels of mental and physical fitness (van Dyk 2015:22), as well as a responsible lifestyle
(van Dyk 2015:24; Pickard 2016:97). As Pickard (2016:97) notes in this regard:
“[T]he third age represents the outcome of correct choices and reflexive lifestyles, past and
present; at the same time it represents the only ‘correct choice’ for later life that we can make.”
Hence, it also is a highly normative concept. In the present study, only the first,
descriptive dimension of the ‘third age’ as the life phase which immediately follows retirement
(van Dyk 2015:22; Quan-Haase et al. 2016:691) is of relevance, as will be discussed further in
the introductory section of chapter 5.
With regard to cultural age, the adjective of ‘older’ of course also draws attention to the implicit
reference point of middle age for the definition of all other ages (van Dyk 2015:133;
Helfferich 2017:93). – As a comparative form, ‘older’ clearly relates to a normative
cultural baseline, which can be identified as middle age. This is acknowledged and critically
reflected on in the present thesis. In the study at hand, the term ‘older’ is thus not used without
reflection, but in an effort to contribute to a critical discussion on its various potential meanings
and their implications.
1.2 Age and Gender
In addition to defining ‘older’ in the context of the present study, it is also important to note
that the investigation focuses on older women. As stated in the introduction, the intersection of
age and gender matters with regard to the use of new ICTs in Austria. As outlined, for example,
the Internet use of older Austrian women and men aged 55 to 74 still differed considerably
in 2019 (Statistik Austria 2019). But also more generally, the intersection of age and gender is
important and consequencial – in practical, as well as in theoretical terms. This section will thus
discuss conceptual, and social interplays of these two social categories.
21
1.2.1 Theoretical Entanglements of Gender Studies and Aging Studies
As Maierhofer (2019:2) points out, “[a]ge/[a]geing studies would not have been established as
a field without the theoretical and methodological approaches established through
feminist theory.” Given this connection in terms of basics in epistemology and ontology
between feminist theory and aging studies that Maierhofer (2019:2) emphasizes, it is all the
more surprising that the intersection of age and gender has not received extensive
scholarly attention, in comparison to works focusing either on age or gender
(Calasanti and Slevin 2001:27; Denninger and Schütze 2017:7). Van Dyk (2017:24) even
claims that there hardly is any other social and cultural intersection whose exploration has
remained as limited as the one of age and gender.
As Katz (2005b:38) notes, both gender studies and aging studies have claimed that they have
mutually ignored each other. And indeed, many have pointed out that gender and
feminist studies have long paid insufficient explicit attention to old women and old age
(Maierhofer 2003:102; Calasanti et al. 2006:14; Krekula 2007:155; van Dyk 2017:24).
This, again, is particularly surprising given that intersectionality actually represents a feminist
core concept (van Dyk 2015:31). Nevertheless, as Calasanti and Slevin (2001:202) state,
“feminist theories […] have failed to theorize age relations and their interaction with other
systems of oppression.” Similarly, many have argued that, for a long time, social gerontology
did not develop a complex understanding of the interplays of old age and gender
(Calasanti and Slevin 2001:33; Venn, Davidson, and Arber 2012:72) or did not sufficiently
integrate existing theories of gender (Krekula 2007:156).
Thus, although aging studies (sometimes explicitly, but probably more often implicitly)
build on the epistemology and ontology of feminist theory in general terms
(Maierhofer 2019:2), the specifics of the intersection of age and gender have received less
attention. Exceptions in cultural studies include the works of Maierhofer (2003, 2004b, 2004a,
2007, 2012) and her approach of anocriticism (see section 1.2.3), and in sociology the works of
Clasanti and Slevin (2001). However, despite these notable exceptions, there still is a need for
further research. In the context of the social sciences, Denniger and Schütze (2017:8) have only
recently pointed out that there particularly is a lack of qualitative research dealing with the
intersection of age and gender and related processes of meaning-making and self-perception.
Backes (2007:151) has previously made a similar observation, arguing that individual and
social meanings of the interplays of age and gender have not been researched sufficiently.
22
In addition to the lack of qualitative studies, multiple scholars have drawn attention to
the need for the development of theory with regard to the intersection of age and gender.
Denninger and Schütze (2017:14) address the insufficient development of theory in
sociology of aging, while also pointing to gender studies’ ignorance of age as a social category.
Similar to Denninger and Schütze’s (2017:14) first point, Marshall and Bengtson (2012:27)
assess a lack of theoretically-driven research in sociology of aging and van Dyk (2015:15)
asserts that sociology of aging generally is vague in terms of theory.
In short, there is a need for the development of specific concepts and theories focusing on the
intersection of age and gender in the interdisciplinary field of aging studies, but also in
sociology of aging. The present thesis aims at contributing to an understanding of the
intersection of age and gender through empirically examining the everyday life experiences of
older women with ICTs and subsequently building a theoretical model of how this intersection
relates to ICT use in retirement (see chapter 7). Based on this specific research subject –
the use of ICTs – the general relevance of the intersection of age and gender for processes of
meaning-making in everyday life will also be illustrated.
1.2.2 Cultural and Social Intersections of Age and Gender
As important social categories, age and gender share some commonalities. Firstly, similar to
age, gender is also a crucial “organizing societal principle” (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:36).
As such, both are, at least in part, socially constructed (Maierhofer 2003:23, 2003:27, 2003:37,
2012:97; Helfferich 2017:90). As Helfferich (2017:90) points out, similarly to gender,
the social construction of age takes place in everyday life, through people’s mundane
interactions, in which the meaning of age is (re-)produced. Thus, age, similar to gender,
has a performative character (Cruikshank 2013:185). As elaborated above, this means that age
is not just a ‘natural’ feature, but importantly also involves cultural and social norms
(also see Maierhofer 2003:23). Secondly, similarly to gender, age is often
understood as a binary: young vs. old (Woodward 1999:xvii; Maierhofer 1999:130, 2003:26,
2004a:322, 2004b:156, 2007:115; van Dyk 2015:6–7). Building on previous work in
gender and queer studies, scholars in aging studies have attempted early on to create a
more nuanced understanding of age “beyond the number of two” (Woodward 1999:xvii).
Although considerable progress has been made in the past twenty years in promoting a more
diverse understanding of age, this remains work in progress.
23
In addition, age and gender do not only share common characteristics as two social categories,
but also intersect in consequential ways. Originally developed as a concept by
Kimberlé Crenshaw (1999, as cited in Maierhofer 2019:2), “intersectionality” refers to the
interrelation of multiple overlapping social differences and related inequalities in an
individual’s life (van Dyk 2017:25; Maierhofer 2019:2; Pickard 2016:32). With regard to age,
gender certainly is not the only relevant intersectional category, however. It is key to note that
intersections of age with other social categories, such as class, also matter. As Pickard (2016:26)
emphasizes “class works through age.” By this, Pickard (2016:26, 2016:43) means that
social disadvantages and inequalities, for example with regard to income or health status,
do not appear suddenly in old age, but rather “accumulate” (2016:43) throughout
the life course.29 In the qualitative strand of the study, class as a social category was considered
in the sampling process. The qualitative sample consisted of participants with
diverse backgrounds in terms of education (from vocational to general or academic),
(previous) occupations (manual to social or clerical), as well as place of residence
(urban vs. rural).30 Because the present study focuses on the intersection of age and gender
in particular, the following paragraphs will, however, take a closer look at it.
With regard to the cultural dimension of the intersection of age and gender, it is noteworthy
how closely the meanings of age and gender seem to be linked and mutually dependent
on each other. A pioneer in drawing attention to the cultural intersection of age and gender was
Susan Sontag (Maierhofer 2003:37, 2007:112, 2012:97).31 In her seminal essay
“The Double Standard of Aging” (1972), she put forward the hypothesis that the experience of
aging is quite different for men and women, due to cultural assumptions. Most importantly,
Sontag (1972:29) argues that aging “is mainly an ordeal of the imagination – a moral disease,
a social pathology – intrinsic to which is the fact that it afflicts women much more than men.”
As can be seen from this quote, Sontag (1972:29) puts forward the idea of
aging as a cultural imaginary, which is especially consequential for women.
29 A similar point is put forward by Gilleard and Higgs (2012:370), although not focusing on the intersection
of age and class alone in this context.
30 For more details on participants of the qualitative strand of the study, see subchapter 3.4.
31 In this context, Maierhofer (2003:37–38, 2007:112, 2012:97) also draws attention to an academic paper
by Susan Sontag entitled “The Double Standard of Aging” (1975, as cited in Maierhofer 2003:37).
24
As Maierhofer (2019:2) notes, Sontag highlights how cultural ideas about aging fundamentally
inhibit women’s ability to “imagine themselves” freely. In particular, Sontag (1972:31)
contends, women are affected differently by aging than men because beauty is considered to be
more important for a woman than a man.32 Since female beauty (Sontag 1972:31, 1972:36,
1972:38) and sexual attractiveness (Sontag 1972:33) are solely associated with youth,
aging is more detrimental to women than to men. This also involves that women are considered
to age earlier than men (Woodward 1999:xiii; Calasanti and Slevin 2001:24;
van Dyk 2015:123, 2017:28) because their attractiveness is mostly related to their perception
by men as well as their fertility (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:24).33 In addition, Sontag (1972:31)
outlines how stereotypical ideas of personal traits associated with ‘masculinity’
and ‘femininity’ strongly intersect with aging. As she argues, culturally “‘[m]asculinity’ is
identified with competence, autonomy, self-control,” while “‘[f]emininity’ is identified with
incompetence, helplessness, passivity, noncompetitiveness, being nice” (Sontag 1972:31).
Since the latter, largely negative ascriptions, are also associated with old age, in cultural terms,
aging affects women more than it does men, as Sontag (1972:31) implies in her essay and which
Maierhofer (2003:40, 2007:113) explicitly highlights in her discussion of Sontag’s work.
The social intersections of age and gender are also noteworthy. Older women are
more often affected by social inequality, for example in terms of poverty or unemployment
(Maierhofer 2003:39; Backes 2007:154), or limited financial resources in retirement
(Calasanti and Slevin 2001:23). As Calasanti and Slevin (2001:23) highlight,
women’s employment histories, which often are more fragmented than men’s and often affected
more severely by discrimination, also effect retirement income. Also in the Austrian context,
considerable differences in retirement income between older men and women show up in the
statistics (Statistik Austria 2017b) (see subchapter 2.1 for details).
In addition, women’s careers also differ in other important regards from men’s.
This includes the fact that women do usually not retire from household work
(Calasanti and Slevin 2001:100; Cruikshank 2013:133, Buse 2009:1152) and family care work
(Backes 2007:167, 2007:172; Calasanti and Slevin 2001:100). Even if they retire from other,
formal employment, their domestic work continues (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:93, 2001:94,
2001:95, 2001:131, 2001:132).
32 Also Krekula (2007:162) highlights this point discussing Sontag’s (1972) essay.
33 Also Maierhofer (2003:40, 2012:99) emphasizes the relevance of fertility for women’s cultural recognition.
25
As Calasanti and Slevin (2001: 134) emphasize, older women’s care work is multifold and can
relate to family members of several generations – from parents to grandchildren –
and sometimes even to their community at large. Here, it is important to note that, often,
older women have already been life-long providers of family care and simply continue
performing this role in retirement (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:100). By analogy with
Pickard’s (2016:26) assertion that “class works through age,” one thus might say that
also ‘gender works through age.’
Although, perhaps not immediately obvious, their responsibility for household and
family care work can entail some – but few – advantages for older women. For example,
as Backes (2007:157) points out, the continuity of domestic labor can represent some form of
stability for women transitioning into retirement. Often, it also allows older women to
consolidate their role of grandmother – one of the few positive social roles available to
older women (see, for example, Calasanti and Slevin 2001:198; Chivers 2003:xlvi).
In addition, as Calasanti and Slevin (2001:141) note, in some instances, care-giving might
be reciprocal across generations.
However, there are also quite a few disadvantages associated with older women’s continued
domestic labor, which, in their large number, outweigh its advantages. For instance,
although continued responsibility for household and care work might represent a form of
stability (Backes 2007:157), this stability might not always be experienced as positive and can
also equal a sense of confinement to the domestic sphere, as Backes (2007:157) makes sure
to note. The latter is also pointed out by Calasanti and Slevin (2001:198), who additionally
emphasize that particularly gendered roles such as the one of grandmother can also serve as
a means to “maintain[…] [a] position of servitude to others within the (patriarchal) family […].”
As Maierhofer emphasizes, the cultural conceptualizations of the role of mother and
grandmother are often narrow and stereotypical (1999:140, 2003:32) and limit women in
their scope of agency – much more than chronological age does (2003:40, 2007:113, 2012:99).
For instance, women’s care responsibilities are not always a matter of ‘choice,’ but also of
social expectations and pressure (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:109). In this context, it is important
to note that retired women often do experience domestic labor and care work as work, also in
retirement (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:128, 2001:145).
26
As will be detailed in section 6.1.1, this sentiment is also echoed by some interviewees of the
present study, who explicitly refer to household chores in retirement as ‘work.’34
Because women perform considerable amounts of domestic labor across the life course,
they usually also have less time for leisure than men (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:128). –
This also has consequences for older women’s engagement with media technologies,
as will be discussed in chapter 6. In addition, while care work might be intergenerationally
reciprocal in some instances (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:141), this is not necessarily the case,
as Backes (2007:174) points out, foregrounding older women’s considerable societal
contribution in terms of the provision of social services. Most importantly, retired women are
often responsible for watching their grandchildren (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:139).
Although for some this certainly constitutes a source of joy and pleasure, it can also be a more
ambivalent experience for others, as Calasanti and Slevin (2001:139) note and as will also
be discussed in chapter 6 with regard to findings of the main qualitative strand of the study.
1.2.3 Maierhofer’s Approach of Anocriticism
Here, the question arises, how scholars in cultural studies and the social sciences who
investigate issues related to age and gender can develop a systematic and yet multi-dimensional
understanding of these interrelations. In terms of an analytical lens, the approach of
‘anocriticism,’ developed by literary and cultural studies scholar Roberta Maierhofer
(2003, 2004b, 2004a, 2007, 2012) seems to be helpful in this regard. Maierhofer (2004a:322)
describes anocriticism “as a method to trace the aspect of female aging in texts of
American literature in order to generate an understanding for what it means –
in Margaret Morganroth Gullette’s term – to be ‘aged by culture.’”35, 36
34 “Arbeit” (I8)
35 In relation to this quote by Gullette, Maierhofer (2004a:335) references Gullette’s
(1997, p. 6-7, as quoted in Maierhofer 2004a:335) book ‘Declining to Decline. Cultural Combat and the Politics
of the Middle’ in an endnote.
36 Also see Maierhofer (2003:26, 2007:115).
27
Although Maierhofer originally developed her approach of anocriticism in the context of
American studies37 to investigate literary representations of old age (2003:343),
it can also be applied to the analysis of any other form of text, including interview transcripts,
as the present study illustrates. As a detailed analysis of Maierhofer’s (2003, 2004b,
2004a, 2007, 2012) work on anocriticism has shown, the approach draws attention to
four particular dimensions of age and aging: (a) age and aging’s collective cultural construction
and relation to gender, (b) the individual dimension of aging, (c) people’s interpretative power
and narrative performance with regard to age and aging, and (d) age and aging’s potential for
resistance and change.
With regard to the first dimension, (a) age and aging’s collective cultural construction and
relation to gender, Maierhofer highlights the fact that age and gender are both shaped culturally
and socially. Thus, she argues, “[a]s feminist theory distinguishes between sex and gender,
so should a distinction be made between chronological age and the cultural stereotypes
associated with old people, which would help escape the confining binary opposition between
young and old” (Maierhofer 1999:130, 2004a:322, 2004b:156).38 Here, two points are of
particular relevance. Firstly, if age and aging are, at least in part, culturally constructed,
this implies that, per se and without context, they convey little information about an individual
(Maierhofer 2003:42, 2007:113, 2012:100). Secondly, if we accept that age and aging are also
cultural constructs, this means that they are neither inherently ‘good,’ nor ‘bad,’ but that their
perception depends on our cultural (and social) location. As Maierhofer (1999:130, 2003:334)
thus emphasizes, the most accurate understanding of age and aging most likely is one that
foregrounds its ambivalence. Bearing in mind this basic distinction of chronological and
cultural age and its implications enables scholars to thoroughly analyze how age is
actively constructed and shaped by writers and readers of literary texts, as well as in society
in general (Maierhofer 2003:27, 2004a:322, 2004b:156, 2004b:171, 2007:115).
In doing so, anocriticism encourages a focus on the intersection of age and gender and in
particular “a search for a specific female culture of aging” (Maierhofer 2004a:321, 2004b:156).
37 According to Maierhofer (2003:33, 2007:121), there are two reasons for why the field of American studies
has proven to be a particularly fertile ground for developing her approach of ‘anocriticism.’ Firstly, she argues,
American literature is characterized by plurality in terms of diverse and multi-ethnic texts (Maierhofer 2003:33,
2007:121). This also involves a diverse depiction of old women in American literature, which might help to inspire
a more diversified image of old women more generally (Maierhofer 2007:121). Secondly, American culture
focuses on the individual (Maierhofer 2003:33), which potentially encourages individuals in their transgressions
of social norms (Maierhofer 2007:121).
38 See also Maierhofer (2003:26, 2003:37, 2007:111, 2007:115).
28
Although explicitly acknowledging collective elements of age and aging with regard to
culturally shared meanings, as well as their medical, social, and psychological implications,
anocriticism simultaneously emphasizes the (b) the individual dimension of aging
(Maierhofer 2003:53–54). As Maierhofer (2003:342) poignantly notes, in their complexity,
the lived lives of old women differ considerably, thus, there is no single reality accessible to
all old women per se. Hence, it is important to also consciously look for individual experiences
of age and aging, when analyzing their cultural representation (Maierhofer 2003:26, 2007:115).
In this context, Maierhofer (2003:26, 2007:115) speaks of an ‘authority of the individual female
experience of age and aging,’39 which anocritical readers need to acknowledge.
Summarizing the anocritical viewpoint, Maierhofer (2003:56) thus states that ‘[…] aging [is]
an individual ‘project,’ which has to be lived out in a social context.’40
Concerning individual experiences of age and aging, anocriticism draws attention to
(c) people’s interpretative power and narrative performance with regard to age and aging.
Building on the works of Richard Rorty and Anthony Giddens, Maierhofer (2003:55)
conceptualizes aging as a continuous shaping of one’s own identity and compares it to the
creative process of writing. Anocriticism thus emphasizes people’s agency and sense-making
competencies (Maierhofer 2003:53, 2007:118). According to Maierhofer (2003:53, 2007:118),
also in old age, people continue to interpret and re-interpret their lives, in order to create a sense
of self in the present. In doing so, people need to deal with and make sense of
continuities and changes over the life course, in order to establish a coherent identity
(Maierhofer 2003:18, 2003:341).41 From an anocritical perspective, age and aging need to be
seen as open-ended ‘projects,’ which have to be shaped through individual narration
(Maierhofer 2003:345).
39 In the German original: “Autorität der individuellen weiblichen Erfahrung im Alter/n”
(Maierhofer 2003:26, 2007:115).
40 In the German original: “[…] Altern [ist] ein individuelles ‘Projekt’ ist, das gesellschaftlich gelebt
werden muss.” (Maierhofer 2003:56).
41 When discussing ‘identity’ in the context of anocriticism, Maierhofer (2003:57) conceptualizes it in similar
terms as the notion of ‘self.’
29
In this context, Maierhofer (2004a:334) makes a point which is of great relevance for
the present study. – Considering that people need to make sense of continuities and changes
in their lives throughout their biographies, “it is important to not only emphasize the looking
back, but also to consider the subject of women growing old” (Maierhofer 2004a:334).
This perspective has been taken up in the qualitative strand of the study by exploring
both interviewees’ narrations of past media biographies and their narrations of current
experiences with ICTs in retirement.42
In addition to the conceptualization of age and aging as collective cultural and gendered
constructs, individual ‘projects,’ and creative biographical narrations, anocriticism also implies
a focus on (d) age and aging’s potential for resistance and change. In this regard,
Maierhofer (2012:100–101) points to the cultural implications of age and aging. –
If age and aging are, similar to gender, at least in part, culturally constructed, they can also
be de-constructed, questioned, and changed (Maierhofer 2012:100–101). Promoting a
feminist perspective on age and aging, Maierhofer (2007:114) calls for a self-determined
understanding of age and aging, as well as for a transgression of narrow social roles related to
old age. According to Maierhofer, particularly literary texts (2007:118), as well as
the humanities analyzing them (2007:126), have an important role to play in this regard.
As she notes, literary texts have an inherent subversive potential, allowing for the development
and portrayal of ‘counter world[s]’43 (Maierhofer 2007:118). Analyzing such creative visions,
the humanities highlight that our realities can be shaped and changed (Maierhofer 2007:126).
Anocriticsm requires readers of any kind of text concerned with age and aging – whether it is a
literary or scholarly text or an interview transcript – to become a “resisting reader”
(Fetterley 1977, as quoted in Maierhofer 2003:15). Developed by Judith Fetterley
(1977, as quoted in Maierhofer 2003:15), the concept of the “resisting reader” constitutes
a key element of Maierhofer’s approach of anocriticism.44
42 Van Dyk (2015:71) identifies such approaches, which focus on individual’s biographies and
narratives thereof, as belonging to the field of narrative geronotology. Characteristics of narrative gerontology
include a concern with old people’s subjective experiences on the micro level (van Dyk 2015:71), and particularly
old people’s narrations thereof (van Dyk 2015:72), as well as the prevalence of qualitative methodology
inspired by Grounded Theory and related methods of investigation (van Dyk 2015:71).
43 In the German original: “Gegenwelt” (Maierhofer 2007:118).
44 In addition, Elaine Showalter’s (1985, as cited in Maierhofer 2003:26) analytical approach of
“gynocriticism”, which demands an explicit focus on women’s writing (Maierhofer 2003:25–26, 2004a:321,
2004b:156, 2007:115), as well as Germaine Greer’s (1992, as cited in Maierhofer 2003:26) concept of
“anophobia,” which denotes a fear of old women (Maierhofer 2003:26, 2003:41, 2004a:322, 2004b:156, 2007:115,
2012:99), have inspired the development of her own approach of ‘anocriticism.’
30
Being a “resisting reader” (Fetterley 1977, as quoted in Maierhofer 2003:15) involves thinking
beyond “the overt meaning of the text” (Maierhofer 2004b:157),45 as well as its
traditional interpretations (Maierhofer 2003:15). Instead, as Maierhofer (2004b:157) explains,
a “resisting reader” (Fetterley 1977, as quoted in Maierhofer 2003:15) is interested in exploring
alternative and unusual understandings of a text. Such a reading thus aims at
“transgressing rather than the codification of meaning” (Maierhofer 2004b:157).
Maierhofer (1999:130, 2003:15, 2004b:157) argues for employing such a critical perspective
whenever investigating representations of age and aging. In the context of literary studies,
Maierhofer (1999:130) encourages scholars to critically examine and question the portrayal and
roles of old protagonists. To illustrate her point, she cites the example of an old person who is
only portrayed in his or her relation to a younger person in a literary text (Maierhofer 1999:130).
Such a depiction, she argues, “calls for a resisting reader who claims aging characters in
their own rights as portrayals of human existence incorporating all stages of life”
(Maierhofer 1999:130). However, one can also think of examples beyond the realm of literature
and literary criticism. In the context of the topic of this study, it was, for example, important to
become a “resisting reader” (Fetterley 1977, as quoted in Maierhofer 2003:15) with regard to
older women’s repeated self-depreciating portrayal of themselves as incompetent users
of media devices in the interviews (see section 5.8.2). In addition, as argued before
(Ratzenböck 2017a:28), being a “restisting reader” (Fetterley 1977,
as quoted in Maierhofer 2003:15) in the context of investigating older women’s ICT use,
also means resisting stereotypical interpretations of old people as a homogenous group
(critical: Loos et al. 2012:1) or as generally technically incompetent (critical: Östlund 2005:29).
Hence, in terms of its focus on critical inquiry and reflection of cultural representations
of any kind, Maierhofer’s (2003, 2004b, 2004a, 2007, 2012) analyitical lens of anocriticism
shares common ground with qualitative research methodology (see chapter 3).
As an analytical tool, the particular value of anocriticism lies in its explicit focus on the complex
cultural intersections of age and gender. Both age and gender represent social categories
which are integral to our embodied everyday life experiences, sense-making processes,
and interactions.
Furthermore, Maierhofer (e.g. 2003:39, 2007:117) also repeatedly references Simone de Beauvoir’s work and
the imperative ‘to recognize oneself in the other’ as influencing the development of her approach.
45 Also see Maierhofer (2003:15).
31
Thus, it can be difficult to transcend our everyday understandings of intersections of age and
gender – also when conducting empirical research. Maierhofer’s (2003, 2004b, 2004a,
2007, 2012) approach of anocriticism serves as a reminder in the research process to
continuously interrogate and examine critically one’s mundane as well established scholarly
understandings of age and gender and their intersections.
An additional value of employing anocriticism as an analytical lens guiding the analysis
of the qualitative material of the present study was that it helps to foreground older women’s
individual experiences with ICTs across the life course (also see Ratzenböck 2016a, 2016b:51,
2017a:28). This was key, since other theoretical concepts used, such as Mannheim’s
(1952 [1927/28]) notion of “generation location,” emphasize collective and generational
frames of reference with regard to experiences across the life course (see section 1.3.2).
Anocriticism thus enabled a multi-dimensional view on older women’s ICT experiences
across the life course, transcending a mere generational perspective. To the author’s
best knowledge, this PhD thesis represents the first project investigating older women’s
ICT use that employed an anocritical perspective. However, since the author has successfully
demonstrated the usefulness of this theoretical lens for the analysis of
older women’s engagement with media technologies (Ratzenböck 2016a, 2016b, 2017a),
Maierhofer’s (2003, 2004b, 2004a, 2007, 2012) approach of anocriticism has recently also been
taken up by others scholars investigating this topic (Gales and Loos 2020, forthcoming).
1.3 Generations
As just detailed, Maierhofer’s (2003, 2004b, 2004a, 2007, 2012) approach of anocriticism
focuses on women’s individual experiences of aging (also see Ratzenböck 2016a, 2016b:51,
2017a:28). However, in addition, as also Maierhofer (2003:56) makes sure to note,
collective contexts of these individual experiences matter as well. In order to conceptualize
these collective contexts in terms of socio-historical circumstances, Mannheim’s
(1952 [1927/28]) notion of “generation location” has served as an additional
theoretical perspective for the present study. Before discussing his concept in depth,
a few remarks on the general sociological relevance of the notion of ‘generation’ will be made.
32
1.3.1 Cohort vs. Generation
As Marshall and Bengtson (2012:21) point out, first and foremost, it is important to
distinguish between the concepts of cohort and generation, in order to develop a
sophisticated understanding of people’s location with regard to social time. While generation
represents a multidimensional concept, ‘cohort’ is a rather simple, ‘technical term,’46
as Künemund and Syzdlik (2009:10) pragmatically put it.47 Cohorts refer to groups of people
who have experienced a phenomenon at the same point in time
(Künemund and Szydlik 2009:10). Cohorts thus might refer to a whole range of
different groups, such as, for example, people who have celebrated their wedding at the
same time, or people who were born or died in the same year (Künemund and Szydlik 2009:10).
Hence, they are rather static formations and people remain life-long members of any cohort
defined in those terms (Kohli 2009:230). In contrast, the notion of generation is more complex.
There is no single definition of the concept (Alwin 2013:133; Kohli 2009:231) since it is used
in various disciplinary contexts and also has a long history as a theoretical term
(Lüscher and Liegle 2003:51). In addition, generation as a term is commonly used in
everyday life (Pilcher 1994:481) and mundane understandings of the term often differ
considerably from its scholarly conceptualizations (Alwin 2013:153). Thus, as Bude (2005:47)
remarks critically, there are many meanings of the term and it is often used non-specifically.
There are, however, two characteristics which all notions of generation have in common.
Firstly, as a concept, generation locates individuals as well as groups within the social time
of collectives, such as societies, organizations, and families (Lüscher and Liegle 2003:59–60).
This socio-temporal location is usually believed to influence the world-views,
interests, and actions of individuals or groups (Lüscher and Liegle 2003:59–60).
Secondly, generations can only be understood properly in contrast to other generations
(Lüscher and Liegle 2003:52; Pilcher 1994:481). Whether in families, organizations, or society
as such, there has to be more than one generation in order to make sense of a generation’s nature
(Lüscher and Liegle 2003:52).
46 In the German original: “technische[r] Begriff” (Künemund and Szydlik 2009:10).
47 A similar point is made by Bolin (2017b:32–33), who speaks of a cohort as a “statistical unit used in
positivist inquiry.”
33
Commonly, scholarship distinguishes between two basic types of generations:
genealogical generations in the family context and generations on the societal level
(e. g. Kohli 2009:230; Künemund and Szydlik 2009:9; Pilcher 1994:483).48 Pilcher (1994:483)
has suggested the use of “generation” as a term to designate family relations and the use of
“social generation” to describe issues pertinent to society as a whole. Genealogical generations
are closely connected to our everyday lives (Jureit and Wildt 2005:7). Essentially,
they represent “positions in the family” (Alwin 2013:135)49 and mark “the passage of
biological time within families” (Alwin 2013:152). Remarkably, they are characterized by
both continuity and change (Kohli 2009:230; Künemund and Szydlik 2009:9). To illustrate:
One the one hand, one of course will always remain one’s parents’ child, but on the other,
one might become a parent oneself (Künemund and Szydlik 2009:9).
In comparison to their genealogical counter-parts, generations on the societal level are arguably
more complex. Societal generations are characterized by several distinct features.
Firstly, similar to class, generation represents a societal organizing category
(Jureit and Wildt 2005:7) and as such links individuals to society at large (Alwin 2013:133).
Secondly, “social generation[s]” (Pilcher 1994:483) consist of similar birth cohorts
(Alwin 2013:153; Kohli 2009:230; Künemund and Szydlik 2009:10). Thirdly, because of
their shared socio-historical location, members of a generation are potentially able to
have similar experiences (Kohli 2009:230; Künemund and Szydlik 2009:10). In this context,
Kohli (2009:230) speaks of a ‘commonality of experience,’50 and Jureit and Wildt (2005:9)
even speak of a ‘community of experience.’51 Because birth cohorts live and age at the
same time, they can – potentially – experience the same significant historical events
(Alwin 2013:153), economic conditions, or technical devices (Künemund and Szydlik
2009:11).
48 Some also propose more than two types of generations. Building on his and a colleague’s former work,
Alwin (2013:134) for example suggests three types of generations: “generations as positions in family lineages,”
“generations as birth cohorts or historical locations,” and “generations as historical participation.” Such a threefold
understanding of generations is inspired by a Mannheimian perspective, as will be discussed in section 1.3.2.
However, with regard to a basic understanding of generations, the distinction of two types seems to suffice,
since “generations as birth cohorts or historical locations,” and “generations as historical participation”
(Alwin 2013:134) have in common that both refer to the societal level.
49 For a similar point, see Kohli (2009:230).
50 In the German original: “Erfahrungsgemeinsamkeit” (Kohli 2009:230).
51 In the German original: “Erfahrungsgemeinschaft” (Jureit and Wildt 2005:9).
34
Fourthly, and as a consequence of these shared experiences, societal generations are frequently
ascribed a ‘common historically determined consciousness’52 (Lüscher and Liegle 2003:53).
Künemund and Szydlik (2009:11) use the term of ‘cultural generations’53 to describe the same
phenomenon. In that sense, generations are characterized by shared cultural perspectives
(Bude 2005:49), as well as common values and approaches to life
(Künemund and Szydlik 2009:10). However, as Kohli (2009:231) cautions, while members of
a generation might share some similar experiences, their intragenerational differences equally
need to be considered. Hence, he encourages researchers to develop a nuanced perspective and
to investigate how generational differences play out intersectionally – for example
with regard to class or age groups (Kohli 2009:231, 2009:232).54 Furthermore,
Kohli (2009:232) particularly suggests conducting research on generations with
a specific thematic focus, instead of looking at generations in an all-encompassing manner.
Fifthly, similar to genealogical generations, societal generations also represent an interplay of
continuity and change (Kohli 2009:230). In the context of “social generation[s]”
(Pilcher 1994:483), this matters in terms of social stability and innovation (Kohli 2009:230).
Sixthly, and lastly, in each society, intergenerational relations are framed by particular
ideas and norms (Lüscher and Liegle 2003:55, 2003:60). Lüscher and Liegle
(2003:55, 2003:60) have termed this nexus the ‘generational order.’55 It includes cultural ideals
and social norms, as well as legal regulations concerning the relationship between generations
(Lüscher and Liegle 2003:55, 2003:60).
52 In the German original: “gemeinsame[s] historisch bedingte[s] Bewusstsein” (Lüscher and Liegle 2003:53).
53 In the German original: “kulturelle Generationen” (Künemund and Szydlik 2009:11).
54 Age groups are not equivalent to generations. As Künemund and Szydlik (2009:10) illustrate, for instance,
all people who are currently retired represent one age group. The group of retirees can, however, comprise of more
than one generation. This point is of relevance for the study at hand. Not being engaged in formal full-time work
(anymore) represented an important inclusion criterion for the qualitative strand of the study. Yet, only women
aged 60-70 at the time of the interview were included – in contrast to retirees of any age. As will be discussed
in detail in section 3.4.1, limiting the age range in those terms aimed at targeting a particular media generation
(within the group of all retirees).
55 In the German original: “Generationenordnung” (Lüscher and Liegle 2003:55, 2003:60).
35
1.3.2 Mannheim’s Theory of Generations
According to Jureit and Wildt (2005:7), the notion of ‘generation’ represents
a ‘basic sociological concept.’56 In terms of disciplines, sociology has taken on a pioneering
role with regard to the theoretical development of the concept (Kohli 2009:229). In this context,
particularly Karl Mannheim’s (1952 [1927/28]) seminal essay “The Problem of Generations”
(“Das Problem der Generationen”) played a crucial role (Kohli 2009:229; Pilcher 1994:492).
As “the best-known approach to this field within sociology” (Pickard 2016:202), Mannheim’s
(1952 [1927/28]) theory of generations subsequently also influenced interdisciplinary
investigations on the matter (Jureit and Wildt 2005:12; Lüscher and Liegle 2003:316).
To date, it continues to be relevant for much research on generations (Bolin 2017b:7;
Jureit and Wildt 2005:20; Künemund and Szydlik 2009:7). Lüscher and Liegle (2003:240–41)
cite three reasons that contributed to the extraordinary and lasting influence of Mannheim’s
(1952 [1927/28]) essay. These include a general interest in the topic of generations at the turn
of the past century, Mannheim’s outstanding analytical skills and succinct description of then
prevalent discourses,57 and the fact that he was the only sociologist of his era to thoroughly
engage with this topic (Lüscher and Liegle 2003:240–41).
In terms of sociological subfields, Mannheim’s (1952 [1927/28]) contribution is usually
considered part of the area of sociology of knowledge (Kohli 2009:229; Pilcher 1994:482).
Comparing positivist and historical romanticist perspectives on the notion of generation
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:276–86) (also see Matthes 1985:364; Pilcher 1994:484),
he developed a theory of generations that in particular focused on their formation
(Lüscher and Liegle 2003:241). In doing so, he built on the work of historical romanticist
Wilhem Dilthey (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:280–81) (also see Matthes 1985:367;
Pilcher 1994:486) and his idea of people’s “interior time,” which differed considerably from
positivist-quantitative approaches to measuring the objective passing of time in society
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:281) (also see Pilcher 1994:487).
56 In the German original: “soziologischer Grundbegriff” (Jureit and Wildt 2005:7).
57 Bolin (2017b:7) makes a similar point, noting that Mannheim’s engagement with the topic of generations
was “rigorous,” particularly in comparison to the thoughts of philosopher José Ortega y Gasset.
36
In his essay, Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]:292) used a thought experiment as the starting point
for his discussion of the development and formation of generations by entertaining the idea of
a society in which only one generation existed eternally (also see Lüscher and Liegle 2003:242).
Then focusing on the succession of human generations as it occurs in reality, he addresses the
question of the causes of social change and their interrelation with societal generations
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:292-302) (also see Alwin 2013:138).
An important contribution of Mannheim’s (1952 [1927/28]) essay consisted in providing
a detailed understanding of how generations serve as a vital link between individuals and society
(Lüscher and Liegle 2003:248). Comparing generations to social classes, Mannheim
(1952 [1927/28]:289) draws attention to multiple similarities between the two social categories
(also see Bolin 2017b:8, 2017b:9, 2017a:25; Bolin and Westlund 2009:110;
Gilleard et al. 2017:218; Jureit and Wildt 2005:11; Künemund and Szydlik 2009:10;
Lüscher and Liegle 2003:246; Matthes 1985:366; Pilcher 1994:485). Firstly, both structure
and organize society (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:289) (also see Jureit and Wildt 2005:11;
Pickard 2016:202). Secondly, class, as well as generation, are related to processes of
social opening and closing, which cannot be easily circumvented by the individual
(Jureit and Wildt 2005:11–12). In this context, Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]:291) speaks of
“a specific range of potential experience,” which presents itself to individuals with particular
social locations in terms of class and generation. As Pickard (2016:203) puts it, according to
Mannheim, both classes and generations “open up certain possibilities and experiences to …
individuals whilst shutting down others.” Thus, individuals who are located similarly
in terms of class or generation are likely to have similar experiences (Bolin 2017:8;
Künemund and Szydlik 2009:10). Thirdly, and because of these shared possibilities for
experiences, both classes and generations develop characteristic patterns of perception
and behavior (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:291) (also see Pilcher 1994:490). Fourthly, similar to
classes – but different to ‘communities’ – generations also exist if their members do not know
of each other’s existence or the existence of their generation as a collective
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:288–89).
37
A key concept Mannheim (1952 [1927/28], particularly see 290–302) developed within
his theory is “generation location.” According to Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]), any given
society includes groups of people with different “generation locations.” People of a particular
“generation location” share the following characteristics: (a) They were born
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:290) (also see Bolin 2017:44; Bolin and Westlund 2009:110;
Lüscher and Liegle 2003:243–44) and move through life during a similar period of time
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:290) (also see Bude 2005:29; Jureit and Wildt 2005:11;
Lüscher and Liegle 2003:243); (b) Thus, they potentially share similar experiences
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:282, 1952 [1927/28]:291, 1952 [1927/28]:297, 1952
[1927/28]:298) (also see Bolin 2017b:7, 2017b:44, 2017a:25; Bolin and Westlund 2009:110;
Jureit and Wildt 2005:11; Kohli 2009:230; Pilcher 1994:486), and (c), as a consequence,
they develop similar attitudes and patterns of action (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:291)
(also see Jureit and Wildt 2005:13).
Different to the notion of ‘cohort,’ Mannheim’s (1952 [1927/28]) concept of
“generation location” thus refers to more than people’s position in the historical context.
It includes, as van Dyk (2015:29) emphasizes, a qualitative, and not only a quantitative
understanding of social time. People sharing a “generation location” do not only have to live
at the same time in history, but, importantly, they also have to have similar experiences
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:282, 1952 [1927/28]:291, 1952 [1927/28]:297,
1952 [1927/28]:298) (also see Bolin 2017b:7, 2017b:44, 2017a:25;
Bolin and Westlund 2009:110; Jureit and Wildt 2005:11; Kohli 2009:230; Pilcher 1994:486).
In addition to living in the same period of time and making similar experiences, there are also
other requirements for the formation of a particular “generation location”
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]). According to Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]:303), people also
have to live in the same “cultural region” in order to share a “generation location.” In his essay,
Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]) originally identified major historical events as important
experiences shared by people belonging to a particular “generation location” (Bolin 2017b:7,
2017b:44; Bude 2005:34; Jureit and Wildt 2005:21–22; Taipale et al. 2017:1). However,
more recently, scholars building on Mannheim’s (1952 [1927/28]) theory have also discussed
the influence of media, technology, or consumer goods for the formation of distinct “generation
locations” (Bolin 2017b, 2017a; Bolin and Westlund 2009; Jureit and Wildt 2005:21–22;
Lüscher and Liegle 2003:101).
38
In addition, Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]:296–98) attached particular importance to
the time of youth for the formation of a particular “generation location” and related worldviews
(also see Alwin 2013:138; Bolin 2017b:8, 2017b:25, 2017a:25; Bolin and Westlund 2009:111;
Haddon 2017:37; Lüscher and Liegle 2003:107, 2003:243; Pilcher 1994:483, 1994:488;
Taipale et al. 2017:1). He conceived of the early phase of life – from about 17 years onwards
into early adulthood (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:300) (also see Lüscher and Liegle 2003:246)
– as a “period of ‘plasticity,’” as Alwin (2013:138) puts it. Because of “the moulding power of
new situations” (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:296), youth, where many experiences are made
for the first time, has a particularly strong and lasting influence on people’s worldviews and
attitudes (also see Alwin 2013:138; Pilcher 1994:488, 1994:490, 1994:491). Youth experiences,
Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]:298, italics in original) argues, “tend to coalesce into a natural view
of the world.” Lüscher and Liegle (2003:243) thus speak of a ‘basic theory of socialization’58
discussing Mannheim’s work.
Some, such as Pilcher (1994:488), have argued that Mannheim’s theory of generations is rather
static in suggesting that individuals remain forever “‘fixed’ within a socio-historical world that
predominated in their youth.” A close reading of Mannheim’s (1952 [1927/28]) essay, however,
shows that his understanding of the relation between people’s experiences and their worldviews
is more complex.59 Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]), in fact, did not, perceive of youth experiences
as the only relevant experiences that shape people’s perspective on life. Instead, he thought of
people’s interpretation of their experiences in terms of an “inner ‘dialectic’”
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:298). In many instances, youth experiences simply form
a basis for the interpretation of subsequent experiences, but this does not imply that
later experiences are not of relevance (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:298). Mannheim
(1952 [1927/28]:298) thus explicitly negates the idea of the interpretation of experiences
throughout life as “summation or agglomeration” and recognizes the dynamic interplay of
various experiences over time.
58 “elementare[…] ‘Sozialisationstheorie’” (Lüscher and Liegle 2003:243).
59 A similar point is put forward by Pickard (2016:204).
39
From his concept of “generation location,” Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]:303) distinguishes
the concept of “generation as an actuality” (also see Alwin 2013:141; Bolin 2017b:9,
2017a:25; Bolin and Westlund 2009:110). While the latter type of generation shares all the
features of the first, “generation as an actuality” implies a distinct kind of consciousness
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:306) (also see Bolin 2017b:9, 2017b:34, 2017a:25;
Pilcher 1994:490, 1994:491). As Pilcher (1994:490) notes, awareness vs. lack of awareness of
one’s socio-historical location is an important distinguishing feature between the two types of
generation. In addition, the two types can be distinguished by their degrees of socio-political
and intellectual involvement in the problems of their times (Alwin 2013:151). Members of
a “generation as an actuality” are aware of their shared cultural and historical position,
as well as their common experiences (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:303, 1952 [1927/28]:306)
(also see Pilcher 1994:490), and jointly act upon them in terms of intellectual
and political activities (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:303, 1952 [1927/28]:306)
(also see Alwin 2013:140, 2013:142, 2013:155). As Bude (2005:34) notes, historical and social
ruptures are thus important for the concept of “generations as an actuality,” in Mannheim’s
(1952 [1927/28]) terms.
Nevertheless, according to Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]:306), a “generation as an actuality” is,
however, no homogenous formation either (also see Alwin 2013:143; Bolin 2017b:9;
Pilcher 1994:490). Rather, it consists of multiple different “generation-units,” which can
represent quite different interpretations of and reactions to the same historical events
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:306) (also see Alwin 2013:141; Bolin 2017a:25;
Lüscher and Liegle 2003:243; Pickard 2016:203; Pilcher 1994:483, 1994:488–89, 1994:490).
Thus, they might even oppose and fight each other (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:306)
(also see Lüscher and Liegle 2003:243; Pilcher 1994:483, 1994:490). Importantly,
as Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]:309) points out, the existence of “generation location,” does not
necessarily lead to the formation of “generation as an actuality” or “generation-units.”
Their emergence, Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]:309) argues, largely depends on “the tempo of
social change.” If “generation as an actuality” or “generation-units” materialize,
this, Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]:309, italics in original) explains, represents “a realization of
potentialities inherent in the location.”
40
Although the notion of generation lacks a uniform definition in the literature (Alwin 2013:133;
Kohli 2009:231) and is difficult to operationalize for empirical research (Pilcher 1994:492,
1994:494), partly due to its “lack (of) specific boundaries” (Alwin 2013:143),60 it still
has proven useful for the present study. Particularly, Mannheim’s (1952 [1927/28]) concept of
“generation location” provided inspiration for the design of the qualitative strand of the study
(in terms of also investigating interviewees’ media memories from childhood and youth),
as well as possible explanations for some findings (see chapter 4). The key element of
Mannheim’s (1952 [1927/28]) theory of generations is the idea that people sharing
a cultural and historical location ultimately develop similar patterns of perception
(Jureit and Wildt 2005:13). In the present study, this was confirmed with regard to
inhibitory rules of media use that interviewees reported in the context of media experiences
from childhood and adolescence (see section 4.1.4). Multiple participants remembered rules
such as ‘Be quiet when the radio is on’ or ‘Don’t break it’ discussing media biographical
memories (also see Ratzenböck 2016a:62). Remarkably, and paradoxically, however,
interviewees repeatedly failed to identify these directives as explicit rules in their accounts.
This points to the subliminal nature inherent to “generation location”
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]) discussed above. Interestingly, interviewees did often discursively
link memories of such rules from childhood to present media interactions (for example
in terms of an aversion to ‘just try’),61 pointing to “the moulding power of new situations”
that (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:296) highlighted with regard to the period of youth.
Hence, women’s location in historical and societal time matters with regard to their engagement
with ICTs (see chapter 4). However, as argued in subchapter 1.2, research on older women’s
media experiences also needs to go beyond mere generational perspectives. As will be discussed
in chapters 4-7, generationally framed perspectives on older women’s ICTs use might
sometimes explain how they engage with media devices, but certainly not why. For the latter,
intersections of age and gender seem to be much more relevant than “generation location”
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]).
60 Also see Pilcher (1994:487) for a similar argument.
61 Schäffer (2009), building on Mannheimian (1952 [1927/28]) ideas, has termed this phenomenon
‘generation-specific media practice cultures.’ (“Generationsspezifische Medienpraxiskulturen” in the German
original (Schäffer 2009)). Also see sections 1.4.3.3 and 4.1.4.
41
1.4 Information and Communication Technologies
After having discussed theoretical vantage points of the study with regard to age, gender,
and their intersections, as well as generations, this subchapter addresses conceptualizations of
information and communication technologies (ICTs). In addition, it considers different
theoretical approaches to understanding people’s adoption of ICTs and their relevance
in the context of investigating older women’s media experiences.
1.4.1 What Do ‘ICTs’ Refer to in the Present Study?
Originally developed in the 1980s (Haddon 2006a:1), the concept of information and
communication technologies remains broad to date. For the purpose of this study, a relatively
concise definition of ICTs by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2001:2)
has been used as a starting point. It includes an understanding of ICTs as “a varied set of goods,
applications and services that are used to produce, store, process, distribute and exchange
information” (UNDP Evaluation Office 2001:2). According to this definitions, these include
both so-called ‘old’ ICTs and ‘new’ ICTs (UNDP Evaluation Office 2001:2).
Old ICTs comprise long-established media such as radio, TV, and landline phones
(Krotz 2007:14; UNDP Evaluation Office 2001:2), but also books and newspapers
(Krotz 2007:14). The term of new ICTs refers to computers, wireless technologies,
and the Internet (UNDP Evaluation Office 2001:2), as well as cell phones, as Krotz (2007:16)
adds. For the main qualitative strand of the study (see chapter 4-7), particularly radio, TV,
and landline phones were relevant in terms of old ICTs. With regard to new ICTs, the study
focused on older women’s understanding and use of computers (PCs, laptops, tablets),
cell phones, and the Internet.
The term ‘media’ is also used in the discussion of empirical findings. In Latin, the word
‘medius’ means “‘intermediate,’ ‘average,’ ‘middling’” (Voigts-Virchow 2005:16). In addition
to these meanings, ‘medium’ in Latin also entails the notion of ‘conveying’62
(Faulstich 2004:13) and the idea of ‘facilitator’63 (Jäckel 2010:281). In broad terms,
Jäckel (2010:281) thus speaks of media as ‘facilitating activities.’64
62 In the German original: “Vermittelndes” (Faulstich 2004:13).
63 In the German original: “Vermittler” (Jäckel 2010:281).
64 In the Geman original: “Vermittlungsleistungen” (Jäckel 2010:281).
42
‘Media’ can thus refer to many different things (Voigts-Virchow 2005:16). Sometimes, the term
‘media’ is even used to discuss things which are first and foremost technical tools and
not means of facilitation or communication, such as a hard-drive (Jäckel 2010:281). However,
as Jäckel (2010:281) points out, such overlaps are plausible since media do indeed have
a ‘double function,’65 serving as both media and technologies at the same time. In this context,
he cites the example of a videotape, which represents both a technology and also the content
it contains (Jäckel 2010:281). In addition, there are many other ways to characterize
and categorize media. On a technical level, one can, for example, distinguish between
analogue and digital media (Voigts-Virchow 2005:21). Furthermore, a distinction between
‘primary media,’66 ‘secondary media,’67 and ‘tertiary media’ can be made in technical terms
(Faulstich 2004:13; Jäckel 2010:281–82). ‘Primary media’ require little or no technology
(for example theater), ‘secondary media’ require providers of information to use technology
(for example printing a newspaper), and ‘tertiary media’68 require the use of technology for
both provider and recipient of information (for example a vinyl record) (Faulstich 2004:13).69
Additionally, as Faulstich (2004:13) notes, the digital revolution has led to the creation of
a fourth category, ‘quartiary media,’70 which are characterized by the fact that they also rely on
technology in their distribution process. Beyond definitions accounting for technological
features, media can also be distinguished with regard to their range (Voigts-Virchow 2005:17).
For example, face-to-face conversations or the exchange of e-mails between two people can be
termed ‘one to one’ communication, whereas traditional mass media (such as TV) are
considered to represent ‘one to many’ communication (Voigts-Virchow 2005:17).
Another definition of media compares “‘push’ media” to “‘pull’ media”
(Voigts-Virchow 2005:17). The first just require consumption (such as TV), the latter also
depend on the user’s interaction (such as the Internet) (Voigts-Virchow 2005:17).
65 In the German original: “Doppelfunktion” (Jäckel 2010:281).
66 In the German original: “Primärmedien” (Faulstich 2004:13), “primäre[…] Medien” (Jäckel 2010:281–82).
67 In the German original: “Sekundärmedien” (Faulstich 2004:13), “sekundäre[…] Medien”
(Jäckel 2010:281–82).
68 In the German original: “Tertiärmedien” (Faulstich 2004:13), “tertiäre[…] Medien” (Jäckel 2010:281–82).
69 In addition, see Jäckel (2010:281–82).
70 In the German original: “Quartärmedien” (Faulstich 2004:13).
43
Considering these different examples for possible definitions of ‘media’ shows that quite
a variety of media has been accounted for in this study. The media that were included range
from ‘old’ ICTs (Krotz 2007:14; UNDP Evaluation Office 2001:2), such as the radio,
representing an analogue ‘tertiary medi[um]’ (Faulstich 2004:13; Jäckel 2010:281–82),
which ‘pushes’ people (Voigts-Virchow 2005:17), to ‘new’ ICTs (Krotz 2007:14;
UNDP Evaluation Office 2001:2), such as the Internet, representing a digital technology and
a ‘quartiary medi[um]’ (Faulstich 2004:13) that ‘pulls’ people in (Voigts-Virchow 2005:17).
Also, it shows that ‘three-dimensional’ media representing things (devices), technologies,
and media contents (such as the radio) and ‘two-dimensional’ media, which represent
technologies and contents, but no specific devices (such as the Internet), have been considered.
In particular, the relevance of digital media has increased tremendously over the past decades
(e.g. Roth and Röser 2019:1386). Famously, sociologist Manuel Castells (e.g. 2004:221)
has coined the term of “network society” in this context, to account for social changes and
emergent phenomena connected to this development. However, at the same time, it is important
to acknowledge that the development and dissemination of new media technologies does not
necessarily imply the disappearance of previous media technologies (Krotz 2007:13).
Rather, as Krotz (2007:13) observes, there is ‘an increasing complexity of people’s
media environment,’71 which is characterized by ‘a differentiation of mediated
communication.’72, 73 Thus, Krotz (2007) speaks of ‘mediatization’74 to capture
the overall increasing importance of media, as well as the societal consequences of this
development (2007:14).75
71 In the German original: “eine zunehmende Komplexität der Medienumgebung der Menschen”
(Krotz 2007:13).
72 In the German original: “eine Ausdifferenzierung medienvermittelter Kommunikation” (Krotz 2007:13).
73 A similar argument is presented in the UNDP’s (2001:2) brief on ICTs, additionally noting the emergence
of a “networked world” in this context.
74 In the German original: “Mediatisierung” (Krotz 2007).
75 For a discussion of Krotz’s (2007) concept of ‘mediatization’ (“Mediatisierung”), also see Roth and Röser
(2019:1385).
44
1.4.2 The Social Relevance of Media Devices as ‘Things’
As a process, mediatization changes a society’s culture over time, but it also profoundly impacts
people’s everyday lives in very concrete terms (Krotz 2007:12). People’s everyday lives
increasingly include more and more media technologies and devices. They have become
a substantial part of people’s “material convoy” (Ekerdt 2015, 2018:30). On a basic level,
media devices are also just things, and as such relate to people’s mundane lives and
sense-making processes. Some, such as Bosch (2010:26, 2010:87), have even argued that things
generally are integral to the human experience. As “toolmaking animal[s]” (Bosch 2010:26,
italics in original), humans make and use things to achieve specific goals, but also to make
sense of their own existence (Bosch 2010:87). Hence, in addition to their practical function,
things also have a symbolic dimension, on the individual, as well as on the collective level
(Bosch 2010:53). They contain references to individuals’ biographies and personal identities,
as well as to their social locations and status (Bosch 2010:266).
On the individual level, engaging with things helps us create an understanding of our self and
our personal identity (Bosch 2010:91, 2010:163, 2010:254). Identity can be conceptualized as
“a set of integrated ideas about the self, the roles we play and the qualities that make us unique”
(Scott 2015:2). Understood in those terms, things can assist the expression of individuality
(Bosch 2010:254). In this context, both Turkle (2008:2) and Ekerdt (2015:314) speak of
an “inner life” of things to acknowledge the crucial role which they play in people’s personal
sense-making processes. However, things do not only help us express our personal identities,
they are also crucial for the continuous shaping and negotiation of our identities.
As Scott (2015:2) emphasizes in her discussion of the concept, our identity is always in flux
and difficult to pin down – even for individuals themselves. Hence, the work of constructing
one’s identity is never done (Scott 2015:2), but it can be assisted by things.
As Ekerdt (2015:313) argues, things have a “communicative value” and support people
in telling their life stories and in the development of a sense of self. As he puts it:
“They are a way to evaluate in oneself how well life is going, and where it might go next”
(Ekerdt 2015:313).
45
Particularly objects of the domestic sphere are relevant with regard to the creation of identity
(Bosch 2010:91). As Miller (2001:1) notes, in contemporary societies, the home has become
an increasingly important space for people, thus the material context of the home also closely
relates to their multi-faceted experiences of being in the world. In this context, it is important
to keep in mind that also the engagement with things in the home represents a process;
after all, possessions need to be integrated in the home and subsequently cared for
(Ekerdt 2015:314). Thus, both identities and people’s relations with things are best understood
in terms of processes.
In addition to supporting the expression and shaping of our personal identity at particular points
in our life, things also help us understand the passing of time and life as an interplay of
continuity/stability and change/development. As Ekerdt (2018:31) states: “Things may come
and go, but there is always a convoy.” Although the things we possess might change over time
and although specific things might acquire different meanings for us at different points
(Ekerdt 2015:314, 2015:315), there will always be things that we possess. There is a continuous
and inevitable interplay of stability and change as we move through life, which is also
represented and facilitated by things. As Sawchuk (2018:217) highlights, we age with things,
hence we need to understand the “aging process as materially inscribed in
the everyday world […].” Understood this way, things are references to people’s personal
sense-making processes, biographies, and biographical ruptures (Bosch 2010:361).
However, as Bosch (2010:253) points out, things also connect the individual to
larger social spheres, beyond their individual life course and biographical experiences.
As Bosch (2010:163) emphasizes, things are symbolically important for both the individual self
and the individuals’ connection to social groups and society at large. She thus speaks of things
as genuinely ‘socially constituted’76 (Bosch 2010:23, italics in original). Through their
symbolic dimension, things help us create and communicate ideas and meanings not only to
our self but also to others (Bosch 2010:14). Firstly, things reflect general social relevancies
and values (Bosch 2010:23). With regard to technology, it is, for example, noteworthy that they
traditionally contain a “masculine image” (Wajcman 2007:289). As Wajcman (2007:290)
notes, things, such as technologies, are not “neutral or value-free,” instead “social relations
(including gender relations) are materialized in tools and techniques.”
76 In the German original: “sozial konstituiert” (Bosch 2010:23, italics in original).
46
Beyond symbolically representing general ideas and relevancies (Bosch 2010:23),
things are also used to actively create and reproduce social positions and
related differentiations (Bosch 2010:41). Things are integral to the process of boundary-making
between social groups and thus facilitate social inclusion and exclusion (Bosch 2010:41,
2010:254). For instance, expensive objects can symbolize (and create) social status
(Bosch 2010:15, 2010:24, 2010:254). As objects of everyday life, this of course also applies to
media devices and technologies (Ziemann 2011:152). Media can be used to either create
closeness between people or to reinforce social distance (Ziemann 2011:152). This is relevant
in the context of key social categories, which position people in social space, such as gender
and age (see subchapters 1.1 and 1.2). Things are, for instance, used to reproduce
gender relations (Wajcman 2007:293). As Ekerdt (2015:313–14, 2018:29) points out,
the same is true for age. People use things to consciously “manage age-appropriate
presentations of themselves: in their bodies, in their social roles, in their homemaking,
at leisure” (Ekerdt 2018:29). Things can either be used to signify alignment with norms
concerning age (Ekerdt 2015:313), or, conversely, to resist common stereotypical notions
of aging (Ekerdt 2015:313–14).
Such an understanding of people’s use of things in relation to social roles is rooted in
symbolic interactionism. In this tradition, people’s engagement with their social positions is
conceptualized in terms of “role-making” (Turner 1962, as cited in Scott 2015:84,
italics in original) – rather than mere “role-taking,” as it was thought of in
structural functionalism (Scott 2015:84). From a social interactionist perspective, social roles
simply represent “loose templates for action” (Scott 2015:84) that allow for people’s
active interpretation of their roles in their everyday performance. Such an understanding of
social roles thus emphasizes people’s agency in the social context (Scott 2015:84).
As will be shown in chapters 6 and 7, this is relevant with regard to the findings of
the main qualitative strand of the study. For most interviewees, the social role of mother and/or
grandmother is important. Often, they use ICTs to consolidate and shape these roles.
However, as the analysis has shown, interviewees’ concrete understandings of these roles differ
in their nuances and so does, subsequently, their ICT use. While some of the women
interviewed foreground family care work in the context of their ICT use (see section 6.1.1),
others rather focus on the documentation of family life (see section 6.1.2).
47
Still others do not perceive of the role of mother and/or grandmother as their most relevant
position in the social sphere and instead foreground their professional and/or
community-oriented use of ICTs and related social roles (see subchapter 6.2). And still others
choose their individual selves – and no specific social role – as a primary point of reference for
their narration of engagement with ICTs (see subchapter 6.3). The central question which arises
in this context, and which will be addressed in chapter 7, is what influences interviewees’
perception and negotiation of important social roles in relation to their use of ICTs
in everyday life.
In addition to helping people in representing and shaping their personal identities, as well as
their social roles, things are also relevant for people’s everyday actions more broadly.
Things structure our actions in very basic ways. In this context, Bosch (2010:23) speaks of
a ‘stimulating character’77 inherent to things. Put simply, this means that through their design,
objects are likely to evoke specific actions (Bosch 2010:14, 2010:23). We are more likely
to achieve a certain goal if we use things in a particular way (Bosch 2010:14, 2010:23).
Hence, people will usually engage with things in a way which promises success in achieving
a goal (Schulz-Schaeffer 2009:38). Such an understanding of the ‘interaction’ between things
and people alludes to the work of Bruno Latour (1993, 1996) and his “actor-network theory”
(also see sections 3.3.3 and 4.2.1). Within the frameworks of his theory, Latour (1993:55)
suggested to think of people and things as joint “quasi-objects,” which act together, and to forgo
a conceptualization of people and things as two separate entities. His work has also been taken
up in media studies. For instance, Crow and Sawchuk (2015:188) have argued thinking of
media technologies as “mobile assemblage” to highlight the interactions of things and people.
Ziemann (2011:115) has made a similar point with regard to media technologies, emphasizing
that they include an ‘inherent logic,’78 which, in concert with people’s specific perspective,
determine their use. However, as scholars such as Schulz-Schaeffer (2009:51) have pointed out,
actor-network theory only implies a ‘weak notion of action’79 with regard to things.
In this tradition, ‘acting’ means ‘to cause change’ and in this regard, people as well as things
can indeed be ascribed ‘agency’ (Schulz-Schaeffer 2009:51). In contrast to people, however,
things do not have intentions informing their actions (Schulz-Schaeffer 2009:52, 2009:53–55).
From this perspective, actions of humans and things thus do indeed differ.
77 In the German original: “Aufforderungscharakter” (Bosch 2010:23).
78 In the German original: “inhärente[…] Logik (Ziemann 2011:115).
79 In the German original: “schwache[r] Handlungsbegriff” (Schulz-Schaeffer 2009:51).
48
Aligning with such argumentation, the theoretical core of this thesis is thus not anchored
in actor-network theory (Latour 1993, 1996). Although things certainly can have
a ‘stimulating character’ (Bosch 2010:23), there is an increased agency of human actors
vis-à-vis technological devices. Nevertheless, as will be illustrated in section 4.2.1,
an analytical perspective inspired by actor-network theory (Latour 1993, 1996) can occasionally
support the understanding of older women’s ICT experiences, for example with regard to
the notion of ‘growing with’ media devices.
Due to the very fact that humans have more agency compared to things, they usually need to
learn how to best use them (Bosch 2010:14). This of course also applies to media: we need to
acquire specific competencies to use media efficiently (Ziemann 2011:116).
As Bosch (2010:258) notes, particularly implicit knowledge matters in this regard.
Primarily, we learn how to use things efficiently through observing and imitating others’ actions
(Bosch 2010:258). Knowledge that we acquire habitually is perceived as natural or self-evident
and usually provides a solid base for our actions (Bosch 2010:260). Only when we experience
problems applying implicit knowledge, we start to question it (Bosch 2010:260;
Ziemann 2011:118). Only then, our knowledge about things becomes fragmented and has to be
‘deconstructed, reflected on, examined, extended or newly justified’80 (Bosch 2010:261).
In the context of the present study, such disconcertion becomes evident with regard to
interviewees’ evaluation of new ICTs. In comparison to old ICTs, the women interviewed
offered much more elaborate accounts on new ICTs (see chapter 5). This is indicative of
the fact that they were also perceived to cause more practical problems and to thus merit
closer examination.
Due to their many functions discussed above, the things we own are important to us,
we are emotionally connected to them (Ekerdt 2015:313, 2015:314). However, we do not like
all of our things to the same extent (Ekerdt 2015:314). Some things we might love,
while others we might hate or are indifferent about (Ekerdt 2015:314). As a consequence,
we might occasionally even forget about some of the things we own (Ekerdt 2015:314).
But regardless of our emotional attachment to our possessions, it often is difficult to consciously
reflect on the role they play in our life (Turkle 2008:4).
80 In the German original: “dekonstruiert, reflektiert, überprüft und ergänzt oder neu begründet werden”
(Bosch 2010:261).
49
This is consequential for researching people’s engagement with everyday objects.
As Turkle (2008:4), a pioneer in the investigation of people’s relationships with technologies,
notes: “[…] people find it difficult to talk about technology in ways that don’t follow
a standard script. We approach our technologies through a battery of advertising and
media narratives; it is hard to think above the din.” In the main qualitative strand of this study,
this problem of creating meaningful conversations with older women about their everyday use
of media technology has been acknowledged and considered in the choice of empirical methods.
For instance, life graph discussions have been employed to grant interviewees additional space
and time to consciously reflect on their mundane media use (see section 3.3.1).
However, although it might be challenging in terms of methods, researching older women’s
engagement with various ICTs has proven to be instructive for understanding their
personal identities and negotiation of social roles in contemporary society. As Turkle (2008:11)
concisely put it: “Studying people and their devices is, quite simply, a privileged way to
study people.” This also has shown to be true for the present study.
1.4.3 Theories of Media Adoption and Use
As just established, things, such as media objects, play an important role in people’s
everyday lives. But how do people get to use media technologies? What leads to the adoption
of ICTs in the first place? And how can we understand this process in detail? This section
addresses these questions by discussing several theories of media adoption and use.
Firstly, however, the question of what it actually means to ‘adopt’ a media technology needs to
be considered. On a basic level, ‘adoption’ can refer to ownership. However, owning
a technology does not necessarily imply that someone also uses it (Haddon 2006b:15).
Also, one does not have to own a technology in order to use it. As Haddon (2006b:15)
points out, there are many different ways to ‘adopt’ ICTs. One can “‘borrow’ access”
from others, for example by using devices of other family members. People can also ask others
to do things for them using ICTs (Haddon 2006b:15; Lenhart and Horrigan 2003:24, 2003:28,
2003:29) – which represents so-called “access by proxy” (Haddon 2006b:15), employed by
“’secondhand’ users” (Lenhart and Horrigan 2003:29) (see section 6.1.3). Moreover, people
can share devices more generally, for example by getting a “family computer” only
(Haddon 2006b:15) (also see section 4.3.2).
50
Such a nuanced understanding of technology adoption is crucial for empirical investigations
because if only ownership of a device is considered to be adoption, this can limit the number of
people who are considered to be ‘users’ of a technology (Haddon 2006b:15, 2006b:16).
In other words, it is not sufficient to think of ICT users in terms of “haves and have-nots”
(Haddon 2006b:13).
Such a binary conceptualization of ICT use is also inherent to the prominent notion of
the “digital divide” (Haddon 2006b:13; Lenhart and Horrigan 2003:24). Instead, some
(e.g. Tsai et al. 2015:696) have suggested to focus on what has been called the
“second-level digital divide,” which foregrounds “actual use and skills,” not ownership
or access to a technology alone. Again others (Haddon 2006b:14, 2006b:26–27;
Lenhart and Horrigan 2003; Loos 2012) have questioned the notion of any kind of
“divide” more broadly because of its lack of nuance. Lenhard and Horrigan (2003) have instead
suggested the term “digital spectrum” in the context of examining people’s Internet use.
Also Larsson, Larsson-Lund, and Nilsson (2013:165) have approached older adults’
Internet activities in a similar manner, as did Selwyn (2004:380) investigating older adults’
ICT use. And indeed, as previous empirical evidence has shown (Larsson et al. 2013;
Loos 2012), and as also the present study confirms, seniors’ Internet use is indeed
best understood as a continuum or spectrum of engagement to account for its diverse forms.
1.4.3.1 Theories of ICT Adoption Focusing on the Individual
There are numerous theories and approaches dealing with media adoption and use to be found
in the literature. For this study, particularly “domestication theory” (Silverstone 1996;
Silverstone, Hirsch, and Morley 1994), Bolin’s (2014, 2017b, 2017a) concept of
“media generations,” and Vollbrecht’s (2009) ‘media biographical approach’81 are
of relevance. However, many other models and theoretical approaches have been developed to
explain people’s adoption and use of media technologies. Two prominent examples include the
“Technology Acceptance Model” (TAM) (Davis 1989; Davis, Bagozzi, and Warshaw 1989;
Venkatesh et al. 2003; Venkatesh and Davis 2000) and the “Uses and Gratifications Approach”
(e.g. Katz, Blumler, and Gurevitch 1974). Although they are only of secondary importance for
the present study, these two frameworks will be described briefly, to allow for a comparison of
these positions to the perspectives which did primarily inform the investigation.
81 In the German original: “medienbiographische[r] Ansatz” (Vollbrecht 2009)
51
The “Technology Acceptance Model” (TAM) represents a theoretical model inspired by
social psychology, and in particular by Ajzen and Fishbein’s “theory of reasoned action”
(1980, as cited in Davis et al. 1989) (Davis et al. 1989:983, 1989:985;
Venkatesh and Davis 2000:187). As Davis et al. (1989:985) note: “The goal of TAM is to
provide an explanation of the determinants of computer acceptance that is general,
capable of explaining user behavior across a broad range of end-user computing technologies
and user populations.” Essentially, TAM suggests that two factors are key with regard to
people’s adoption of ICTs: “perceived usefulness” and “perceived ease of use”
(Davis 1989:320; Davis et al. 1989:983, 1989:985; Venkatesh and Davis 2000:186–87).
In TAM, these two components influence users’ attitudes and intentions and ultimately
their use of ICTs (Davis et al. 1989:983). Multiple empirical tests of the model have shown that
particularly “perceived usefulness” is crucial for the adoption of ICTs, more than
“perceived ease of use” (Davis 1989:333; Davis et al. 1989:997, 1989:1000). Another relevant
finding of the empirical applications of the model is that people’s initial experiences with ICTs
(in the case of Davis et al.’s (1989:1000) study a word processing program), are consequential.
The authors found that users’ evaluation of the program as useful was strongly connected to
their intention to use it further, and this again “correlated with their future acceptance of
the system,” which they measured several months after the initial introduction of participants
to the program (Davis et al. 1989:1000). This is noteworthy because it indicates that
first impressions do matter in the context of ICT adoption, which will be discussed and
illustrated in chapter 4, with regard to findings of the main qualitative strand of the study.
Although TAM provides useful insights in some instances (as just illustrated), although it
has been used as a theoretical background for numerous empirical investigations over
the past decades (Conci, Pianesi, and Zancanaro 2009:65; Venkatesh and Davis 2000:187),
and although it has repeatedly been refined (most importantly, see Venkatesh et al. 2003;
Venkatesh and Davis 2000),82 it still has several shortcomings. The two most important ones
in the context of the present study are its focus on individual users’ rational decision-making
processes and its emphasis of the work place as the primary arena of technology acceptance.
82 Most notably, further developments of TAM include “TAM2” (Venkatesh and Davis 2000) and the
“Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology” (UTAAUT) (Venkatesh et al. 2003).
TAM2 included additional social factors, such as the voluntariness of technology acceptance, into the model
(Venkatesh and Davis 2000:198). UTAAUT went even a step further, and in addition to “social influence”
(Venkatesh et al. 2003:467) added “key moderators” (Venkatesh et al. 2003:447), among them age and gender,
to the understanding of technology acceptance.
52
In all its variations, TAM (Davis 1989; Davis et al. 1989; Venkatesh et al. 2003;
Venkatesh and Davis 2000) generally perceives of users as rational agents who are capable of
consciously and individually making well-informed decisions. This differs markedly from
the understanding of people’s everyday sense-making processes as contextual, complex,
multi-faceted, and thus messy, which underpins the current study and which was inspired by
sociology’s interpretative paradigm (see section 3.2.1), as well as ideas of the relevance of
personal identity (see sections 1.2.3 and 1.4.3.4) and social roles (see section 1.2.2 and 1.4.3.3)
for technology use. Additionally, TAM (Davis 1989; Davis et al. 1989; Venkatesh et al. 2003;
Venkatesh and Davis 2000) explicitly focuses on the work setting with regard to
technology adoption, which represents a very different social space than the domestic sphere,
which was at the center of the present investigation.
With regard to epistemological and ontological issues, the “Uses and Gratifications Approach”
(e.g. Katz et al. 1974) is somewhat closer to the methodological background of this study
(see subchapter 3.2). As Hugger (2008:173, italics in original) notes, the Uses and Gratifications
Approach does actually not represent an integrated theory, but rather a ‘strategy of research.’83
Although the Uses and Gratifications Approach already informed empirical studies on
media use in the 1940s (Hugger 2008:175), it only was developed further in the 1970s
(Hugger 2008:173). Similar to TAM, the Uses and Gratifications Approach also positions
the individual at the center of analysis (Katz et al. 1974:510; Hugger 2008:174;
Jäckel 2010:289), however, it appears less deterministic in comparison. According to Hugger
(2008:173–74), the approach can be described best in terms of three constituting elements.
Firstly, the Uses and Gratifications Approach presupposes an active user of media who shows
initiative and agency in his or her choice of media (Hugger 2008:173; Ziemann 2012:99;
Katz et al. 1974:510–11, 1974:520). Secondly, it assumes that people choose to engage with
specific media devices and contents in order to satisfy their needs (Hugger 2008:173;
Ziemann 2012:99; Katz et al. 1974:511, 1974:514). Hence, people are believed to primarily
engage with media if this satisfies their current needs (Hugger 2008:173). Importantly, it is also
assumed that engagement with media devices and formats is just one of several options
available to an individual to fulfill a specific need – one could for example also seek
entertainment elsewhere (Hugger 2008:173; Katz et al. 1974:511). Thirdly, use of media is
conceptualized as an ‘interpreting social action’84 (Hugger 2008:174, italics in original).
83 In the German original: “Forschungsstrategie” (Hugger 2008:173, italics in original).
84 In the German original: “interpretatives soziales Handeln” (Hugger 2008:174, italics in original).
53
This implies that the same media can be interpreted differently by different people and thus
help them satisfy different needs (Katz et al. 1974:517). As is apparent from this
brief description, in comparison to TAM, the Uses and Gratifications approach takes
into account peoples’ interpretative agency (Hugger 2008:174; Katz et al. 1974:517) and thus
also acknowledges more variation in people’s media engagement. However, also
the Uses and Gratifications Approach primarily focuses on the individual (Hugger 2008:176;
Jäckel 2010:289), and does not foreground the social contexts in which people’s use of media
actually takes place.
1.4.3.2 Domestication Theory
A different tradition in the study of the adoption of media technologies is
“domestication theory” (Silverstone et al. 1994; Silverstone 1996, 2006; Haddon 2006a).
Domestication theory represents both “a conceptual and methodological approach”
(Berker et al. 2006:14). As a theoretical lens for the study of people’s incorporation of
media technologies into their everyday lives, it draws attention to the social contexts of
media adoption, in particular people’s households and homes, and outlines four
particular phases of this process (Silverstone 2006; Silverstone et al. 1994).
As a methodological framework, domestication theory proposes a qualitative approach to
understanding people’s lived experiences of the integration of ICTs into their homes
(Berker et al. 2006:5, 2006:6, 2006:7; Haddon 2006b:156). Developed in the 1990s in a project
led by Roger Silverstone (Haddon 2006b:3) and mainly shaped by Silverstone himself,
David Morley, Leslie Haddon, and Eric Hirsch (Berker et al. 2006:4), domestication theory has
been used for a multitude of studies examining people’s interactions with ICTs over
the past decades (Haddon 2006b:3, 2006a).
As a theoretical model, domestication theory consists of four ideal typical phases
(Silverstone 2006:232; Silverstone et al. 1994:20–26). Originally, Silverstone, Hirsch,
and Morley (1994:20–26) described these phases as “appropriation,” “objectification,”
“incorporation,” and “conversion.” In Silverstone’s (2006:232–34) later work, this scheme was
slightly modified, but in essence remained rather similar to the original.
54
The first phase, “appropriation,” refers to people’s acquisition of a media technology
(Silverstone et al. 1994:21–22). In order to regularly use it in everyday life, most of the time,
people have to somehow acquire a device or a technology – for example through buying it
or receiving it as a gift.85 Appropriation also entails emotional involvement with
media technologies (Silverstone 1996:224, 2006:234). As Silverstone (1996:224, 2006:234)
states, during this phase, people’s perception of ICTs is ambivalent. The initial engagement
with technologies is connected to people’s inner lives, in terms of “dreams and fantasies, hopes
and anxieties” (Silverstone 2006:234). In his later work, Silverstone (2006:232, 2006:233,
2006:234) replaced the phase of accommodation by “commodification.” In comparison to
accommodation, commodification is more comprehensive. In addition to people’s
individual processes of media acquisition, it also takes into account design processes
and policies surrounding ICTs. As Silverstone (2006:234) aptly puts it: “Machines and services
do not come into the household naked.” Although this is certainly true, and design as well as
policies do indeed influence people’s adoption and use of ICTs, this extension of
the domestication framework also takes the spotlight away from everyday life and people’s
personal and practical engagement with ICTs. The present study will thus use the original
version of domestication theory (Silverstone et al. 1994) and rather speak of “appropriation”
than of “commodification,” when the framework is used as a point of reference discussing
findings of the main qualitative strand of the study (as in subchapter 4.3).
The second phase in the domestication process of new media technologies is “objectification”
(Silverstone et al. 1994:22). On the one hand, objectification refers to the physical placing of
a device in the home (Silverstone 1996:224, 2006:235; Silverstone et al. 1994:22).
At the same time, objects also need to be integrated into a household’s culture and
social dynamics (Silverstone 1996:224, 2006:235). Put simply, once acquired, people need to
figure out how the new medium could fit into their life on a practical, as well as on
a symbolic level.
85 Noteworthy exceptions have been discussed at the beginning of section 1.4.3.
55
The third phase, “incorporation” (Silverstone et al. 1994:24–26), refers to people’s
actual integration of a device into their everyday life. In particular, domestication theory draws
attention to time structures and the readjustment of time management practices in this context
(Haddon 2006b:4; Silverstone 1996:224, 2006:235). Similar to the acquisition process,
incorporation also involves dealing with a range of emotions towards a new medium,
in particular feelings of anxiety (Silverstone 1996:224). These anxieties might relate to
one’s level of ICT skills or changes in everyday family life caused by using a new ICT
(Silverstone 1996:224). As Silverstone (1996:224) emphasizes discussing his own research,
people do not only deal with these feelings individually, peer groups or colleagues
also influence how people respond to the emotional challenges posed by the integration of
new ICTs into the home.
The last stage of domestication was termed “conversion” by Silverstone, Hirsch, and Morley
(1994:25). Conversion describes the process during which people come to value
a media technology (Silverstone 1996:224). As part of this appreciation, people also use ICTs
to interact with others, for example by discussing media contents with them
(Silverstone et al. 1994:25–26). Through discussing media technologies and/or their contents
with others, we simultaneously negotiate their relevance for our life (Haddon 2006b:4).
In this context, it is important to note that the meaning of a media technology for a person is
always established in dialogue with others (Silverstone 2006:234). This is also of
great relevance for the present study. We always need to take into account the social contexts
of media adoption. As Silverstone (2006:234) highlights:
“Consumption is never a private matter, neither phenomenologically nor materially.
It involves display, the development of skills, competences, literacies. It involves
discourse and discussion, the sharing of the pride of ownership, as well as
its frustration. It involves resistance and refusal and transformation at the point
where cultural expectations and social resources meet the challenges of technology,
system and content.”
Eventually, a media technology has been “domesticated” successfully when people perceive it
as useful and unproblematic (Berker et al. 2006:3). However, domestication needs to be
understood as a “dynamic process” (Haddon 2006b:156), since people can also decide to stop
using a device, after they had already adopted it (also see Silverstone 2006:245).
Thus, Berker et al. (2006:3) characterize the domestication process as “seldom complete.”
56
Domestication theory (Silverstone et al. 1994; Silverstone 1996, 2006; Haddon 2006a)
has served as an important theoretical framework for the present study because of its
emphasis on contexts and relations. Firstly, it acknowledges that different people adopting
media technologies have different backgrounds, for example in terms of economic resources,
social positions, and perspectives on life (Haddon 2017:42). In this regard, particularly Haddon
(2006b:82, 2006b:157, 2017:42) has repeatedly foregrounded the role that social networks play
for the adoption of media technologies. Social networks can generate initial interest in
media technologies, can provide help in using them (see section 6.1.3), and can also shape their
use more generally (Haddon 2006b:82, 2006b:157). The adoption of media technology thus
also depends on an individual’s social contexts. Secondly, domestication theory draws attention
to the fact that people actively enter into meaningful relationships with media technologies.
As discussed extensively above (see section 1.4.2), in addition to their practical functions,
things also have symbolic meanings for individuals and groups (Bosch 2010:53).
Domestication theory shares this position and also considers the symbolic dimension of ICTs
(Berker et al. 2006:6; Haddon 2006b:136, 2006b:157, 2006b:4; Silverstone 2006:239),
and how it is negotiated by the members of a household (Berker et al. 2006:2, 2006:7).
Haddon (2006b:4) summarizes domestication theory’s perspective in this regard by stating:
“These ICTs have meanings for people, people who individually and collectively
also have a sense of identity. Hence domestication analysis considers what various
ICTs symbolize, whether they are seen as a threat or are seen as somehow offering
the possibility of enhancing social life.”
Thus (and thirdly), domestication theory emphasizes people’s agency in engaging with ICTs.
Integrating them into their homes and everyday lives, people actively shape the meanings
and functions which they ascribe to media technologies (Berker et al. 2006:6;
Roth and Röser 2019:1387). In this context, Silverstone (1996:224) states that ICTs have to be
“moulded and shaped” by their adopters. Similarly, Haddon (2006b:156) notes that
“ICTs are fitted into the time and space structures of the home.” Hence, domestication theory
emphasizes that people do not only adopt media technologies, but that they also adapt them
in the process of integrating them into their lives (also see Berker et al. 2006:2).
As a consequence, domestication theory focuses on people’s “experience and practice,”
as Silverstone (2006:229) points out. Fourthly, domestication theory foregrounds that ICT use
is always “relational” in social terms (Silverstone 2006:233, italics added by author).
57
People do not only come to use ICTs with different backgrounds, but they also use ICTs
to shape their social positions. On the one hand, people use media technologies to shape
relationships within the home (Silverstone 2006:234–35). As Silverstone (2006:234–35) notes,
we can, for example, think of “the micro-politics of gender, generational and sibling rivalries”
in this regard. On the other hand, people also use media technologies as an “interface”
(Silverstone 2006:233, also see 2006:240) to the public sphere. Silverstone (2006:246) posits
that people also use media technologies to create an understanding of their own location
in society at large. However (and fifthly), domestication theory also acknowledges that these
processes can involve conflict (Haddon 2006b:67; Silverstone 1996:224). At home,
for example, members of a household can fight over the location or access to a device
(Silverstone 1996:224) or other rules related to its use (Haddon 2006b:4). In other instances,
some members of the household might serve as “gatekeepers,” inhibiting others’ media use
(Haddon 2006b:55). Sixthly, and lastly, domestication theory also takes into account that
media technologies that are added to a household do not only interact with its members but also
with the already present “ensemble of other technologies” (Haddon 2006b:135,
italics added by author). Hence, domestication theory does not only consider social, but also
material contexts of media adoption (Haddon 2006b:135, 2006a:116; Morley 2006:29).
As Morley (2006:29) stipulated in this regard: “The issue is both to understand how new and
old media accommodate each other and coexist in symbiotic forms and also to better grasp
the ways in which we live with them.” As will be shown throughout the thesis,
this understanding of a dynamic relationship between old and new ICTs and the people who
use them underpins the main qualitative strand of the study.
As just outlined, domestication theory represents a multi-dimensional conceptualization of
people’s media adoption. As an analytical approach, it refutes technological determinism
(Berker et al. 2006:1, 2006:5; Roth and Röser 2019:1388) and instead emphasizes people’s
agency and interpretative efforts in their everyday engagement with ICTs
(Roth and Röser 2019:1388). In addition, it also rejects the idea of people’s adoption of ICTs
as purely based on rational and linear decision-making processes (Berker et al. 2006:1, 2006:5).
Moreover, domestication theory understands media adoption as socially contextual
(Haddon 2006a:118, 2006b:4). In this regard, it differs considerably from other approaches to
understanding media adoption, such as the Uses and Gratifications Approach, as Haddon
(2006b:4) notes. Both Berker et al. (2006:1) and Haddon (2006b:4) thus emphasize that
domestication theory acknowledges the “complexity” of people’s media use in everyday life.
58
Another advantage of domestication theory is that it explicitly allows for the combination with
other theoretical frameworks (Haddon 2006a:113–15, 2006a:118; Silverstone 2006:229).
Haddon, for example, has suggested combining the perspective offered by domestication theory
with the analysis of biographies, cohorts (2006a:113–15), and generations (2006a:118).
This approach suggested by Haddon (2006a:113–15, 2006a:118) has been taken up in
the present study. In addition to domestication theory (Silverstone et al. 1994; Silverstone 1996,
2006; Haddon 2006a), the concept of “media generations” (Bolin 2014, 2017b, 2017a),
and the ‘media biographical approach’ (Vollbrecht 2009) have also informed the understanding
of older women’s media adoption.
1.4.3.3 Media Generations
As noted before, in addition to major historical events, researchers building on Mannheim’s
(1952 [1927/28]) thoughts have also suggested considering the influence of consumer goods,
and in particular media technologies, for the formation of a ‘generation location’ (Bolin 2017b,
2017a; Bolin and Westlund 2009; Jureit and Wildt 2005:21–22; Lüscher and Liegle 2003:101).
Göran Bolin has been among the most prominent scholars investigating the nexus of
media technologies and generations (2014, 2017b, 2017a).86 In his conceptualization of
“media generations,” Bolin (2014, 2017b, 2017a) builds on Mannheim’s (1952 [1927/28])
work, but also extends it in several important regards. Similar to Mannheim
(1952 [1927/28]:282, 1952 [1927/28]:291, 1952 [1927/28]:297, 1952 [1927/28]:298),
Bolin (2017b:10–11, 2017b:27) emphasizes the importance of people’s shared experiences due
to similar birth dates for the formation of any kind of generation, media generations included.
Bolin (2017b:25, 2017b:98) also considers youth to be a crucial phase for developing
a distinct perspective on the world, as Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]:296–98) did.
In addition, he also emphasizes that not only people’s location in time, but also in geographical
and cultural space matters for the foundation of a ‘generation location’ (Bolin 2017b:5,
2017b:19, 2017b:89, 2017b:96). This has also been acknowledged by Mannheim
(1952 [1927/28]:303).
86 In the German context, the work of Sackmann and Winkler (2013) on “technology generations”
has also been relevant in this regard.
59
However, despite these shared perspectives, Bolin (2017b, 2017a) also transcends Mannheim’s
(1952 [1927/28]) ideas considerably, relating them to the realities of contemporary societies.
Most importantly, Bolin (2017a:26, 2017b:4, 2017b:128), argues that the media have become
a key factor in the formation of ‘generation location.’ In this context, he conceives of
media technologies, media contents, and related patterns of communication as equally relevant
for the formation of generations (Bolin 2017a:26, 2017b:4). According to Bolin (2017b:44,
2017b:47, 2017b:66) all people are born into a particular “media landscape,” consisting of both
media which are already perceived as a given in the society at the time, and new media contents
and technologies that people only get used to over the life course. A “media landscape” can
thus be understood as “the ensemble of media that is present at any one point in time
in a society” (Bolin 2017a:27). Elaborating on his notion of the “media landscape,”
Bolin (2017b:45, 2017b:68) foregrounds that it includes both physical media technologies
as well as their individual and collective symbolic representations. Hence, a thorough
understanding of a particular “media landscape” also needs to involve both an analysis of
its actual “technological structure” and its “symbolic environment” (Bolin 2017b:68).
On the individual level, the latter can also be referred to as people’s
“‘subjective’ media landscape” (Bolin 2017b:69). Bolin (2017b:10) is interested in both
people’s relationship and sense-making processes in relation to technologies,
and in representations. As he argues, based on their cohort-specific entry into a particular
media landscape, people will relate to specific media technologies and media representations
differently (Bolin 2017b:118), which also involves finding them to be more or less “accessible”
(Bolin 2017b:27). Importantly, people will also use these media technologies
and representations to differentiate themselves from others – not least in terms of
a generational identity (Bolin 2017b:118).87 In particular, Bolin’s (2017b:10) contribution thus
consists in acknowledging the importance of “less spectacular, more personal and
more mundane, even banal, moments” related to people’s media experiences for the formation
of ‘generation location’ in Mannheim’s (1952 [1927/28]) terms. Or, put differently, not only
major historical events shape generations, but also everyday life experiences, including those
with media, do (Bolin 2017b:10).
87 In this context, Bolin (2017b:91–92, 2017a:31–32, italics in original) distinguishes between
“direct generational relations” and “indirect generational relations.” The first refers to people’s explicit
expression and awareness of their distinct generational position, while the second refers to people’s implicit
generational references which can be observed by researchers (Bolin 2017b:31–32, 2017a:31–32).
60
In addition to expanding the range of phenomena which contribute to the formation of
a generation, Bolin (2017b, 2017a) transcends Mannheim’s (1952 [1927/28]) theory in two
other regards. Firstly, he argues, not only “generation location” (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28])
matters for people’s engagement with media technologies and representations, but also
their current “life situation” (Bolin 2017b:37, 2017a:26, italics added by author).
By “life situation” Bolin (2017b:37, 2017a:26) means different stages in the life course,
such as being a teenager or a parent – or a pensioner in the context of the present study.88
Secondly, Bolin (2017a:27) acknowledges the importance of individual biographies for
people’s engagement with media devices. This is a point which he does not put forward
forcefully, but nonetheless mentions in his discussion of his conceptualization of the
“media landscape” (Bolin 2017a:27). A person’s “individual trajectory” through the media
landscape and the “experiences” which come along with it, will influence how he or she relates
to media technologies and representations (Bolin 2017a:27). Except Bolin (2017b:37,
2017a:26, 2017a:27), others have also argued that a nuanced understanding of
people’s engagement with media needs to include more than the focus on generation
(e.g. Gilleard et al. 2017:219; Haddon 2006b:129). Among them is Haddon (2017:49),
who suggests that “the generational dimension might be examined alongside other forms of
analysis if the researcher suspects that previous shared experiences might have some bearing,
among other factors, on how people adopt, use and perceive ICTs.” As the findings of
the present study also show, an analytical perspective which considers generation
in concert with other social categories, such as age and gender, as well as people’s
individual biographies and current location in the life course, indeed allows for a multi-faceted
understanding of people’s media experiences.
That said, it is at the same time equally important to acknowledge the importance of
“generation location” (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]) for people’s engagement with media, as,
for example, Bolin (2014, 2017b, 2017a) does. While it is certainly true that people have
formative experiences with regard to ICTs at all ages and stages of life (Gilleard et al. 2017:219;
Taipale et al. 2017:2), empirical evidence also indicates that early life experiences do indeed
have a strong impact on people’s relation with media technologies.
88 A similar point is put forward by Haddon (2006:129), who argues that each phase of life involves specific
circumstances which in turn influence people’s media use.
61
For example, Bolin and Westlund (2009:120) were able to show that different
media generations differ in their use of multiple functions of the cell phone (text messages
as well as multimedia messages) and that these differences continued to persist over the course
of several years. More recently, Bolin (2017a:29, 2017b:50) has reported the same effect –
with an even longer series of data, including even more years and points of measurement of
the use of different functions of the cell phone. The youngest generation included in the study
(born in the 1980s) used more functions on their cell phone than the two older generations
(born in the 1950s and 1930s respectively), and these differences persisted over many years,
even if the use of functions generally increased for all groups (Bolin 2017a:29, 2017b:50).
Bolin and Westlunds’ (2009) and Bolin’s (2017a, 2017b) findings are indicative of the fact that
not only life situation matters for people’s engagement with ICTs – otherwise the differences
in use should have changed over time. Also in qualitative terms, research has shown that
members of different generations relate to ICTs differently. An instructive example
in this context, which has also been informative for the present study, is the work of
Burkard Schäffer (2003, 2007, 2009). Building on Mannheim’s (1952 [1927/28]) thoughts,
Schäffer (2009) has coined the notion of ‘generation-specific media practice cultures.’89
In his research on people’s engagement with ICTs, he discovered that members of different
generations exhibit different attitudes and practices in relation to media technologies
(Schäffer 2009). For example, older media users in his study refused to take a trial and error
approach and instead preferred planned interaction with new ICTs (Schäffer 2009:45).
According to Schäffer (2009:42), this represents a particular ‘media practice culture,’ which
develops in youth and tends to remain relevant throughout the life course. As will be shown
in section 4.1.4, Schäffer’s (2009) concept of ‘generation-specific media practice cultures’ has
also proven to be relevant in the context of the present investigation in several regards.
1.4.3.4 Media Biographical Perspectives
However, as also noted above, although of relevance, “generation location”
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]) is certainly only one of multiple elements which contribute to
people’s ascription of meaning to and use of ICTs. In terms of temporal locations,
not only “generation location” (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]) matters, but also one’s
current location in the life course (Bolin 2017b:37, 2017a:26; Haddon 2006b:129, 2017:48).
89 “Generationsspezifische Medienpraxiskulturen” in the German original (Schäffer 2009).
62
In addition, people’s biographical trajectory also matters. Multiple researchers engaging with
the topic, among them Haddon (2006b:23), Bolin (2017a:27), and Fernández-Ardévol and Ivan
(2016:93), have noted that individual biographical experiences do also matter for people’s
ICT engagement. Particularly Vollbrecht (2009) has paid greater attention to the concept of
media biographies, speaking of a ‘media biographical approach.’ According to Vollbrecht
(2009:25), such an approach focuses on three distinct but interrelated areas: the role that various
media play for the formation of individual biographies, the processes of media adoption
and their use throughout individual biographies, as well as media’s relevance for everyday life
in practical terms. Employing such an approach, researchers are interested in understanding
people’s personal lived realities and their subjective interpretations thereof
(Vollbrecht 2009:22, 2009:23). Thus, in biographical approaches, people’s interpretative
agency takes center stage (Vollbrecht 2009:24). Of interest is how people continuously interpret
and re-interpret their biographies (Vollbrecht 2009:24) and how they make decisions,
for example on which media technologies to keep and which to discard as they move
through life (Vollbrecht 2009:29). Nevertheless, biographical perspectives do also take
into account social structures and roles, but focus on how these are experienced, interpreted,
and shaped by the individual (Vollbrecht 2009:24). For example, from a biographical
perspective, it is of interest how a person experiences, interprets, and shapes his or her transition
into retirement and how this affects, among others, his or her engagement with media
(Vollbrecht 2009:24). Complementing generational perspectives, such a
‘media biographical approach’ (Vollbrecht 2009) represents a crucial analytical framework for
the present study, as will be illustrated in chapters 4-7, and as has also been argued in
similar terms in section 1.2.3.
1.4.4 Current State of Empirical Research on Older Women’s ICT Use
In empirical research, it is essential to map out the kind and scope of previous studies on
the phenomenon of interest. As one of sociology’s most iconic figures, Robert Merton (1987),
once famously put it, one has to demonstrate “specified ignorance.” This means essentially that
researchers need to specify what is not yet known in a discipline and what they want to explore
as a consequence (Merton 1987:8). With regard to the phenomenon of interest of this study,
older women’s interpretation and use of ICTs in everyday life, the literature review shows that
older women have rarely been at the focus of investigations on people’s ICT use in
everyday life (also see Gales and Loos 2020, forthcoming; Ivan and Hebblethwaite 2016:22).
63
Noteworthy exceptions include the works of Sri Kurniawan (2006), Meika Loe (2010),
Loredana Ivan and Shannon Hebblethwaite (2016), and Alina Gales and Eugène Loos
(2020, forthcoming). Kurniawan (2006) has investigated cell phone adoption and use by women
aged over 60 in the UK, Loe (2010) explored understandings and creative use of everyday life
technologies by women in their nineties in the USA, Ivan and Hebblethwaite’s (2016)
cross-national study looked into grandmothers’ engagement with Facebook in Canada
and Romania, and Gales and Loos (2020, forthcoming) examined ICT use by German women
aged between 65 and 75 in relation to their family status, using Maierhofer’s (2003, 2004b,
2004a, 2007, 2012) approach of anocriticism as an analytical framework, as suggested by the
author of the present study (see section 1.2.3). All of these studies provide important insights
into older women’s multi-faceted experiences with ICTs, as will be illustrated discussing
and comparing them to findings of the main qualitative strand of this study (see chapters 4-7).
However, nonetheless, so far the research on older women’s ICT engagement has been
“limited,” as also Gales and Loos (2020, forthcoming) emphasize in their most recent work,
and thus warrants further exploration. This lack of a substantial amount of research on
older women’s ICT use is somewhat surprising for several reasons. Firstly, research on people’s
everyday engagement with ICTs has already been common practice for several decades.
As Haddon (2006b:1–2) notes, in the 1980s, researchers increasingly turned their attention
towards people’s everyday use of ICTs, and in the 1990s, this line of research eventually
became firmly established – not least due to an increase of commercial interest and funding.
Secondly, differences in ICT use based on cohort or generational identity have long been
documented, for example in the work of Westlund and Bolin (2009), Bolin (2014, 2017b,
2017a), and Schäffer (2003, 2007, 2009), generating interest in examining the specifics of
older adults’ ICT use. Thirdly, early studies on senior’s engagement with ICTs,
such as Richardson et al.’s (2005) work, already explicitly pointed to the relevance of gendered
dimensions of older adults’ ICT experiences. Fourthly, to date, there is statistical evidence that
particularly the use of new ICTs, such as the Internet, differs for older women and men,
as exemplified for the Austrian context in the introduction (Statistik Austria 2019).
As noted, this invites curiosity and further research on older women’s approach to new ICTs
and why – and why not – they are relevant to them in their everyday lives.
64
In comparison to works specifically focusing on older women, considerably more research
has been conducted on older adults’ ICT engagement more generally. However, it is noteworthy
that of the numerous empirical studies reviewed for this project that included both older men
and women, very few explicitly addressed issues of gender. Important exceptions include
the work of Buse (2009) who pointed out that particularly older women combine the use of
old ICTs with domestic work, Sawchuk and Crow (2012), who identified gender differences
in grandparents’ communication with their grandchildren via the cell phone,
Comunello et al. (2015), who observed that older women are less confident with new ICTs than
older men, and Richardson et al. (2005), who also noted that older women tend to downplay
their ICT skills in comparison to older men. Largely, however, aspects of gender are not
foregrounded in empirical studies investigating older adult’s ICT use.
As the empirical evidence of the main qualitative strand of this study demonstrates,
older women’s gendered life courses, roles, and identities do matter for their
everyday interaction with ICTs. However, it is reasonable to assume that some attitudes
and patterns of use are also more relevant for older adults’ ICT engagement more generally –
for men and women alike. Thus, research focusing on older adults’ approaches to and use of
ICTs that considered both older men and women was also included in the literature review
and will be compared to findings of the main qualitative strand of this study.
Due to similarities in epistemology and methodology, and thus increased comparability,
particularly qualitative studies have been put in dialogue with findings of the main qualitative
strand of this study throughout chapters 4-7. As Quan-Haase et al. (2016:692) note,
recently, there have been more and more qualitatively-oriented projects exploring older adults’
ICT use. In addition to the studies already mentioned in this section, particularly the
qualitative studies of Ivan and Fernández-Ardèvol (2017), Sayago et al. (2016),
Fernández-Ardèvol and Ivan (2016), Quan-Haase et al. (2016), Suopajärvi (2015),
Tsai et al. (2015), Hill et al. (2015), Larsson et al. (2013), Fernández-Ardèvol (2013),
Goodwin (2013), Sayago and Blat (2010), Mitzner et al. (2010), Sawchuk and Crow (2010),
Buse (2010), Hilt and Lipschultz (2004) and Selwyn (2004) have informed the main qualitative
strand of the investigation.90
90 A remarkably early study on older adults’ use of ICTs was also already done in the 1990s by Haddon and
Silverstone, as Haddon (2017:44) points out. See also Haddon et al. (1996).
65
In addition, a body of quantitative work has provided important perspectives on the matter
under investigation, among them the studies of Nimrod (2017), Zeissig et al. (2017),
Doh et al. (2015), Nimrod (2011), Yoon et al. (2011), Feist et al. (2010), Nimrod (2010),
Conci et al. (2009), Nimrod (2007), and Gatto and Tak (2008). Mixed-methods studies
have also been considered, such as the works of Neves and Amaro (2012),
Hardill and Olphert (2012), and Russell, Campbell and Hughes (2008).
As noted in the introduction, this investigation also represents a mixed-methods study,
using qualitative material and quantitative data. In terms of a methodological classification,
it qualifies as a variation of an “embedded design” (Creswell and Plano Clark 2011:90–96).
The qualitative material collected through life graph discussions, guided interviews,
and walking interviews with older women in their homes constitutes the core of this study,
which was supplemented by quantitative data from the ACT Longitudinal Study:
Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment (wave 1, 2016). Hence, with regard to both
the review and discussion of existing empirical research, as well as the methods employed
in this study, the thesis incorporates multiple methodological traditions and thus also
“more than one way of knowing” (Greene in Johnson, Onwuegbuzie, and Turner 2007:119).
66
2 Older Women Using ICTs in Austria
As mentioned in the introduction, populations are aging in Western societies
(Charness and Boot 2009:253; Coughlin 2010:63; Doh et al. 2015:177, 2005:35;
Feist et al. 2010:69; Loos 2012:001, 2012:016; Sayago and Blat 2010:105). This is also true for
the Austrian case (European Commission and Directorate-General for Economic
and Financial Affairs 2018:333). Since this study focuses on a specific group within
the aging population and their use of information and communication technologies –
Austrian women aged 60 to 70 – this chapter will look into some basic statistics regarding
this group and also into statistical accounts of media use by this group. While the major part of
this empirical study is qualitative – examining personal narratives of everyday life
media experiences of older women – the following statistical elaborations and analyses serve
as an important contextualization of the qualitative material in terms of a societal perspective.
In 2016, of the entire Austrian population,91 520,265 women and 474,099 men were aged
60 to 70 years (STATcube – Statistische Datenbank von Statistik Austria 2018a,
own calculation of sums). In percentages, the share of women aged 60 to 70 in 2016
amounted to 6% and the one of men aged 60 to 70 amounted to 5.4%; in total, 11.4%
of the Austrian population were aged between 60 and 70 in 2016 (STATcube –
Statistische Datenbank von Statistik Austria 2018a, own calculation of percentages).
As elaborated in the introduction, in Austria a considerable amount of older adults in general
and of older women in particular is not online. For example, in 2016, only 55.2%92 of
Austrian women aged 55 to 74 indicated to have used the Internet in the three months prior to
being surveyed (compared to 71.2% of men) (Statistik Austria 2019). Although the number of
older Internet users has lately been increasing considerably – in 2019, already 62.8% of
Austrian women aged 55 to 74 and 77% of men of this age range indicated to have used
the Internet in the previous three months (Statistik Austria 2019) – it still remains lower than
that of other age groups. As discussed earlier, this is a potential issue with regard to
social exclusion from an increasingly digital society. Thus, it is important to investigate what
older adults, and particularly older women, think of new ICTs, such as the Internet, and which
areas of use are relevant to them.
91 In 2016, the total Austrian population was 8,700,471 (Statistik Austria 2018a).
92 The numbers of Internet users in 2016 and 2019 are based on data of European surveys on ICT usage
in households (“Europäische Erhebungen über den IKT-Einsatz in Haushalten” (Statistik Austria 2019).
The total numbers on which the percentages are based are thus the result of extrapolation.
67
2.1 Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Women Aged 60-70 Participating in
an Online Survey in Comparison to Older Women from the General
Austrian Population
In order to gain a better understanding of the media engagement of older adults who do use
the Internet, a current international longitudinal survey explores how older online audiences
in seven countries use different kinds of media in their lives. The study entitled
ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment
is part of the research project Ageing + Communication + Technologies (actproject.ca).
The countries for which data on the media use of older online audiences is collected are:
Austria, Canada, Denmark, Israel, Romania, Spain, and The Netherlands.93 Over a five-year
period, three waves of data are collected, including participants of the respective countries
who are 60 years and older and who use the Internet. In most countries, participants are
contacted online through commercial market research institutes managing the samples.94
This also indicates an important limitation of the survey, as its samples are not representative
of the general ‘online population’ since in most cases participants need to agree and be able to
participate in an online survey operated by a commercial market research institute.
In terms of contents, the survey is based on a study by Nimrod (2017) on older audiences that
took place within the frameworks of the EU COST Action IS0906 Transforming Audiences,
Transforming Societies.
For the purpose of contextualizing the life graph discussions, guided interviews,
and walking interviews in small domestic spaces conducted with older Austrian women
on ascription of meaning to and use of ICTs (see chapters 4-7), a descriptive analysis of the
Austrian data of the first wave of the longitudinal study has been undertaken for the age group
of 60 to 70 years.95 The collection of the Austrian data for wave 1 of the survey was coordinated
by the author of this thesis together with colleagues from the University of Graz (Verena Köck
and Roberta Maierhofer). Fieldwork for data collection took place between November 18 and
December 8, 2016 and was carried out by Market Marktforschungs-GmbH & CoKG.
93 For Denmark, data has only been collected for wave 1. Another recent development of the survey has been
the inclusion of the country of Finland into the project (but not for wave 1).
94 Only in Romania participants were contacted by phone.
95 For a descriptive analysis of the entire Austrian data set of the first wave (also including participants
aged 71 and above), as well as of all other participating countries except Denmark, see the full descriptive report
of wave 1 of the project (Loos, Nimrod, and Fernández Ardèvol 2018).
68
In total, 3,082 Austrians96 aged 60 and above who use the Internet were contacted by the firm.
1,630 people filled out the Austrian survey (which equals to a response rate of 53%),
ultimately leading to 1,627 valid cases included in the Austrian data set of the 2016 wave.
The criteria that the sampling procedure took into account were age, gender, and residence in
different federal states of Austria and the procedure itself was based on population statistics of
Statistics Austria of 2016.97
As the topic of this thesis is the use of ICTs by Austrian women aged 60 to 70, the descriptive
analysis of the 2016 data set, conducted with SPSS (v. 24), focuses on this group.
Before discussing descriptive findings of the survey on media consumption patterns of
women online residing in Austria aged 60 to 70, socio-demographic characteristics of this
group are to be described. As will be shown, the socio-demographic characteristics of
the online sample already provide some interesting contextual information for
the main qualitative strand of the study. In addition, the aim of the following discussion is to
also describe socio-demographic characteristics of older Austrian women from
the general population based on data of Statistics Austria and Eurostat. Both the description of
the socio-economic characteristics of women aged 60 to 70 who participated in
the online survey and of older Austrian women from the general population form
the structural background of the main qualitative strand of the study and highlight
broader societal contexts of which older Austrian women and their media use are part.
From the total of 1,627 participants of the first wave of the Austrian component of
the ACT online survey, 1,281 people were aged between 60 and 70, which equals a share of
78.7%. Of these 1,281 persons, 692 people (54%) were men and 589 (46%) were women.
Thus, compared to the general Austrian population of the same age range, older women are
underrepresented in the online sample. In the general Austrian population of 2016, 52.3% of
all those aged 60 to 70 were women and 47.3% were men (STATcube – Statistische Datenbank
von Statistik Austria 2018a, own calculation of percentages based on total numbers).
96 In the context of the online survey, ‘Austrian’ refers to people residing in Austria (and thus not necessarily
to passport identity) according to information provided by Market Marktforschungs-GmbH (Karagiannidis 2018b).
97 Details of the data collection process are described here according to information provided by
Market Marktforschungs-GmbH & CoKG (Karagiannidis 2017, 2018a).
69
Regarding family status, more than half (55%) of the women aged 60 to 70 of the online survey
were married, about a fifth was divorced (23.3%) and about a tenth was widowed (11%)
or single (10.7%), respectively.
Family status Men (%) Women (%)
Single 4.0 10.7
Married 78.2 55.0
Divorced 13.7 23.3
Widowed 4.0 11.0
Total 100.0 100.0
N = 1,281; 589 women, 692 men Original question in German: “Wie würden Sie Ihren Familienstand beschreiben?” (‘How would you describe your family status?’) Total percentage of men misses 0.1% because of rounding up.
Table 1: Family status of Austrian participants aged 60-70
of the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences
in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1, 2016
As can be seen in Table 1, there is a gender gap when it comes to marital status in the sample.
While only 55% of all the women aged 60 to 70 who participated in the online survey
were married, 78.2% of the men from the same age group were married. However, comparing
the percentages of married men and married women aged 60 to 70 from the online sample with
demographic data of Statistics Austria from 2017, it can be seen that this resonates with
the overall older population in Austria. In 2017, 70.1%98 of the Austrian men aged
60 to 69 years were married, compared to 59.6% of Austrian women from the same age group
(Statistik Austria 2018b). Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that in the sample,
the percentage difference between married men and women is particularly high
(a difference of 23.2%). Although this pronounced difference might be accidental, it is still
an interesting observation that resonates with findings from the main qualitative strand
of the study.
98 These numbers are based on the micro census labor force survey 2017 (“Mikrozensus-
Arbeitskräfteerhebung 2017”) (Statistik Austria 2018b). The total numbers on which the percentages are based are
thus the result of extrapolation.
70
As will be shown discussing the analysis of the qualitative material, being part of a
close family system often limits the amount of time that can be spent using media, such as
the Internet, because older women often engage in various informal caretaking activities,
such as watching grandchildren or cooking for entire intergenerational households.
Although marital status can only serve as a proxy indicator for family embedding,
this observation is still noteworthy and important for the later discussion of findings from
the analysis of the qualitative material.
Interestingly, looking at educational attainment, the situation within the sample is different
when it comes to gender differences. With regard to educational attainment, no large
percentage differences between men and women aged 60 to 70 of the Austrian online sample
can be observed.
Men (%) Women (%)
Education compulsory or less 3.2 4.8
vocational 50.4 50.6
high school 22.7 19.9
technical training 3.6 8.0
academic degree 19.7 16.3
Don't know 0.4 0.5
Total 100.0 100.0
N = 1,281; 589 women, 692 men Original question in German: “Welche höchste abgeschlossene Schulbildung haben Sie?” (‘Approximately how many years of education have you had?’) Total percentage of women exceeds 100% by 0.1% because of rounding up.
Table 2: Educational attainment of Austrian participants aged 60-70
of the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences
in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1, 2016
From women online aged 60 to 70 of the sample, about half have completed vocational training
(50.6%), roughly a fifth (19.9%) holds a high school diploma, 8% completed 13-14 years
of school (e.g. within a technical training), and 16.3% hold a university degree. Only a very
small number of the women left school before or at the compulsory stage (4.8%).
As can be seen in Table 2 above, in the sample women online aged 60 to 70 do not differ
very much from men online of the same age group.
71
However, comparing the highest educational attainment of women aged 60 to 70 of the survey
to the overall population of older Austrian women reveals that the survey sample is
more highly educated. This difference between women online from the sample and
older Austrian women in general is most obvious looking at compulsory education.
Data of Statistics Austria shows that in 2015, 33.8% of Austrian women aged 60 to 64 and
37% of Austrian women aged 65 to 70 left school at or before the compulsory school level
(Statistik Austria 2017a, own calcuation of percentages based on total numbers).
These shares are thus considerably higher than in the online sample. With regard to
vocational training, women from the sample and older women of the overall
Austrian population are roughly similar, but when it comes to higher degrees, women from
the online sample are clearly more highly educated (Statistik Austria 2017a).99
Another striking difference between the online sample and the older general population is that
in the sample, educational attainment of older Austrian men and women is comparatively
similar, while in the overall population more pronounced gender differences can be observed.
Most notably, compared to older women from the general population, much fewer older men
left school before or at the compulsory level100 and in total, more older men from
the general population have completed other higher degrees (Statistik Austria 2017a).
Looking at income of Austrian survey participants aged 60 to 70, differences according to
gender can also be identified. While with 16.6% the exact same percentage of men and women
aged 60 to 70 from the survey stated that their income is similar to the average (indicated in
the questionnaire as EUR 2,550 gross monthly income), the share of women indicating that
their income is below average was substantially higher than that of men.
99 For example, of the general Austrian population, fewer older women have a high school diploma
(6.4% of those aged 60 to 64 and 6.3% of those aged 65 to 70) or a university degree (6.1% of those aged 60 to 64
and 4.2% of those aged 65 to 70) as their highest degree (Statistik Austria 2017a, own calculation of percentages
based on total numbers).
100 17.2% of the Austrian men aged 60 to 64 years and 18.1% of those aged 65 to 70 left school before the
compulsory level (Statistik Austria 2017a, own calculation of percentages based on total numbers).
72
Men (%) Women (%)
Income above average 42.8 22.6
similar to average 16.6 16.6
below average 31.6 46.0
Don't know 0.1 0.2
Prefer not to answer 8.8 14.6
Total 100.0 100.0
N = 1,281; 589 women, 692 men Original question in German: “Das durchschnittliche Bruttoeinkommen pro Person in Österreich beträgt etwa 2.550 Euro. Wie hoch ist Ihr persönliches monatliches Einkommen?” (‘The average monthly personal income in Austria is EUR 2,550 before taxes. What is your monthly income?’) Total percentage of men misses 0.1% because of rounding up.
Table 3: Income of Austrian participants aged 60-70
of the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences
in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1, 2016
As can be seen in Table 3 above, in terms of income, men and women aged 60 to 70 of
the sample differ, with women indicating more often to have a monthly income below average
(46% of women compared to 31.6% of men) and indicating less often to have an income
above average (22.6% of women compared to 42.8% of men). However, similar to the case of
family status, this gender difference is not surprising. Looking at the data of Statistics Austria
on income of Austrian pensioners from the general population, it shows that in 2016,
the median of yearly gross income of retired men was EUR 26,280 while it was EUR 15,741
for retired women (Statistik Austria 2017b). Of course, this data is not entirely comparable to
the survey sample, as the sample did not only include retired persons, but it still provides
an idea of the substantial differences in income for older men and women.
Regarding employment status, unsurprisingly, most women in the sample aged 60 to 70
are retired (83.5%), similarly to most men of the same age group (80.2%). Although percentages
of retired men and women of the sample are rather similar, there are some smaller differences
with regard to employment, for example when it comes to full time work. While 15.5% of men
aged 60 to 70 of the sample still work full time, only 7.1% of the women do so.
73
Men (%) Women (%)
Employment status Full-time work 15.5 7.1
Part-time work 2.7 5.8
Unemployed 1.3
Retired 80.2 83.5
In unpaid position
(housework, volunteer or
community service)
0.3 3.4
Don‘t know 0.2
Total 100.0 100.0
N = 1,281; 589 women, 692 men Original question in German: “Was ist Ihr Beschäftigungsstatus?” (‘What is your employment status?’)
Table 4: Employment status of Austrian participants aged 60-70
of the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences
in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1, 2016
Comparing the number of retired women in the sample to the Eurostat data shows that the result
is more or less in line with the general population. According to Eurostat, in 2016, 81.7%101
of Austrian women aged 60 to 64 and 93% of women aged 65 to 69 were “inactive”102
in terms of employment (Eurostat 2018e). Although this category is not entirely the same as
“retired” (Eurostat 2018c) and can for example also include homemakers, the percentages of
the overall Austrian population and women in the sample are not too dissimilar overall.
With regard to older men from the general population, the situation is a little different
(probably also due to the higher retirement age of Austrian men103). From the general
Austrian population, in the age group of 60 to 64, in 2016, only 61.7% of men were considered
“inactive” by Eurostat (2018f). However, in the age group of 65 to 69 years, the percentage was
89.5% for Austrian men (Eurostat 2018e). Thus, in the general Austrian population, men and
women get more similar with regard to their employment status only in the second half of
their sixties.
101 These numbers are based on “LFS main indicators” based on the “European Labour Force Survey
(EU-LFS)” “in few cases integrated with data sources like national accounts employment or
registered unemployment” (Eurostat 2018f). The total numbers on which the percentages are based are thus
the result of extrapolation.
102 Certainly a term that can be questioned. Although the term refers to non-participation in the labor market
(neither employed nor unemployed), its connotations are misleading. First of all, people that are labeled “inactive”
on the labor market might not be “inactive” on a voluntary basis but might be excluded from the formal
labor market for various reasons. Secondly, people who do not participate in the formal labor market might
be very active in other areas of life (family care work etc.) that are not formally being recognized as labor.
103 Currently, the legal retirement age in Austria is 60 for women and 65 for men (Kircher 2017).
74
In addition to marital status, educational attainment, income, and employment status,
another socio-demographic variable used for the description of the sample of older onliners is
geographical location. In the group of Austrians aged 60 to 70 of the survey, the majority of
the women either lives in a big city, the suburbs of a big city, or a town or small city.
Less than a third (29.5%) of the women aged 60 to 70 of the sample lives in a village or a farm
or home in the countryside.
Men (%) Women (%)
Geographical location A big city 28.9 34.0
The suburbs of a big city 10.8 10.5
A town or small city 28.2 25.8
A country village 26.7 21.7
A farm or home in the
countryside
5.3 7.8
Don’t know 0.2
Total 100.0 100.0
N = 1,281; 589 women, 692 men Original question in German: “Welche Beschreibung passt am besten zu der Gegend in der Sie leben?” (‘Which phrase best describes the area where you live?’)
Table 5: Geographical location of Austrian participants aged 60-70
of the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences
in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1, 2016
With regard to geographical location, men and women aged 60 to 70 of the sample are
rather similar. In general terms, however, this picture is different compared to
the overall Austrian population. Most importantly, the rural population is underrepresented in
the online sample. While only 29.5% of the women aged 60 to 70 of the online sample lived
in a village or a farm or home in the countryside, 41.5%104 of the women aged 55 to 64 and
41.1% of the women aged 65 and older105 from the general Austrian population lived
in rural areas106, 107 in 2016 (STATcube – Statistische Datenbank von Statistik Austria 2018b,
104 The data base for calculations of percentages of older Austrians of the general population living in
urban and rural areas was data of the “Europäische[…] Arbeitskräfteerhebung” (EU labour force survey) collected
within the frameworks of the Austrian micro census (STATcube – Statistische Datenbank von Statistik Austria
2018b). The total numbers on which the percentages are based are thus the result of extrapolation.
105 Data for more differentiated age groups in relation to geographical location is not freely publicly accessible
in STATcube – Statistische Datenbank von Statistik Austria 2018b, as far as it could be determined by the author.
106 “thinly populated areas” (Eurostat 2018g)
107 Definitions for different degrees of urbanization used by Statistik Austria are based on Eurostat standards
(Eurostat 2018g).
75
own calculation of percentages based on total numbers).108 Compared to the general
Austrian population, more women of the online sample also indicated living in the suburbs,
or a town or small city. 36.3% of the women aged 60 to 70 of the online sample live in suburbs,
or a town or small city, while only 30.6% of the women aged 55 to 64 and 29.4% of the women
aged 65 or older from the general population live in “intermediate density areas”
(Eurostat 2018g) (STATcube – Statistische Datenbank von Statistik Austria 2018b,
own calculation of percentages based on total numbers).109 Numbers for older women living
in big cities are consequently also slightly different in the online sample and in
the general Austrian population. In 2016, 27.9% of the women aged 55 to 64 and 29.5% of
the women aged 65 and older of the general population lived in “densely populated areas”
(Eurostat 2018g) (STATcube – Statistische Datenbank von Statistik Austria 2018b,
own calculation of percentages based on total numbers).110 In this context, it is noteworthy that
geographical location is particularly interesting regarding older Internet users.
As previous studies in Austria (e.g. Ringler et al. 2013:58) have shown, when considering
all age groups, there is no considerable difference between users and non-users of the Internet
according to geographical location (urban vs. rural). The sample of this online survey
considered here – aged 60 to 70 – is however clearly more urban than the general
Austrian population of the same age range.
To sum up: The majority of the women aged 60 to 70 that participated in the Austrian
online survey were either married (55%) or divorced (23.3%). Compared to women from
the general Austrian population of a similar age range they are well educated – only 4.8% of
the women in the sample have left school before or at the compulsory stage. A little less than
half (46%) of the women indicated to earn less than average and exactly a sixth (16.6%) said
their income is similar to the Austrian average. The majority of the women in the sample
is retired (83.5%) and most live in a big city, the suburbs, or small city (70.3%).
108 Percentages for Austrian men from the general population living in rural areas are rather similar to those of
women of the same age groups (STATcube – Statistische Datenbank von Statistik Austria 2018b).
109 Percentages for men from the general Austrian population living in suburbs or towns are rather similar to
those of women of the same age groups (STATcube – Statistische Datenbank von Statistik Austria 2018b).
110 Percentages for men from the general Austrian population living in big cities are rather similar to those of
women of the same age groups (STATcube – Statistische Datenbank von Statistik Austria 2018b).
76
2.2 Patterns of Media Use of Austrian Women Aged 60-70 Participating in
an Online Survey
As stated, the 2016 wave of the ACT survey Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment
explored media engagement of older people who are online. One particularity of
the questionnaire was that it did not solely focus on digital media but also investigated the use
of traditional media formats like printed newspapers and magazines or television watched on
a TV set. The main advantage of this approach is that it allows for the comparison of
the relevance of more traditional and newer media formats. One important finding of the survey
is the persisting relevance of traditional media for older Austrian onliners who participated in
the survey. Almost all Austrian women aged 60 to 70 of the sample stated that they watched
television on a TV set (90.5%) or read newspapers or magazines in the printed version (89%).
A considerable number also listened to the radio on a radio set (77.2%) and about half (51.3%)
read books in the printed version. In terms of time spent with media on the previous day,
traditional TV and radio consume the most time of Austrian women aged 60 to 70 of the sample
(three hours and 23 minutes for TV and three hours and 15 minutes for radio on average).
However, although media in traditional formats are important, Austrian women aged 60 to 70
of the sample also indicated to consume media in newer formats. A considerable number
(40.2%) read newspapers or magazines on the Internet and close to a third (30.6%) watched
TV on a computer. 14.4% also read books electronically.
77
Media used on the previous day
Men (%) Time spent
(hour: min)1
Women (%)
Time spent
(hour: min)1
Watched television on a TV set 93.9 03:21 90.5 03:23
Read newspapers or magazines in the printed version
90.5 01:08 89.0 01:04
Listened to radio on a radio set 82.1 02:40 77.2 03:15
Read books in the printed version 41.0 01:25 51.3 01:32
Read newspapers or magazines on the Internet
52.3 00:39 40.2 00:47
Watched television on a computer 35.1 02:15 30.6 01:57
Read books in the electronic version 11.6 01:15 14.4 01:21
Watched television on a mobile phone 12.7 00:34 8.0 00:50
Listened to radio on computer 9.7 01:49 5.3 02:32
Listened to audio books 1.9 01:05 4.1 01:58
Listened to radio on mobile phone 4.3 01:18 2.9 01:32
N = 1,281; 589 women, 692 men. Non-exclusive categories. Categories shown in descending order as for % of women who used the medium the previous day. Users are defined here as participants who indicated a minimum amount of 1 minute of use on the previous day. The remaining percentage of non-users either did not use the medium the previous day or did not remember. 1 Calculated for those who used the medium the previous day. Original question in German: “Bitte denken Sie an den gestrigen Tag: Wie viel Zeit haben Sie gestern mit der Nutzung der folgenden Medien verbracht?“ (‘Please think of yesterday: How much time did you spend on the following media?’
Table 6: Media used on the previous day by Austrian participants aged 60-70
of the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences
in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1, 2016
With regard to media used on the previous day, Austrian women and men aged 60 to 70 of
the survey are rather similar, as can be seen in Table 6 above. Noteworthy differences
within the sample include the average time of traditional radio listening and reading habits.
Although in total slightly more men indicated to have listened to the radio set than women
(82.1% vs 77.2%), on average women aged 60 to 70 of the sample listen to the radio on
a radio set considerably longer (three hours and 15 minutes versus two hours and 40 minutes).
78
This finding resonates with results from the main qualitative strand of the study.
The women who took part as interviewees in the qualitative strand of the study on everyday life
media use often explained to listen to the radio during household work and some of
these activities, for example cooking, are rather time-intense, which could be one reason
explaining the longer listening periods. In this regard, it is also important to remember that
in Austria, women are generally much more engaged in household work than men
(see, for example, Eurostat 2018a). Thus, it is plausible that women, if they do listen to
the radio, do so for a longer time since they might combine it with other, often domestic,
activities. With regard to reading, women and men of the sample differ insofar as more women
than men aged 60 to 70 indicated to have read a book in the printed version on the previous day
(51.3% vs 41%). At the same time, more men than women said to have read newspapers or
magazines on the Internet (52.3% vs. 40.2%). This difference between older Austrian men and
women in online reading habits is also supported by similar Eurostat data (Eurostat 2018b).111
In addition to getting news (76.3% of men and 66.6% of women),112 writing and reading
e-mails was among the most common online activities of the previous day of
Austrian participants aged 60 to 70 of the survey. 83% of the women and 80.5% of the men
indicated that their Internet use on the previous day had included writing and reading e-mails.
Also in this case, Eurostat data is rather similar, highlighting the general importance of e-mail
for older Austrian Internet users (Eurostat 2018b).113
111 According to Eurostat, in 2016, 62% of Austrian men aged 55 to 74 who have used the Internet three months
prior to surveying indicated to read online news, newspapers or magazines, compared to 47% of women
(Eurostat 2018b). Although the age range of both investigations is not entirely the same, this difference in
online reading habits is still noteworthy.
The data on which the percentages for Internet activities are based is collected by national statistics institutes
based on Eurostat “questionnaires on ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) usage in households
and by individuals” (Eurostat 2018d). The total numbers on which the percentages are based are thus the result of
extrapolation. This applies to all data quoted from Eurostat 2018b.
112 This difference between Austrian men and women aged 60 to 70 of the sample in getting news online
resonates with the previous discussion of differences in online reading habits.
113 For 2016, Eurostat reports that 84% of Austrian women and 87% of men aged 55 to 74 who used the Internet
in the previous three months send and receive e-mails (Eurostat 2018b). In the case of the Eurostat data,
slightly more men than women sent and received e-mails, but the overall importance of e-mail is also visible here.
79
Internet used the previous day for
Men (%)
Time spent (hour: min)1
Women (%)
Time spent (hour: min)1
Writing and reading e-mails 80.5 00:38 83.0 00:40
Getting news 76.3 01:05 66.6 01:01
Using chat programs 41.6 00:26 50.8 00:36
Online shopping, banking, travel reservation etc.
57.1 00:24 49.9 00:36
Using social network sites 39.2 00:57 45.3 00:54
Using websites concerning my interests or hobbies
48.7 00:46 40.6 00:39
Playing computer games online 22.0 01:19 36.5 01:34
Reading entries at debate sites, blogs 22.3 00:27 20.0 00:43
Other 10.5 01:20 11.5 02:15
Writing entries at debate sites, blogs 6.6 00:27 5.4 01:12
Downloading music, film or podcasts 4.9 00:55 3.7 01:04
N = 1,281; 589 women, 692 men. Non-exclusive categories. Categories shown in descending order as for % of women who used the feature on the previous day. Users are defined here as participants who indicated a minimum amount of 1 minute of use on the previous day. The remaining percentage of non-users either did not use the feature on the previous day or did not remember. 1 Calculated for those who used the feature on the previous day. Original question in German: “Bitte denken Sie wieder an gestern und an alle Situationen, in denen Sie das Internet genutzt haben. Wie viel Zeit haben Sie mit den folgenden Aktivitäten verbracht?“ (‘Please think of yesterday – and any use you made of the Internet yesterday. How much time did you spend on the following things?’)
Table 7: Internet use on the previous day by Austrian participants aged 60-70
of the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences
in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1, 2016
As can be seen in Table 7 above, another popular Internet activity of Austrian women
aged 60 to 70 was the use of chat programs like Skype or WhatsApp (50.8%), which they used
more often than men of the same age group. A substantial number of Austrian women
aged 60 to 70 – but still fewer than men of the same age group – also indicated to have done
online shopping and banking or to have made travel reservations (49.9% vs 57.1%).
The gender difference for the combined category of online shopping, banking, and
making travel reservations observed in the sample is not too pronounced.
80
However, if we look at data of Statistics Austria from 2017 that measured online shopping
separately from other activities, bigger differences can be identified. For example, in 2017,
almost half of the Austrian men aged 55 to 64 (49.6%114) and almost a third of the men
aged 65 to 74 years (30.5%) did shop online in the previous twelve months, compared to only
about a third of the women aged 55 to 64 (32.7%) and 13.2% of the women aged 65 to 74
(Statistik Austria 2017c). This data of Statistics Austria resonates with the answers
Austrian men and women aged 60 to 70 of the online survey provided in the open category of
“other” in the questionnaire. Multiple of the 73 men aged 60 to 70 of the Austrian sample who
indicated another specific use of the Internet (10.5%) engaged in activities of finding
information for making purchase decisions (such as price comparisons or looking for offers).
While this was also mentioned by a few of the women of the same age range in the survey
in the category “other,” it was not as prominent. Also with regard to online banking,
data of Statistics Austria shows noteworthy differences between older Austrian men
and women. While in 2017, 61.9%115 of Austrian men aged 55 to 64 and 44.8% of the men
aged 55 to 64 had used the Internet for online banking in the previous three months, only 45.5%
of women aged 55 to 64 and 31.2% of women aged 65 to 74 did so (Statistik Austria 2017d).
Only with regard to the use of online services connected to traveling and lodging, other data,
such as that provided by Eurostat for 2016, does not show significant differences between
older Austrian men and women (Eurostat 2018b).116
Beyond the online activities already mentioned, the use of social network sites like Facebook
or LinkedIn is also important for a substantial number of Austrian women aged 60 to 70
who took part in the survey (45.3%), as it is for a number of men of the same age group (39.2%).
In this context, it is interesting to note that if Austrian women and men aged 60 to 70 of
the sample indicated to have used social network sites on the previous day, they on average
spent considerably more time on them than on chat programs. For social network sites, Eurostat
data from 2016 for Austrian women and men aged 55 to 74 does not show large gender
differences in use either for those who had used the Internet in the previous three months.
114 These numbers are based on data of the European survey on ICT usage in households
(“Europäische Erhebung über den IKT-Einsatz in Haushalten” (Statistik Austria 2017c). The total numbers
on which the percentages are based are thus the result of extrapolation.
115 These numbers are based on data of the European survey on ICT usage in households
(“Europäische Erhebung über den IKT-Einsatz in Haushalten” (Statistik Austria 2017d). The total numbers
on which the percentages are based are thus the result of extrapolation.
116 According to Eurostat, in 2016, 41% of Austrian women aged 55 to 74 and 47% of the men of the same
age range who used the Internet in the previous three months used services connected to traveling and lodging
(Eurostat 2018b).
81
However, the numbers provided by Eurostat for use of social network sites in 2016
are considerably lower for both genders than those of the first wave of the ACT online survey
Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment (Eurostat 2018b). 117 This might be
an indicator of the high age-sensitivity of social media use within the group of old people,
since the age group of the Eurostat data is broader and also includes people up to the age of 74.
A considerable number of women aged 60 to 70 who participated in the online survey also used
websites connected to their interests or hobbies (40.6%), as did even more men (48.7%).
One of the most interesting findings of the survey is, however, that more than a third of
the women aged 60 to 70 of the sample indicated to have played computer games online
(36.5%), while only 22% of the men of the same age group did so. Eurostat data on
online activities of older Austrian adults also shows gender differences with regard to
online gaming (Eurostat 2018b).118 This finding is interesting as it does not resonate but rather
contrasts results from the main qualitative strand of the study. In the qualitative strand of
the study, out of twelve participants, only one mentioned playing a computer game (I3)
which she also plays offline. Given that in the online survey more than a third of the women
aged 60 to 70 indicated playing online games, this is rather surprising. One reason for
this difference in observation might of course be the selection of interviewees not aimed at
statistical representativeness of Austrian women aged 60 to 70, but rather at contrasting
different cases and backgrounds in order to explore commonalities and differences of t
he media use of this media generation. In addition, participants of the qualitative strand of
the study were not always asked explicitly about gaming in the interviews, which might
have also contributed to the fact that they were barely mentioned. However, another reason for
the limited occurrence of gaming in the interviews conducted might be the perceived
social legitimacy.119
117 Eurostat reports that in 2016, only 24% of Austrian women aged 55 to 74 who have used the Internet in
the previous three months and 28% of the men of the same age group used social network sites (Eurostat 2018b).
118 According to Eurostat, in 2016, 22% of Austrian women aged 55 to 74 who had used the Internet in
the previous three months played games online games or downloaded them, compared to 10% of men of the same
age range (Eurostat 2018b).
119 The author thanks Daniel Miller for raising this point about social legitimacy in his helpful comments to
the author’s paper presentation on “Shifting perspectives: how older women produce generationally or individually
framed narratives about media technologies in qualitative interview situations,” during the conference
“Ageing and everyday life with media,” held at the University of Copenhagen in February 2017
(Ratzenböck 2017c).
82
As will be shown discussing findings from the main qualitative strand of the study,
many new media activities of the older women interviewed evolve around
family caretaking in a broad sense (see subchapter 6.1). In the qualitative narrations,
this kind of caretaking with or through media is often connected to the social role of
grandmother which comes with a high degree of social acceptance (see, for example,
Calasanti and Slevin 2001:198; Chivers 2003:xlvi) and long-established cultural legitimacy
(Seidler 2007:198) in terms of gender roles. This, one might suppose, could be different for
activities perceived as purely hedonistic, such as gaming.120 Independently of gender roles,
a recent study by Sayago et al. (2016:60-61) has shown that older adults generally prefer
to frame digital games in terms of “learning” rather than “playing” (even if they are essentially
playing digital games). This might be another reason why ‘playing computer games’
did not come up often in the qualitative life graph discussions, guided interviews,
and walking interviews in small domestic spaces.
In addition to Internet activities, the online survey also explored places of Internet use.
Almost all Austrian women aged 60 to 70 of the sample (99%) use the Internet at home,
with the living room being the most common place of use in the house or apartment (64.2%).
A little less than a third (30.1%) of the women also indicated to use the Internet during transport
and a sixth (16.6%) goes online in public places.
120 Indicative of this hypothesis is also that the one interviewee who played a computer game (I3) talked
about it in more detail the longer the interview lasted and the more time interviewee and interviewer
had spent together.
83
Internet used Men (%) Women (%)
At home 99.4 99.0
… in the living room 57.2 64.2
… in other spaces 60.8 49.2
… in the bedroom 11.7 11.2
During transport 25.9 30.1
At public places 20.2 16.6
At friend or family 7.5 12.2
At work 16.8 10.7
Other places 1.3 3.4
At school 1.7 1.2
N = 1,281; 589 women, 692 men. Non-exclusive categories. Categories shown in descending order as for % of women who indicated Internet use in this place. Original question in German: “Wo nutzen Sie das Internet?” (‘Where do you use the Internet?’)
Table 8: Places of Internet consumption by Austrian participants aged 60-70
of the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences
in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1, 2016
As can be seen in Table 8 above, Austrian women and men aged 60 to 70 of the survey mostly
use the Internet in similar places. A noteworthy difference can be identified with regard to
Internet use within the home. Austrian men indicate to use the Internet more often in
other spaces than the living room and the bedroom than women. Other data on mobile
Internet use of older adults, such as the one provided by Statistics Austria, is difficult to
compare to the online survey because of varying measurement categories. However,
or a fuller picture of mobile Internet use by older adults in Austria, it is still informative.
In doing so, an important observation can be made: Similar to the use of social network sites,
mobile Internet use seems to be highly age-sensitive and it also seems to imply noteworthy
gender differences. In 2017, a large number of Austrian men and women aged 55 to 64
who have used the Internet in the past three months also used laptops, tablets, or smartphones
to access the Internet on the go (67.9%121 of men and 65.6% of women)
(Statistik Austria 2017e). Although substantial numbers of older Austrians aged 65 to 74
who were online in the previous three months did so, their numbers are smaller
compared to the younger cohort and also show an important gender difference.
121 These numbers are based on data of the European survey on ICT usage in households
(“Europäische Erhebung über den IKT-Einsatz in Haushalten” (Statistik Austria 2017e). The total numbers
on which the percentages are based are thus the result of extrapolation.
84
While in 2017, 58.2% of Austrian men aged 65 to 74 with Internet use in the previous
three months used laptops, tablets, or smartphones for mobile Internet access, less than half of
the women of the same age group did so (44.1%) (Statistik Austria 2017e). The home as site
of choice to use the Internet for older Austrian women resonates with findings from
the main qualitative strand of the study. Although interviewees of the qualitative strand
implicitly (for example through WhatsApp (I8)) and explicitly (for example using a tablet
on vacation (I6)) mention mobile Internet use, it was not prominent and the home clearly was
the most important place for online activities.
As stated, the online survey explored the use of a variety of different media by older adults.
This also included different phones. Of the Austrian women aged 60 to 70 who participated in
the online survey, almost all (98.6%) indicated to have a mobile phone in their household,
more than half (57.9%) also had a landline phone, and about a third (34%) also used
Internet telephony (e.g. Skype).
Phones in the household Men (%) Women (%)
Mobile phone 99.4 98.6
Landline phone 65.5 57.9
Internet phone 37.1 34.0
None of the above 0.3 0.2
N = 1,281. 589 women, 692 men. Non-exclusive categories. Categories shown in descending order as for % of women who indicated to have this device at home. Original question in German: “Welche Arten von Telefonen haben Sie in Ihrem Haushalt?” (‘Which kinds of telephones do you have in your household?’)
Table 9: Phones in the households of Austrian participants aged 60-70
of the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences
in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1, 2016
When it comes to phones available in the household, Austrian men and women aged 60 to 70
who took part in the survey are rather similar, which is not very surprising either,
considering participants were actually asked about phones in their household
(which might include other users, such as spouses and other family members).
85
The data of Eurostat for Internet telephony and video calls in 2016 shows lower numbers
for Austrians aged 55 to 74 who have used the Internet in the previous three months
(24% of women and 22% of men) (Eurostat 2018b).122 However, interestingly,
Internet telephony and video calls seem to quickly gain relevance for older Austrian women.
Data of Statistics Austria indicates that in 2017, already 34.8%123 of women aged 55 to 64
who have used the Internet in the previous three months and 34% of those aged 65 to 74
used Internet telephony or video calls (Statistik Austria 2017d).
As stated above, the cell phone is important for Austrian online women aged 60 to 70
of the survey. Asked in more detail about their mobile phone use of the previous day,
the majority (87.1%) said to have used it for sending and receiving voice calls and
more than half (54.5%) for sending text/image/video/sound messages. On average,
they sent and received 5.7 calls and sent 5.5 mobile messages.
Mobile phone used yesterday for …
Men (%) Average number1
Women (%) Average number1
Voice calls (sent and received)
86.8 5.9 87.1 5.7
Messages (sent) 41.0 4.5 54.5 5.5
N= 1,269; 581 women, 688 men. Question shown if ownership of mobile phone is selected. The remaining percentage of non-users either did not receive or send voice calls / send messages or did not remember. 1 Average number of calls or messages, calculated for those who did the activity on the previous day. Original questions in German: “Wie viele gewöhnliche Telefongespräche haben Sie gestern (ungefähr) mit dem Mobiltelefon geführt?”, “Wie viele Text-, Bild-, Video- und/oder Tonnachrichten haben Sie gestern (ungefähr) mit dem Mobiltelefon verschickt?” (‘How many ordinary conversations by mobile phone did you have yesterday (approximately)?’, ‘How many text, image and/or video messages in total did you yourself send via mobile phone yesterday (approximately)?’)
Table 10: Mobile phone calls sent and received and messages sent by Austrian participants
aged 60-70 of the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences
in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1, 2016
122 In this context, it is important to note that numbers are difficult to compare as the online questionnaire
asked about phones in the entire household.
123 These numbers are based on data of the European survey on ICT usage in households
(“Europäische Erhebunge über den IKT-Einsatz in Haushalten” (Statistik Austria 2017e). The total numbers
on which the percentages are based are thus the result of extrapolation.
86
While Austrian men and women aged 60 to 70 who participated in the online survey are rather
similar with regard to mobile calls, they differ with regard to mobile messaging. Fewer men
sent text/image/video/sound messages on the previous day and if they did, they on average
sent one message less than the women of the same age group.
Also, when asked about the use of mobile phone functions more generally (not just
on the previous day), text messages and ordinary voice calls where of high importance for
women aged 60 to 70. Almost all of them indicated to use text messages (92.1%)
and voice calls (91.6%).
87
Mobile phone functions used Men (%) Women (%)
SMS 87.9 92.1
Ordinary voice calls 91.3 91.6
Taking photographs 82.0 83.5
Alarm clock and reminders 62.4 68.3
Calendar 57.3 55.2
Instant messaging (WhatsApp, etc.) 40.7 47.3
E-mail 53.5 46.6
Viewing websites via browser 43.2 35.5
MMS (Multimedia Message Services) 26.7 32.2
Recording video 26.7 29.6
Viewing websites via apps 34.0 29.3
Downloading apps 34.6 28.9
GPS and maps 43.0 28.4
Social network sites 20.8 23.8
Games 9.0 18.6
Watching TV or video on mobile 14.0 14.3
Listening to radio 14.7 11.4
Using a phone as a music player 10.6 6.7
Other (mobile usage) 0.9 2.1
Listening to podcast 1.5 0.5
N= 1,269; 581 women, 688 men. Non-exclusive categories. Question shown if ownership of mobile phone is selected. Categories shown in descending order as for % of women who indicated to use this function. Original question in German: “Welche Funktionen nutzen Sie auf Ihrem Mobiltelefon?” (‘Which functions do you use on your mobile phone?’)
Table 11: Use of mobile phone functions by Austrian participants
aged 60-70 of the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences
in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1, 2016
88
However, Austrian women aged 60 to 70 of the sample do not only use their cell phones for
voice calls and text messaging but also for taking pictures (83.5%), management of daily life
through setting alarms and reminders (68.3%), and using calendars (55.2%).
Significant numbers also use instant messaging like WhatsApp (47.3%) and e-mail (46.6%)
on their phones. In this context, it is interesting to note that traditional text messaging is
much more common than Internet-based messaging or multi-media message services (MMS).
When it comes to accessing the Internet on the mobile phone, women aged 60 to 70 do so
slightly more often through the browser (35.5%) than through apps (29.3%). In addition,
more than a fourth uses their mobile phone for downloading apps (28.9%) and GPS and maps
(28.4%), respectively, and a little less than a fourth (23.8%) for accessing social network sites.
In most regards, Austrian women and men aged 60 to 70 of the sample are rather similar in
their use of the mobile phone, with two exceptions: GPS and maps, and games. While GPS and
maps are used by considerably more men than women (43% vs 28.4%), more women play
games on the mobile phone (18.6% vs 9%). This observed difference in gaming within the
sample is in line with the previous elaborations on playing computer games online.
Besides particular media activities and places of use, the first wave of the ACT survey
Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment also explored older adults’
mediated management of social interactions. Among others, participants were asked to indicate
the three kinds of media they would use to re-connect with an old acquaintance with whom
they have lost touch. For Austrian women of the sample aged 60 to 70, the two most prominent
answers were phone call (74%) and e-mail (72.7%). More than a third (36.3%) would also use
phone messaging functions, more than a fourth (26.3%) social network sites, and more than
a fifth (22.4%) would post a letter. As can be seen in Table 12 below, women and men of the
sample were rather similar in their responses to the question of which media they would use
to contact an old acquaintance.
89
Media used to contact old acquaintance (top 3)
Men (%) Women (%)
Phone Call 79.8 74.0
E-mail 74.3 72.7
Phone messaging functions 39.3 36.2
Social network site 21.5 26.3
Posting a letter 15.6 22.4
Other 2.0 2.4
Don’t know 2.6 1.7
N = 1,281; 589 women, 692 men. Non-exclusive categories. Categories shown in descending order as for % of women who indicated use of the medium. Original question in German: “Stellen Sie sich vor, Sie möchten eine Bekannte oder einen Bekannten kontaktieren, zu der oder dem Sie den Kontakt verloren haben. Sie haben die folgenden Möglichkeiten – bitte kreuzen Sie die drei Arten der Kontaktaufnahme an, die Sie am wahrscheinlichsten nutzen würden.“ (‘Imagine that you are going to contact an old acquaintance that you have lost touch with. You have the following options – please indicate the three means of contact that you are most likely to use.’)
Table 12: Media used to contact an old acquaintance by Austrian participants
aged 60-70 of the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences
in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1, 2016
In order to investigate mediated social interactions in everyday life, participants were also asked
how they would communicate a sudden change for a dinner/party invitation they extended
to friends. Again, phone calls and e-mails were most important for women aged 60 to 70,
although phone calls were even more widespread, with 91.5%. Remarkably, more than half
(58.7%) would also use phone messaging functions for a change of invitation. In comparison
to the previous question, it can be stated that mobile messaging is thus used more often for
faster contact with closer people by women aged 60 to 70 of the sample. As Table 13 below
shows, in their mediated interaction with friends, Austrian women and men aged 60 to 70
of the sample do not differ considerably.
90
Media used to announce party/dinner change with friends (top 3)
Men (%) Women (%)
Phone call 93.9 91.5
E-mail 72.1 67.9
Phone messaging functions 57.2 58.7
Social network site 5.9 7.5
Posting a letter 3.2 4.9
Other 0.7 1.7
Don’t know 0.4 0.5
N = 1,281; 589 women, 692 men. Non-exclusive categories. Categories shown in descending order as for % of women who indicated use of the medium. Original question in German: “Stellen Sie sich vor, Sie haben Freunde/Freundinnen für nächste Woche zu einem Abendessen oder zu einer Party eingeladen, müssen nun aber den Termin verschieben. Sie haben die folgenden Möglichkeiten – bitte kreuzen Sie die drei Mitteilungswege an, die Sie am wahrscheinlichsten nutzen würden.“ (‘Imagine that you have invited some friends over for a dinner party or a party next week, and now you need to change the date. You have the following options – please indicate the three means of contact that you are most likely to use.’)
Table 13: Media used to announce a change in a party/dinner invitation to friends
by Austrian participants aged 60-70 of the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study:
Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1, 2016
While Austrian women and men aged 60 to 70 of the survey are vastly similar in their use of
media for interactions with acquaintances and friends, some important differences in terms of
leisurely use of media can be identified. When asked about their most likely leisure activities,
reading printed books, newspapers or magazines, watching TV, and visiting friends or family
were the most common choices for both women and men. However, more women than men
indicated that they were likely to read printed books, newspapers, or magazines (59.8% vs 49%)
and more men than women said they would probably watch TV (53.5% vs 43.8%).
Another noteworthy difference is the use of the phone to call friends or family: more than
a third (36.3%) of the Austrian women aged 60 to 70 would use their free time to call friends
or family, while only about a fourth (24.6%) of the men would do so. This resonates with
findings from the main qualitative strand of the study, which indicates that older women’s
media use, particularly of new media, is often framed by family care work, including the
maintenance of family relationships.
91
Another finding from the quantitative survey is in line with the main qualitative strand
of the study. While a little more than a fourth (26.4%) of the Austrian men aged 60 to 70
of the survey would visit websites in their free time, only about an eight (12.4%) of the women
would do so. This again points to older women’s frequent framing of new media technologies
in terms of family and other social relationships and not primarily in terms of leisure.
Preferred free time activities (top 3) Men (%) Women (%)
Read printed books, newspapers or magazines 49.0 59.8
Watch TV 53.5 43.8
Visit friends or family 33.4 38.2
Call friends or family on the phone 24.6 36.3
Listen to radio 30.8 22.6
Write e-mails to friends or family 14.3 16.5
Use social network sites 14.7 15.8
Send SMS to friends or family 12.9 12.4
Visit websites 26.4 12.4
Listen to music on CD, MP3, or similar 9.5 5.8
Chat online with friends or family 3.3 5.6
Other media use 3.0 5.6
Watch video or DVD 4.8 3.2
Do not know 2.0 2.5
N = 1,281; 589 women, 692 men. Non-exclusive categories. Categories shown in descending order as for % of women who indicated use of the medium. Original question in German: “Stellen Sie sich vor, Sie haben einige Stunden freie Zeit. Sie haben die folgenden Möglichkeiten sich zu beschäftigen – bitte kreuzen Sie die drei Möglichkeiten an, die Sie am wahrscheinlichsten nutzen würden.“ (‘Imagine you have a few hours of free time to yourself. You have the following options – please indicate the three things that you are most likely to do.’)
Table 14: Preferred free time activities by Austrian participants aged 60-70
of the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences
in the Digital Media Environment, wave 1, 2016
Although the Austrian sample of the ACT survey Older Audiences in the
Digital Media Environment is not entirely representative for the ‘older online population,’
it still provides some interesting insights into socio-demographic characteristics
that might influence older women’s online presence and activities. For example,
as stated in subchapter 2.1, the Austrian women aged 60 to 70 who participated in
the online survey were well educated compared to older women from the general
Austrian population, and they also predominantely come form urban areas.
92
These characteristics of the online sample group point to the importance of seeing older women
not as a homogenous group, but as socially stratified, which affects engagement with
information and communication technologies. With regard to media consumption patterns of
the women aged 60 to 70, it is important to note that many results were rather expectable –
for example, writing and reading e-mails and getting news being the most popular
online activities or the home being the most important place for Internet use. However,
other results were perhaps more surprising: for example, the number of older women engaging
in online gaming (which was also substantially higher than the number of men) or
the high amount of women taking pictures with their mobile phones besides using them for
ordinary calls and mobile messages. The analysis showed that the media use of Austrian women
aged 60 to 70 of the online survey is multifaceted both in terms of the persisting relevance of
traditional media formats and the simultaneous importance of newer media, as well as
the variety of ways in which newer media is used.
93
3 Research Design of the Main Qualitative Strand of the Study
This chapter discusses the research design of the main qualitative strand of the empirical study.
Although quantitative data from the ACT Cross-national Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences
in the Digital Media Environment (wave 1, 2016) has been used for illustrating the media use
of women aged 60 to 70 in Austria (see chapter 2), it only constitutes a secondary part
of the project. The main scope of the thesis is a methodologically qualitative investigation
of older Austrian women’s everyday life experiences with ICTs. As illustrated in
the previous chapter, the quantitative data of the ACT survey has primarily been used for
contextualizing findings of the main qualitative strand.
The major qualitative strand of the study employed three methods of data collection:
life graph discussions, loosely structured guided interviews, and walking interviews in
small domestic spaces with older women in their homes. These qualitative methods
were considered to be well suited for answering the main research question of the project,
namely how older women experience information and communication technologies
in everyday life. In the following sections, general methodological considerations and
the use of specific methods of data collection and analysis will be detailed.
3.1 Research Questions
The main qualitative strand of the study investigated past and current ICT experiences of
older women in Austria. Specifically, four main research questions guided
the qualitative inquiry: 1. What meaning do women aged 60 to 70 ascribe to
information and communication technologies such as cell phones, computers, and the Internet,
but also radio and TV in their everyday lives? 2. How does this process of meaning-making
in retirement relate to early phases in their media biographies? 3. How do women aged
60 to 70 use ICTs in their everyday life? 4. Which role do past and current meanings ascribed
to ICTs play in the actual use of these in retirement?
As mentioned before, these research questions were inspired by the fact that in Austria,
a considerable number of older women indicates to not go online. In 2016, only 55.2%
of Austrian women aged 55-74 years declared to have recently used the Internet
(Statistik Austria 2019). While this number has already increased to 61.2% in 2017, and 62.8%
in 2019, it still remains lower than that of men of the same age group (75% for 2017 and
77% for 2019) (Statistik Austria 2019). This statistical representation invites further inquiry.
94
Why or why not are older women in Austria interested in new ICTs, such as the Internet?
How does this compare to more traditional media? If they do use new ICTs in retirement,
for what do they use them? How does all of this relate to earlier media biographies?
And which role do various contexts, such as professional experience or place of residence
(urban/rural) play in this regard? These questions were starting points of
the qualitative investigation.
3.2 Methodology
Two considerations guided the decision to use a qualitative methodology for the main strand
of the study. Firstly, the study is concerned with processes of meaning-making and how these
are linked to everyday actions. As will be discussed below, this analysis is the very domain of
qualitative research. Secondly, as outlined in section 1.4.4, there are relatively few studies
specifically focusing on older women’s experiences with ICTs. Thus, the study at hand aimed
at generating a theoretical understanding of older women’s engagement with ICTs
in retirement, rather than testing pre-set hypotheses on the matter. In contrast to
quantitative methods, qualitative methods are well suited for exploratory research,
since they allow and call for increased openness in the research process (Flick 2016:27;
Lamnek 2010:19–20).
Before discussing further key characteristics of qualitative research, this section will briefly
touch upon some epistemological and theoretical foundations of qualitative methodology.
This is relevant because method and theory are necessarily interconnected (Reichertz 2016:29).
Any method is based on some theoretical assumptions and conversely any method is
a form of theory – of society, social worlds, people’s actions, and knowledge production
(Reichertz 2016:29). Because of this interconnectedness, Reichertz (2016:29) argues,
any sophisticated qualitative method has to involve a basic theory of perception and
production of meaning as well as of the phenomena under investigation.
In terms of its basic orientation, the discipline of sociology differs from both the natural sciences
and the Humanities. As Müller (2007:54) explains, Max Weber – one of the founding figures
of sociology at the turn of the 20th century – conceptualized the social sciences as a
‘third way’124 – methodologically situated in-between the natural sciences and the Humanities.
124 In the German orginal: “dritter Weg” (Müller 2007:54).
95
Preceding Weber’s argument, the German philosopher Wilhelm Dilthey had argued that
the natural sciences aim at ‘[e]xplaining’125 phenomena, ultimately creating
generally applicable laws, while the Humanities focus on ‘understanding’126 phenomena and
describing them in their historical uniqueness (Keller 2012:2; Müller 2007:54).
Weber envisioned sociology to combine both approaches, to generally explain but to also
understand phenomena in their individual form (Müller 2007:54). Why is this relevant
in discussing the research design of a contemporary mixed methods study in sociology
with a main qualitative strand and a supplementing quantitative component?
As Müller (2007:56–57) highlights, the natural sciences approach of explaining is closely
aligned with quantitative research methods, while the Humanities approach of understanding
is more closely aligned with qualitative methods, such as the analysis of text (for example
interview transcripts). Following this line of thought, the project at hand, mainly employing
qualitative methods, is more closely aligned with the general conceptualization of
knowledge production in the Humanities. However, this does not mean that it is
a Humanities project. Although the study offers a detailed description and in-depth
understanding of individual experiences with ICTs and uses of ICTs, it more importantly
identifies general patterns of ascribing meaning to ICTs and the use of ICTs among
older Austrian women. Additionally, the study aimed at developing an empirically grounded
explanatory theoretical understanding of older women’s ICT use in retirement.
Methodologically speaking, the project is grounded in two logics, understanding and
explaining, and is thus inspired by Weber’s conceptualization of sociology.
3.2.1 The Interpretative Paradigm
As Weber outlined in his methodological writings, in order to explain
social phenomena, researchers need to analyze the meaning people ascribe to
their actions, because these meanings ultimately influence what people do (Käsler 1988:176).
Ascriptions of meaning indeed have far-reaching consequences for people’s actions.
125 In the German original: “Erklären” (Müller 2007:54).
126 In the German original: “Verstehen” (Müller 2007:54).
96
As Reichertz (2016:9) argues, referencing the famous Thomas Theorem,127
people’s interpretation of a situation is actually more important than the objective situation
as such. It is their interpretation of a situation upon which they act, and not
objective circumstances. Hence, it is important to understand people’s sense-making and
interpretative processes when investigating their actions (Reichertz 2016:9).128
In sociology, various approaches within the interpretative paradigm have concerned
themselves with the analysis of people’s interpretative practices in general and concrete terms.
Among them are, for example, the Chicago School of Sociology, Symbolic Interactionism,
the Labeling Approach, Grounded Theory, Hermeneutic Sociology of Knowledge,
Ethnomethodology, Conversation Analysis, and Science Studies (Keller 2012:18–19).
Although these and other approaches within the interpretative paradigm differ in
their theoretical considerations, they feature some common characteristics. Essentially,
all approaches within the interpretative paradigm share the idea that social realities are created
through acts of interpretation (Lamnek 2010:32). Keller (2012:17) identifies three main
socio-theoretical assumptions upon which the interpretative paradigm is built: people use signs
and symbols actively and creatively, interpretation and action are interconnected,
and social orders are created through interaction. Originally coined as a term by Thomas Wilson
in the 1970s (Keller 2012:12), the interpretative paradigm draws attention to two
distinct processes: people’s meaning-making and sociologists’ interpretations thereof
(Keller 2012:5). The interpretative paradigm is the counterpart of what Wilson termed
the normative paradigm (Keller 2012:13; Lamnek 2010:32; Mecheril and Rose 2012:117).
Different to the interpretative paradigm, approaches within the normative paradigm assume that
social interaction is rather selection than interpretation. Within the normative paradigm,
people either accept or reject given social roles and norms but they do not necessarily actively
(re-)interpret and negotiate them (Keller 2012:13). The latter, the concern with people’s agency
and potential for creative interpretation, is the focus of interpretative inquiries.
127 Defined by William I. Thomas and Dorothy S. Thomas (Esser 2004:111), the Thomas Theorem states
the following: “If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences” (as cited in Esser 2004:111,
referencing the original publication of Thomas and Thomas from 1928 (572); Reichertz 2016:9).
128 Also citing the Thomas Theorem, Charmaz (2000:523) puts forward a similar argument.
97
In a sociological qualitative research project, it is essential to reference the fundamentals of
the interpretative paradigm. As Lamnek (2010:32) puts it, the interpretative paradigm
constitutes the ‘basic theoretical position’129 of the methodology of qualitative research.
Others, such as Keller (2012:315), also argue that early approaches within the
interpretative paradigm, such as the Chicago School, have indeed paved the way for
contemporary qualitative research in the social sciences.
3.2.2 Principles of Qualitative Research and their Implementation
Despite diversity in specific theoretical strands and concrete methods
(see also Kelle and Kluge 2010:10), all qualitative research shares some common ground.
Lamnek (2010:19) identifies six basic principles of qualitative research: ‘openness,
research as communication, process character of research and matter under investigation,
reflexivity of matter under investigation and analysis, explication, and flexibility.’130
Within the vast literature on qualitative methodology, Lamnek’s (2010:19) overview is among
the most comprehensive and systematic. For this reason, the six principles identified by him
will be used as a guiding structure for discussing core features of qualitative research and
their relevance for this study.
According to Lamnek (2010:19–20), openness in qualitative research involves three main areas:
openness towards participants of the investigation, the research situation, and the
methods employed. This implies entering a project open-minded and actively working on
retaining this mind-set over time. In addition, openness refers to the exploratory character of
qualitative research. Rather than testing hypotheses, it focuses on generating new ones
(Brüsemeister 2008:25, 2008:28; Flick 2016:27; Lamnek 2010:18; Patton 2015:64).
As Patton (2015:11) argues, another particular advantage of the open nature of
qualitative research is the possibility of identifying unanticipated consequences.
With regard to the second principle, the conceptualization of research as communication,
Lamnek (2010:20–21, 2010:318) emphasizes the importance and value of the
interaction between researcher and participant. Any form of qualitative research
has to be understood as shared communication between the people involved.
129 In the German original: “grundlagentheoretische[…] Position” (Lamnek 2010:32).
130 In the German original: “Offenheit, Forschung als Kommunikation, Prozesscharakter von Forschung
und Gegenstand, Reflexivität von Gegenstand und Analyse, Explikation und Flexibilität” (Lamnek 2010:19).
98
Qualitative research refutes the idea of objectivity (Corbin and Strauss 2015:77;
Lamnek 2010:30). As Denzin and Lincoln (2000:8), key figures in the field of
qualitative research, put it: “There are no objective observations, only observations
socially situated in the worlds of – and between – the observer and the observed.”
While the interaction between researcher and participant is often problematized as a threat to
objectivity in quantitative research, it is considered to be an asset in qualitative research
(Flick 2016:29). Here, the basic idea is that the researcher him- or herself is an
“instrument of inquiry” (Patton 2015:3) or “instrument of data collection” (Patton 2015:58)
that, being human, can gain in-depth insights into other human experiences.131 Importantly,
this involves the context-sensitive interpretation of symbols, such as language, to understand
the meaning people ascribe to their actions (Lamnek 2010:30). This demands a high degree of
reflexivity on the part of the researcher with regard to potential bias (Patton 2015:58;
Tracy 2013:25), as well as “sensitivity” in terms of reflexive engagement with data
(Corbin and Strauss 2015:77–78).
Furthermore, qualitative research needs to be understood as a process. According to Lamnek
(2010:21–22), both social phenomena and their investigation are dynamic. Content-wise,
qualitative research focuses on understanding the continuous (re)production of social realities,
not on the discovery of universal social principles (Lamnek 2010:22). Although some
social realities are more stable than others, they are always in flux. Social realities,
people’s lives, and individuals as such keep changing, so the very object of qualitative research
is a process (Charmaz 2000:522). However, as Lamnek (2010:22) states, conducting
a qualitative study is also a process. Most importantly, this refers to his conceptualization of
research as communication, as outlined above.
Because of its interactive and process-like character, qualitative research is also reflexive.
As Lamnek (2010:22) points out, the principle of reflexivity refers to both the matter under
investigation and its analysis. The meanings people ascribe to their experiences and actions are
reflexive because they are always contextual in referring to larger contexts (Lamnek 2010:22).
Examples for this might be systems of social norms or language and cultural systems.
131 The idea of the qualitative researcher as an “instrument” is prominent in the field of qualitative research
and, for example, also expressed by Corbin and Strauss (2015:5), Tracy (2013:25), Kvale (2007:49),
and Kvale and Brinkmann (2009:84).
99
Moreover, the researcher him- or herself has to be reflexive (Flick 2016:29; Lamnek 2010:22;
Patton 2015:70; Tracy 2013:2–3). This involves “deep introspection” (Patton 2015:70),
in order to examine and communicate one’s personal and intellectual vantage points and which
role these points might play in the research process. In the present study, details of
the researcher’s social situatedness will particularly be discussed when reflecting on
the interview process.
In addition to reflecting on their own perspectives, researchers also need to document and
explain what they did in their investigation and how they did it. This is referred to as explication
and involves transparent reporting of the steps taken during a study (Lamnek 2010:23).
As Lamnek (2010:23) emphasizes, explication is necessary to ensure the intersubjectivity
of results. According to Steinke (2007:186), intersubjectivity represents one of four important
quality criteria of qualitative research. It involves the documentation of methodological
decisions, including methods of data collection and analysis, procedures of sampling and
transcription, as well as the gathered data as such (Steinke 2007:186). Ideally, intersubjectivity
means that others can gain a detailed understanding of the research process,
theoretically enabling them to replicate it.
Although some doubt exists about the feasibility of establishing general quality criteria for
qualitative research due to the field’s diversity (e. g. Patton 2015:679), Steinke’s
(2007:181–87) suggestion of the four criteria seems to be a useful starting point. In addition to
‘intersubjective traceability,’132 Steinke (2007:181–87) suggests ‘adequacy of methods,’133
‘empirical grounding,’134 and ‘generalizability’135 as general criteria for quality assurance
in qualitative research.
The methods chosen in a research project need to be appropriate for the matter
under investigation. In accordance with other prominent scholars of qualitative methodology
(e.g. Brüsemeister 2008; Flick 2016:26–27; Lamnek 2010:28), Steinke (2007:181–82)
highlights that openness and flexibility of methods play a crucial role in this context. Participants
must be granted sufficient scope to express themselves freely (Steinke 2007:181).
132 In the German original: “Intersubjektive Nachvollziehbarkeit” (Steinke 2007:186).
133 In the German original: “Indikation der Methoden” (Steinke 2007:181).
134 In the German original: “Empirische Verankerung” (Steinke 2007:183).
135 In the German original: “Verallgemeinerbarkeit” (Steinke 2007:185).
100
In the study at hand, this was realized by employing multiple qualitative research methods.
Particularly the walking interviews in small domestic spaces helped to reduce power imbalances
between researcher and participants and invited multiple ways of sharing knowledge.
Additionally, in the present study, the researcher visited interviewees for considerable
stretches of time, in order to build sufficient trust for the sharing of ambivalent experiences.
However, the aptitude of methods does not only matter with regard to data collection,
but also with regard to analysis. Any analysis should carefully consider participants’
perspectives and avoid inadequate theoretical contextualization that does not truly
fit the material (Steinke 2007:182). In the study at hand, the analysis of the qualitative material
was repeated several times, in an effort to represent participants’ voices as adequately
as possible.
In addition, the analysis was also empirically grounded. According to Steinke (2007:183–85),
‘empirical grounding’136 involves the provision of relevant quotations to underpin
theoretical claims, the discussion of counterexamples, and validation of results by members of
the researched group. While the latter was not considered to be productive in the present study,
due to the high level of abstraction of the analysis (Steinke 2007:184), the other two were.
In the main qualitative strand of the study, theoretical induction was firmly grounded in
interviewees’ statements and counterexamples of general patterns were discussed openly
and critically (see chapters 4-6).
The quality of a qualitative research project also depends on the transferability of its findings
(Steinke 2007:185). Obviously, this is a complicated matter in qualitative research,
given its usually small and purposeful samples (e.g. Patton 2015:52). Steinke (2007:185)
discusses three ways of enabling transferability in qualitative research. Firstly, cases should
be described in a detailed manner to help audiences identify other potentially relevant contexts
themselves (Steinke 2007:185). Secondly, and complementary to the first suggestion,
final theoretical models should only include the most essential elements that make a difference
in peoples’ experiences (Steinke 2007:185). Steinke’s (2007:186) third suggestion
to improve the transferability of qualitative findings is to employ triangulation.
136 In the German original: “Empirische Verankerung” (Steinke 2007:183).
101
In the present study, the transferability of qualitative results was assured by detailed description
of cases, theoretical abstraction, as well as triangulation. Chapters 4-6 discuss findings of
the main qualitative strand of the study in detail, while chapter 7 integrates essential findings
into a theoretical model. Moreover, multiple qualitative methods were used to investigate
older women’s ICT experiences. Additionally, quantitative data has been used to illustrate
the broader context and relevance of the findings obtained in the qualitative strand
(see chapter 2). In doing so, consistencies as well as inconsistencies have been discussed.
As mentioned above, the fourth quality criteria suggested by Steinke (2007:186–87)
is intersubjectivity. In this study, intersubjectivity was accomplished through the extensive
discussion of methodological considerations, design and application of qualitative methods
of data collection (see subchapter 3.3), recruitment of interviewees (see subchapter 3.4),
transcription (see subchapter 3.5), modes of qualitative analysis (see subchapter 3.6),
and strategies of reporting qualitative research findings (see subchapter 3.7).
In addition to openness, focus on communication and process, reflexivity, and explication,
Lamnek (2010:23, 2010:319) finally identifies flexibility as a key principle of
qualitative research. As Lamnek (2010:23) emphasizes, exploration necessarily implies
flexibility because what is relevant and what is not can only be established in the course of
the research process. Importantly, flexibility in qualitative research also involves a cyclical
procedure of data collection and interpretation that allows for shifting foci and narrowing down
of topics when the research is already under way (Lamnek 2010:24). The cyclical collection of
qualitative data is also recommended in “Grounded Theory” (Glaser and Strauss 2009 [1967];
Corbin and Strauss 2015), which informed the present study as a general research methodology.
3.2.3 Constructivist Grounded Theory
One specific strand of the interpretative paradigm particularly inspired the methodology of
this study: Grounded Theory (Glaser and Strauss 2009 [1967]; Corbin and Strauss 2015).
The present study aimed at developing a firmly empirically grounded theoretical understanding
of older women’s ICT use (see chapter 7). Glaser and Strauss’ (2009 [1967]) as well as
Corbin and Strauss’ (2015) considerations provided some useful guidelines and techniques
for attaining this goal. In particular, the version of Grounded Theory developed by
Corbin and Strauss (2015) guided the inquiry.
102
In terms of epistemological basics, the study aligns with a constructionist version of
Grounded Theory, as proposed by Charmaz (2000). This implies the assumption that there is
no objective social world ‘out there,’ ready to be discovered by the researcher.137 There is
no single, objective truth to be found in the accounts shared by participants. Rather, as Charmaz
(2000:522) poignantly puts it: “[…] a constructivist approach recognizes that the categories,
concepts, and theoretical level of analysis emerge from the researcher’s interaction within
the field and questions about the data.” This emphasis on interaction and co-creation of research
resonates with Kvale’s (2007:19–20) and Kvale and Brinkmann’s (2009:48–49) metaphor of
the qualitative researcher, specifically the interviewer, as “traveler.” While researchers who
understand themselves as “miners” strive to discover “uncontaminated” data, researchers who
think of themselves as “travelers” self-reflexively co-construct “stories” with those they meet
on their investigative journeys (Kvale 2007:19–20; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:48–49).138
As Corbin and Strauss (2015:26) point out, constructivism assumes the interrelation of two
processes of construction: participants construct stories, which the researcher, in turn,
uses to construct a theory of the matter under investigation (Corbin and Strauss 2015:26).139
In terms of ontology, such a perspective aligns with a relativist standpoint.
Relativism emphasizes the social construction of social realities through people’s interactions
(King, Horrocks, and Brooks 2019:24).
However, this does not mean that constructivist researchers claim that there are no
social realities at all, at least until they begin investigating them. – There is a material world
‘out there’ and so are the lived realities of people, as Corbin and Strauss (2015:25–26)
also emphasize. In this context, Charmaz’ (2000:523) distinction between “the real” and
“the true” seems to be useful. Constructivist Grounded Theory is interested in “the real,”
in people’s lived realities, but it is less interested in defining a single, ever-lasting “truth”
(Charmaz 2000:523). This also implies that a constructivist version of Grounded Theory is
self-reflexive (Charmaz 2000:523). It recognizes its temporal and spatial situatedness.
137 Referencing the work of Clifford Geertz (1973, as cited in Corbin and Strauss 2015:25), Corbin and Strauss
(2015:25) make a similar argument for Grounded Theory’s epistemological standpoint more generally.
138 Denzin and Lincoln (2000:21) refer to this understanding of the research process as co-creation as
“subjectivist epistemology.”
139 Gray (1992:33), in her seminal study on women’s use of the VCR, refers to this process as
“double interpretation.”
103
It acknowledges the contexts in which it has been produced and thus necessarily understands
research as co-creation of researcher and participants (Corbin and Strauss 2015:29).
As King et al. (2019:40–41) argue, contextualism – the emphasis on historical, cultural,
and social contexts in which research is produced – is an important feature of constructivist
Grounded Theory.
Another important epistemological feature of Grounded Theory is its inductive orientation.
Induction refers to a development of theory out of data. In qualitative inductive research,
theory “emerges” (Patton 2015:18) from what researcher finds in the field.140 Put simply,
in terms of logics, inductive research is rather a bottom-up than a top-down approach.
Inductive research starts from multiple, repeated, and non-contradictory observations and uses
them to come up with generalizations (Chalmers 1982:3–5). This is different from
deductive research, which starts out with general laws and, under the consideration of
a specific observation, arrives at a conclusion (Chalmers 1982:5–7). While no investigation
can be exclusively inductive since some theoretical elements necessarily have to precede
any form of observation (Chalmers 1982:16),141 Grounded Theory focuses on the inductive
creation of knowledge (Glaser and Strauss 2009 [1967]:46). Its main features are emphasis on
the construction of theory, inductive development of concepts and categories, as well as
alternating collection and analysis of data (Corbin and Strauss 2015:7, 2015:15). The ultimate
aim of the approach is to develop a middle-range theory to explain dynamics identified in
the data (Charmaz 2000:509). Corbin and Strauss (2015:13) describe the development of
a grounded theory as “integration” of data. This involves description as well as abstraction and
identification of interrelations. At the heart of a Grounded Theory study is the development
of a “core category,” an abstract concept covering the main phenomena discovered
(Corbin and Strauss 2015:13). This core category is then related to other relevant categories
and concepts that should explain its occurrence, variation, and implications
(Corbin and Strauss 2015:13). It is noteworthy that Grounded Theory creates theories that
are provisional, open to future adaption and elaboration (Charmaz 2000:524). Their distinct
value lies in their firm empirical grounding, as well as the connection of the concrete and
the abstract, which promotes the transferability of findings.
140 Brüsemeister (2008:25) also uses the term ‘having [something] emerge’ (“emergieren lassen”) discussing
the inductive logic of qualitative research.
141 Brüsemeister (2008:24–25) has emphasized this also in the specific context of qualitative
social science research.
104
However, Grounded Theory does not only offer epistemological orientation and basic
research strategies, such as cyclical data collection and analysis, or theory development
through abstraction. Importantly, Grounded Theory also provides specific techniques for
data analysis. These will be discussed in more detail in subchapter 3.6, which focuses on
analytical procedures employed in the main qualitative strand of the study.
3.3 Qualitative Research Methods
The main qualitative strand of the study employed three methods of data collection:
life graph discussions, loosely structured guided interviews, and walking interviews in
small domestic spaces. This mix of methods was chosen for two reasons: ‘triangulation
of perspectives’142 (Brüsemeister 2008:29) and methods development. The use of several
qualitative methods enables participants to share their experiences in multiple ways.
In addition to investigating older women’s ICT experiences from multiple perspectives,
a secondary aim of the project was to contribute to methods development. In this context,
the present study explored what difference the method of walking interviews in small domestic
spaces makes in investigating older women’s ICT experiences.
3.3.1 Life Graph Discussions
Life graphs – or timelines – are visual representations of life experiences produced by
research participants themselves. They are part of the visual research methods spectrum
(King et al. 2019:187). Sometimes, they are also referred to as “projective techniques”
(Keegan 2008, 2009) or “diagramming approaches” (King et al. 2019:206). Life graphs and
timelines have been used in different contexts, as elicitation methods, to establish rapport,
but also as research material in their own right. Originally developed in therapy settings
(Bravington and King 2019:507; King et al. 2019:213), visual methods, such as life graphs
and timelines, are also used in commercial qualitative research (Keegan 2008, 2009),
teaching of autobiographic writing (Birren and Cochran 2001:68), and academic qualitative
research in various thematic areas (e.g. Hallmann 2019; Kolar et al. 2015; Shove n.d. n.d.).
142 In the German original: “Perspektiventriangulation” (Brüsemeister 2008:29).
105
In the present study, a graphic exhibit by Shove (n.d.),143 discussed in a presentation by Howell
(2014) and further material presented by Howell (2014), inspired the use of life graphs.
Participants of the main qualitative strand of the study were provided with an empty template
of a life graph (see Figure 1 below, as well as Appendix) to fill out before the
interview appointment. Participants received the template either via e-mail (if they
had indicated using e-mail or having access to it through others) or in person at
a prior meeting.144 The graph consisted of an x- and a y-axis. The x-axis indicated a participant’s
years of life (from 0 years to present) and the y-axis the intensity of media usage (from ‘not
used’ to ‘used at lot’). Participants were asked to note down how their use of three exemplary
kinds of media – radio, TV, and Internet – has developed over their life course. Below the graph,
two boxes allowed for the annotation of additional information, references, and memories,
as well as feelings and opinions related to their media biography.
Figure 1: Life graph template for interviewees
143 Available online (see references), as mentioned in a presentation by Howell (2014).
144 Participants were also offered the option to receive the template via regular mail. None of the participants
chose this option.
106
The template for participants included an additional sheet with instructions, as well as
an example of a life graph representing a media biography that drew on autobiographical
experiences of the researcher (see Appendix). The instructions mentioned that the life graph’s
main function was to serve as a cue sheet during the later conversation and that it might help
the participant in reflecting on the role various media have played over the life course.
They also included a reference to the sample life graph, explaining that this represented
the researcher’s own media biography. Instructions emphasized that participants were free to
orient themselves towards the example provided or to choose a different way to represent
their media biography. In addition, explanations of what the x- and y-axes denominated
were provided. The boxes for additional comments were also mentioned. The instructions
closed with highlighting that there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to work with the life graph and
that they were free to engage with it in any way they wanted. If they, for example,
preferred just to write and not to draw a graph, this was also fine. Lastly, contact information
for further questions was provided and, as in the beginning, participants were thanked for
their time and support of the study.
All but one participant (I3) filled out the life graph before the interview appointment.145
After some small talk and sitting down at a kitchen or coffee table in the interviewee’s home,
the life graph prepared by the participant was used as a starting point for the conversation.
After confirming the informed consent of participants, ensuring confidentiality, and again
thanking them for contributing to the study, they were usually asked to share their life graph
and explain what they had noted down. Thus, the life graph was used as a method of
establishing rapport and not treated as research material in terms of visual data. However,
the conversation about the life graph was very much part of the research material.
The discussion about the life graph then seamlessly transitioned into a guided interview about
media experiences.
145 Although I3 did not prepare a life graph prior to the interview, the conversation included the discussion of
media biography memories. Instead of using the life graph as a prompt, the interviewer asked the interviewee
about her childhood media memories. Compared to other interviews, it took a considerable amount of time to
establish rapport with I3. In addition to the fact that she had initially forgotten about the appointment, also not
having had the chance to reflect on media biographical memories in preparing the life graph is likely to
have contributed to the slow start of the interview. This is noteworthy as it highlights the usefulness of life graphs
in establishing rapport with interviewees.
107
As King, Harocks, Brooks (2019:188, 2019:213), and Keegan (2008:686, 2009:171, 2009:174)
have argued, visual methods, such as timelines or life graphs, invite reflection and help
participants access areas of the mind that are usually less accessible in everyday life,
including implicit associations or beliefs. The discussion of visual representations created by
participants can elicit content they might have not thought of before (Keegan 2009:172).
Visual methods can also assist participants in recalling past experiences (Keegan 2009;
King et al. 2019:170; Kolar et al. 2015:26), in reflecting on them (Kolar et al. 2015:25,
2015:28), and in differentiating more clearly between different memories (Keegan 2009:170).
Generally, they are a useful tool for interviewees to reduce the complexity of the information
they want to share (King et al. 2019:206; Kolar et al. 2015:26). However, reversely,
graphic elicitation methods can also assist participants in complicating their accounts in
a productive manner, by adding comparisons and evaluations to mere descriptions
(Bravington and King 2019:507, 2019:509), as well as highlighting continuities and
discontinuities of experiences (Bravington and King 2019:515).
In addition to supporting participants in creating the stories they want to share with
the researcher, visual methods are also helpful in framing the research situation more generally.
At the beginning, they can help give interviewees a better idea of what the interview is about
(Bravington and King 2019:507; King et al. 2019:206; Kolar et al. 2015:24), actively include
them in the research process (Keegan 2009:174; King et al. 2019:187; Kolar et al. 2015:25),
and establish rapport (Kolar et al. 2015:24). During an interview, they can help keep
the discussion structured and focused (Bravington and King 2019; King et al. 2019:214;
Kolar et al. 2015:507). And lastly, they can help counter imbalances in power
(King et al. 2019:189, 2019:195; Kolar et al. 2015:24), when participants set their own priorities
in discussing their visual creations (King et al. 2019:195).
However, as any other method, visual elicitation methods have their disadvantages. It takes
additional time for participants to create visual materials (Keegan 2009:199;
Kolar et al. 2015:29) and it is necessary to provide sufficient information and guidance
(King et al. 2019:199). The ability of participants to represent their experiences visually might
vary (Bravington and King 2019:517). Additionally, some participants might enjoy working
with visual materials more than others (King et al. 2019:216–17; Kolar et al. 2015:29).
For some, the request to draw might create stress (Bravington and King 2019:517).
Nevertheless, as can be inferred from the discussion of the literature, as well as experiences
gained in this project, the advantages of employing visual elicitation methods seem to prevail.
108
The life graphs were primarily used to provide participants with an opportunity to think about
their media experiences prior to the interview appointment. Use of media, such as TV, radio,
and Internet, is a mundane practice. Asked on the spot, it might be rather difficult to remember
how one has been engaging with various media over the life course. Thus, the life graph seemed
to be a useful tool promoting reflection and engagement with the topic. Moreover,
the life graph discussions were used to biographically frame the guided interview and ensure
that interviewees would discuss past as well as present media experiences. In both regards,
the life graphs and most importantly their discussion, have met their purpose. Interviewees who
had prepared a life graph shared rich and detailed accounts on their media
biographical experiences. In explicitly inviting older women to share early media memories,
the present study builds on the work of Suopajärvi (2015:115, 2015:121) and Bolin
(2017b:68, 2017a:30) who also made it a point to include references to media biographies into
the analysis of older adults’ ICT use.
3.3.2 Qualitative Guided Interviews
In the empirical social sciences, interviews constitute the method most commonly employed
(Brüsemeister 2008:15). Nevertheless, as Lamnek (2010:302) points out, interviewing does not
represent a single, unified method. A helpful way to sort different types of research interviews
is to consider their predefined structure (Diekmann 2013:437; Lamnek 2010:306–7).
Some interviews are highly structured, such as interviews conducted for a quantitative survey,
while others are very open and focus on the narratives participants themselves want to share
(Brüsemeister 2008:15; Diekmann 2013:437–38; Lamnek 2010:306–7). As can be inferred
from this basic characterization, interviews are an important method for both quantitative and
qualitative research (Fontana and Frey 2000:646; Lamnek 2010:302–3). The following sections
will first focus on general features of qualitative interviews, then discuss the type and design of
the qualitative interviews conducted, subsequently detail the question guide used, and finally
elaborate on the interviewing process of the present study.
109
3.3.2.1 Key Characteristics of Qualitative Interviews
Although qualitative interviews are arguably closer to everyday life conversations than highly
structured survey interviews, they still differ considerably from mundane communication.
Most importantly, different to more mundane conversations in everyday life,
qualitative interviews are purposeful conversations (Brennen 2013:27; Kvale 2007:11;
Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:3; Lamnek 2010:301). This means they are conducted for
a specific reason – research – and do not occur spontaneously. Different to some conversations
in everyday life, qualitative interviews are also focused (Kvale 2007:12;
Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:31), revolving around a specific topic that is at the heart of
the research project.146 Often, topics of interest in qualitative interview projects are
people’s lived experiences and the meaning people ascribe to those experiences
(Diekmann 2013:531; Hopf 2013:350; King et al. 2019:17, 2019:78; Kvale 2007:10–11;
Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:1). Here, special focus is placed on people’s specific experiences,
rather than solely considering general opinions and assessments (Kvale 2007:12;
Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:30). Qualitative interviews aim at understanding people’s
subjective perspectives and sense-making processes. In doing so, they focus on generating
a nuanced and in-depth understanding of people’s experiences, not so much on
developing all-encompassing generalizations (Diekmann 2013; Kvale 2007:11–12;
Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:532).
With regard to how this understanding is achieved, qualitative interview approaches strongly
emphasize the interactive nature of knowledge creation. In literature on qualitative interviews,
they are consistently portrayed as interactions during which interviewer and interviewee
actively co-construct knowledge (Fontana and Frey 2000:646, 2000:663; King et al. 2019:17;
Kvale 2007:1, 2007:11–14; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:2, 2009:17–18, 2009:32, 2009:82;
Lamnek 2010:318–19). The qualitative interview is, for example, seen as a
“negotiated text” (Fontana and Frey 2000:663) or a mutual “inter-change of views”
(Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:2). As the literature review revealed, the interactive character of
the qualitative interview seems to be its most widely recognized feature.
146 As Silverman (1997:117) points out, another key feature of interviews are alternating phases of questions
and answers. Although sometimes also occurring in everyday life, they are a more common feature in interviews
(Silverman 1997:117)
110
A second commonly cited attribute of qualitative interviews is their openness.
Qualitative interviews are open in two respects: they are open to the ambiguity of life,
as shared in interviewees’ accounts, and they simultaneously also require an openness of the
research process and the researcher (Kvale 2007:13; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:31).
More frequently, the latter is emphasized when discussing qualitative interviews,
drawing attention to the need for flexibility in the design of the research process
(King et al. 2019:17; Lamnek 2010:306, 2010:316, 2010:318).
Although the short summary above illustrates that there is a shared understanding of
core features of qualitative interviews in the qualitative research community, it does not
diminish their diversity in terms of concrete application. There are numerous kinds of
qualitative interviews (for an overview, see, for example, Hopf 2013:351–57;
Kvale 2007:70–77; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:147–60; Lamnek 2010:326–50).
According to Hopf (2013:351), moderately structured qualitative interviews are particularly
common in practice. This means that qualitative interviewers often do use a question guide,
but take freedom in how to exactly phrase questions or in which order to ask them
(Hopf 2013:351).
3.3.2.2 Type and Design of Qualitative Interview
Because this study aligns with an understanding of qualitative interviewing as a
somewhat flexible “craft,” as proposed by Kvale (2007:48–49) and Kvale and Brinkmann
(2009:15;82;84-95), rather than as a fixed method, it is somewhat difficult to establish the exact
type of interview used for this investigation. There are, however, several ways of framing it.
These are certainly guided interviews (e.g. Helfferich 2009:179; Lamnek 2010:326) since they
involved the use of a carefully prepared question guide. Yet, many different kinds of interviews
include the use of a question guide.
In terms of specific types of qualitative interviews, this study most closely aligns with two kinds
of interviews described in the literature; the “semi-structured life world interview,”
as conceptualized by Kvale (2007:10–11) and Kvale and Brinkmann (2009:27) and
Witzel’s (1985) “problem-centered interview.”147
147 In the German original: “problemzentriertes Interview” (Witzel 1985).
111
The qualitative interviews of the present study involved many aspects mentioned in
Kvale’s (2007:10–11) and Kvale and Brinkmann’s (2009:27) description of a
semi-structured life world interview, such as a focus on understanding people’s everyday lives
and ascriptions of meaning. According to them, a semi-structured life world interview
“[…] is conducted according to an interview guide that focuses on certain themes and that may
include suggested questions. The interview is usually transcribed, and the written text and sound
recording together constitute the materials for the subsequent analysis of meaning”
(Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:27). In basic terms, this describes the qualitative interviews
conducted for this project well.
Similarities and differences between the problem-centered interview and the
qualitative interviews conducted for this study will be discussed subsequently by means of
a comparison based on seven important points of Witzel’s (1985) seminal chapter on
the problem-centered interview: starting points of the investigation, interplay of researcher’s
and participants’ perspectives, methodological standpoint, integration of methods, types of
data collected, conversational strategies and techniques, and strategies of analysis.
According to Witzel (1985:230), the starting point of a problem-centered interview is always
a societal problem identified by the researcher. In this context, he calls for the reflection and
systematization of a researcher’s knowledge prior to data collection (Witzel 1985:230).
The qualitative interviews of the present study took a societal problem as their starting point
as well. The main research question of this project is how older women experience ICTs,
such as the Internet, in their everyday lives. This question was deemed to be interesting because
of the fact that there still is a considerable number of older women in Austria which does not
use the Internet (Statistik Austria 2019). This represents a problem in terms of potential
exclusion in an increasingly digital society. In Witzel’s (1985) terms, this very issue of potential
exclusion was the societal problem identified by the researcher prior to the investigation.
However, despite taking the researcher’s initial conceptualization of a societal problem as
a starting point, the problem-centered interview also focuses on interviewees’ genuine
perspectives on the issue (Lamnek 2010:336). Hence, the problem-centered interview includes
the simultaneous focus on two different, but inter-related kinds of problems: a societal issue
identified by the researcher and the problems as described by the person interviewed
(Witzel 1985:231-232;250).
112
As Lamnek (2010:336) points out, the problem-centered interview combines deductive and
inductive logics in the research process. Using a potential societal issue as a starting point,
but foregrounding older women’s own narratives of ICT experiences in the research process,
the study at hand aligns with this double meaning Witzel (1985:231–32, 1985:250) ascribed to
the adjective of “problem-centered.”
Also in terms of methodological orientation, Witzel’s (1985:227–30) recourse to
basic principles of the interpretative paradigm, such as openness, acknowledgement of
the importance of interactions and process, and contextuality, corresponds with epistemological
and ontological assumptions that guided this project. Although quantitative data has also
been used to illustrate the broader scope of the researched phenomena (see chapter 2),
the main strand of the study is qualitative in its orientation.
Another similarity with Witzel (1985) and the interviews conducted for this study is
the integration of multiple methods. Witzel (1985:230) argued for the integration of
the problem-centered interview with case analysis, biographical methods, group discussions,
and content analysis (also see Lamnek 2010:332;336). Not all of these methods have been used
in the study at hand. However, it also combined multiple methods of data collection
and analysis. In addition to contrasting findings of the main qualitative strand of the study with
quantitative results, the main qualitative strand as such used three methods of data collection:
life graph discussions, qualitative guided interviews, and walking interviews in small
domestic spaces. Also, the analysis of the qualitative material employed multiple methods.
It was inspired by key strategies and techniques of Grounded Theory (Corbin and Strauss 2015;
Glaser and Strauss 2009 [1967]) and focused on creating an empirically grounded
theoretical model. Additionally, it followed steps of Kuckartz’ (2018) ‘qualitative
content-structuring content analysis’148 and also built on strategies of creating typologies
outlined by Kluge and Kelle (2010). Thus, the problem-centered interview and the
guided qualitative interviews conducted for this study certainly coincide in their richness of
analytical perspectives.
148 In the German original: “inhaltlich strukturierende qualitative Inhaltsanalyse” (Kuckartz 2018).
113
With regard to the types of data collected, the present interviews and the problem-centered
interview also share more similarities than differences. Witzel (1985:236) suggested the use of
a short questionnaire, a question guide for the interview, voice recording, and a postscript
(also see Lamnek 2010:335). In the study at hand, all of these instruments were
employed.149, 150 It also used the question guide151 during the interview as proposed by
Witzel (1985:236–37): flexibly and attentively.
It also employed variations of the conversational strategies suggested by Witzel (1985:245),
which include: generating narrative at the beginning, ‘general exploration,’152
‘specific probing,’153 and ‘ad-hoc-questions’154 (Witzel 1985:245; also see Lamnek 2010:335).
Witzel (1985:245) recommends beginning an interview with a question that is open,
easy to answer, and likely to generate narrative. It is important to initially grant interviewees
enough space to develop their narratives, because subsequently they can be used as
a guiding structure for the remainder of the interview (Witzel 1985:245–46).
Generating narrative also represented a key strategy of the main qualitative strand of this study.
Although narrative is important for the problem-centered interview, it also relies on
guiding questions. Hopf (2013:353) poignantly describes the problem-centered interview as
a compromise between a semi-structured interview and a narrative interview. Thus,
in addition to generating narrative, another conversational strategy Witzel (1985:247)
recommends is general exploration. During general exploration, the interviewer should
learn more about the everyday life of a participant and stimulate his or her memory
(Witzel 1985:247). In the present study, this was realized by discussing the main topics of
the question guide. In doing so, participants were encouraged to remember and share concrete
examples from their lives.
149 Postscripts – here referred to as recording sheets – were only made if the interview situation as such seemed
to be particularly noteworthy in some regard (in 5 cases). Recording sheets consisted of a form based on
a sample form and accompanying instructions by Helfferich (2009:193;201).
150 For all instruments used in the empirical investigation, see Appendix.
151 The question guide, as well as a short questionnaire used for the qualitative interviews was largely based on
a case study protocol and interview outline by Fernández-Ardèvol (2014; 2013) that she kindly shared with the
author by e-mail (Fernández-Ardèvol 2014a). For a detailed discussion of the question guide, see section 3.3.2.3.
152 In the German original: “allgemeine Sondierungen” (Witzel 1985:245).
153 In the German original: “spezifische Sondierungen” (Witzel 1985:245).
154 In the German original: “Ad-hoc-Fragen” (Witzel 1985:245).
114
In addition to generating narrative and ensuring general exploration, Witzel (1985:247)
also suggests the strategy of specific probing, to gain a more detailed understanding of
participants’ experiences. Techniques that can be employed with regard to specific probing are
offering interpretations of what has been said, asking clarifying questions, and sometimes also
asking confrontational questions (Witzel 1985:247). In this study, only the first two techniques
were used. Particularly, participants were encouraged to add more details to their accounts.
Lastly, according to Witzel, (1985:250), ad-hoc-questions assist the interviewer in determining
the accuracy of his/her interpretations on the spot and examining areas that have not been
touched upon but seem to be relevant (Witzel 1985:250). The interviews conducted did indeed
include ad-hoc questions, particularly when surprising elements were brought up that had to be
pursued further, or when the interviewer was not sure whether her interpretation was correct.
With regard to the latter, not only the guided qualitative interviews but also the
walking interviews proved to be productive.
Similarly, Witzel (1985) also thought of a set of analytical strategies to be employed in the
problem-centered interview. These include making ‘methodological comments,’155 ensuring
a ‘form of controlled interpretation,’156 and ‘comparative systematization’157
(Witzel 1985:243–44; also see Lamnek 2010:335–56). Witzel (1985:243) recommends
annotating transcripts with methodological comments pertaining to an interview’s atmosphere
as well as to problems that have occurred in the communication. The main interpretative work
should then be done collaboratively in a team, to ensure a controlled form of interpretation and
ultimately also the validity of the analysis (1985:243). The last step in the analysis should be a
systematic and comparative generalization of the most important findings (Witzel 1985:244).
In terms of general analytical strategies, the interviews conducted differ considerably from
Witzel’s (1985) problem-centered interview. The analysis of the qualitative material did not
include either methodological commenting158 or controlled interpretation in a team.
The analysis was solely done by the author. Only comparative systematization played a role in
the analytical process, in terms of creating comparative generalizations from the material.
155 In the German original: “methodologische[…] Kommentierungen (Witzel 1985:243).
156 In the German original: “kontrollierte[…] Form der Interpretation” (Witzel 1985:243,
italics and bold in original).
157 In the German original: vergleichende[…] Systematisierung (Witzel 1985:244, italics and bold in original).
158 Although transcripts were not annotated with methodological comments, the analysis of
the qualitative material did, however, include in-depth methodological reflections. Many of them are documented
in two separate methods papers (Ratzenböck 2016b, 2017b, also see section 3.3.3).
115
To sum up: The qualitative interviews conducted were guided (e.g. Helfferich 2009:179;
Lamnek 2010:326), inspired by Kvale (2007:10–11) and Kvale and Brinkmann’s (2009:27)
semi-structured life world interview, and shared many methodological assumptions as well as
practical strategies of Witzel’s (1985) problem-centered interview.
3.3.2.3 Question Guide
As discussed above, the qualitative interviews of the present study aimed at combining narrative
and structured elements of interviewing. According to Helfferich (2009:179), in this case,
using a question guide (see Appendix) is particularly helpful. Generally, guided interviews need
to strike a delicate balance. On the one hand, spontaneity in conversations leads to richer
accounts by interviewees (Kvale 2007:57; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:131). On the other hand,
structuring conversations makes their analysis easier later on (Kvale 2007:57;
Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:131). Thus, the qualitative interviews conducted for this study used
a question guide that provided structure for the conversations but also left room for
individual variations. Adhering to qualitative research’s principle of intersubjectivity
(Lamnek 2010:23; Steinke 2007:186, also see section 3.2.2), the following remarks will
elaborate on the question guide’s design, contents, and administration.
As King et al. (2019:90) point out, there are basically three sources of knowledge that can be
incorporated into a question guide: the researcher’s own ideas and experiences,
preliminary investigations, and literature from the field. In the study at hand, the last source
played a particularly important role. Theoretical concepts that partly influenced the design of
the question guide were: Mannheim’s (1952 [1927/28]) idea of “generation location,”
Schäffer’s (2009:42) concept of ‘media practice cultures’ and Maierhofer’s (2003, 2004b,
2004a, 2007, 2012) approach of anocriticism. Largely, however, the question guide was based
on a case study protocol and interview outline by Fernández-Ardèvol (2014; 2013).
Fernández-Ardèvol’s (2014b) outline had originally been used for case studies on
older people’s interaction with cell phones. Many of the questions suggested by
Fernández-Ardèvol (2014b) regarding the cell phone have been extended to the computer,
Internet, TV, and radio in the present study. Either similar (translated) questions or moderate to
considerate reformulations of questions (while adhering to the main idea) have been used. 159
159 The question guide shared by Fernández-Ardèvol (2014) was in English. Similar and adapted questions
were thus translated into German by the author.
116
Considering the life graph discussions as related to but separate from the core of the qualitative
interviews, the question guide consisted of four thematic areas: media biography, use and
evaluation of ICTs, general strategies of ICT use, and general assessments. The number of
topics addressed is thus rather large for a guided qualitative interview (Helfferich 2009:185).
Nevertheless, the question guide designed for the study proved to be a useful tool for the
investigation. Because it was used flexibly, the thematic variety did not disrupt the flow of the
conversation.
The interview guide was carefully crafted, taking into account design recommendations from
the literature. As Helfferich (2009:181) points out, a good question guide is more than just
a list of questions to be asked. It is structured and organizes questions in a manner which
supports the natural flow of the conversation and generates rich material on the topics of interest
(Helfferich 2009:181). As recommended by Witzel (1985:245), Helfferich (2009:181),
Kvale (2007:60), and Kvale and Brinkmann (2009:135), the question guide of the present study
began with introducing an open question which aimed at generating narrative.
It encouraged participants to continue the story they had already started to share during
the life graph discussion. The opening question of the core interview was phrased as follows:
‘If you think back to your childhood, which kind of media devices did you have in
your childhood home (e.g. radio)? What was it like back then?’160 Particularly the question of
‘What was it like back then?’ was meant to encourage participants to share their story and allow
them to set their own priorities in their narratives. This first section on media biographies also
inquired about current media use and disruptions of media use during different phases of
the life course. Concluding the first section, the guide carefully led from past to present,
first addressing ICT experiences during the working life (if not mentioned before)
and ultimately current ICT experiences in retirement.
The second and most substantial section of the guide revolved around the use and evaluation
of specific ICTs (computer, Internet, cell phone, TV, radio) in everyday life. In Witzel’s
(1985:247) terminology, this part of the guide was mostly concerned with ‘general exploration.’
As noted, this section was largely based on Fernández-Ardèvol’s (2014b) interview outline.
Although questions have been arranged in a different order and sometimes also been rephrased,
there is consistency in terms of content. Questions in this section addressed how often, where,
and what for ICTs are used in everyday life.
160 In the German original: “Wenn Sie sich an Ihre Kindheit zurück erinnern, was gab es denn da
für Mediengeräte (zB Radio) im Haus? Wie war das damals?”
117
In addition, interviewees were asked whether they sometimes used ICTs jointly with others
or asked for their assistance. Subsequently, the relevance of ICTs was examined. –
Could interviewees imagine living without a certain ICT? How did they originally acquire it
(and why)? And what do they like and not like about it? The guide also contained some
specific questions to be asked in case a participant indicated to not use certain ICTs.
These questions explored whether interviewees engaged with the device or service elsewhere
and how they generally felt about not using it.
The third section of the guide focused on general strategies of ICT use. In case the interviewee
had not mentioned strategies of learning and knowledge acquisition with regard to various ICTs
over the life course previously, these topics were addressed at this point. In addition to
asking about learning strategies, this section also included a specific question about
multitasking and an open question about ideas and content related to media that interviewees
would like to pass on to the next generation.
Towards the end, participants were asked for their general evaluations of ‘new’ and ‘old’ media
as broad categories. Finally, they were also asked whether they believed that there are
any differences in how men and women engage with media and technology. This question
was put at the very end of the guide to explicitly invite reflection on gendered aspects of
ICT use, if they had not already been shared early during the conversation.
In qualitative interviewing, opening a conversation carefully is as important as exiting
it thoughtfully. There should be some form of closure of the discussion. Helfferich (2009:181)
as well as King et al. (2019:115) recommend to close with a question addressing future
perspectives, for example hopes and wishes for the future. Taking up this suggestion,
the guide at hand finished with asking interviewees to share their hopes and desires for
the future development of ICTs.
In general, two points were taken into account designing the guide: openness and
wording of questions. As Lamnek (2010:315) highlights, open-ended questions are key for
a good qualitative interview. They allow interviewees to rely on their own specific expressions,
foci, and meanings which they want to share (Lamnek 2010:315). Thus, closed questions should
be avoided as much as possible since they – explicitly but also implicitly – limit the scope of
possible answers (Lamnek 2010:314). However, the specific wording of a question
also influences what interviewees (are able to) share (Kvale 2007:63;
Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:138).
118
Although some are skeptical about determining the precise wording of questions beforehand
because it might limit the interviewer in his or her ability to take up the
interviewee’s expressions (Helfferich 2009:181), in the present study, many of the questions
were fully formulated in advance. The reason for this was comparability. Because of the rather
large number of topics addressed in the guide, the precise wording of questions was meant to
increase the comparability of the material in the later analysis.161 As recommended in
the literature (Kvale 2007:57; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:131; Lamnek 2010:321),
the wording of questions was oriented towards participants’ (assumed) everyday language
and put as simply and as concisely as possible.
The thorough design of a question guide contributes to good interviews. However,
the considerate and skillful administration of a question guide by the interviewer is at least
as important for allowing participants to share rich accounts of their experiences.
Thus, the following section will elaborate on the interview process of the present study,
including details on how the question guide was administered in the research situation.
3.3.2.4 Qualitative Interview Process
The qualitative interview took place in the interviewee’s home, mostly at the kitchen
or coffee table. Usually, the interviewee offered coffee and often snacks to the interviewer.
After some initial small talk, the interviewer again explained the purpose of the study
and thanked the interviewee for her contribution. Then, after ensuring the interviewee’s
informed consent, the interviewer turned on the audio recording devices. This was the
starting point of the conversation, which began with the interviewer’s invitation to
the interviewee to share what she had noted down in the previously provided life graph form.
Before discussing the dynamics of the interview conversation, a few remarks will be made
about its venue. As Kvale and Brinkmann (2009:18) point out, interviews are always situated
in historical and social contexts. However, importantly, they are also contextual with regard to
their location. Participants’ connection to the interview venue and how the venue is integrated
into other sociocultural contexts influences the interview (Elwood and Martin 2000:650).
161 In the actual interviews, questions were of course asked with minor variations in terms of wording,
adhering to the principle of flexibility in interviewing (Helfferich 2009:181).
119
In the study at hand, the participant’s home was chosen as a site for the conversation because
of its closeness to everyday life and the opportunity to observe participants’ interactions with
ICTs during the walking interviews. Choosing the interviewee’s home as the place for
the interview has both advantages and disadvantages. One advantage of the home certainly is
its familiarity to the interviewee. This, as Lamnek (2010:354) explains, is important.
For most people, taking part in a research project is an uncommon experience,
and familiarity with the venue thus might help create a relaxed atmosphere (Lamnek 2010:354).
The importance of the interviewee’s comfort is also emphasized by King et al. (2019:100)
who draw additional attention to the role of seating arrangements. They recommend avoiding
confrontational arrangements (e.g. sitting exactly opposite each other) and instead
suggest choosing an angle that is associated with more informal conversations
(e.g. sitting at the end of a corner) (King et al. 2019:100). In the present study,
the interviewees’ kitchen or coffee tables often invited a rather relaxed sitting arrangement.
An increased degree of informality thus certainly is another advantage of the home
as an interview site.
However, sometimes the very informality of the home can also be disruptive for the interview.
If a person does not live alone, others are likely to interrupt the interview at some point.162
While this sometimes provides additional information on the interviewee’s circumstances
of life, it can also create privacy issues (King et al. 2019:101). Thus, planning
an interview study should include some thoughts on how much interaction with others is
desirable during an interview (King et al. 2019:101). In the study at hand, the interaction
with others in the home (mostly family members of the interviewee) proved to be both,
sometimes a distraction and threat to privacy and – actually more often – an opportunity
to learn more about the interviewee’s life.
Learning more about people’s lives through qualitative interviews also includes
extensive documentation. Only if there is detailed documentation of what interviewees share
with the interviewer, can contents be analyzed systematically later on (Lamnek 2010:325).
To this end, most qualitative interviews use audio recordings (King et al. 2019:102–3).
This is particularly recommended in the case of lengthy conversations.
162 This is particularly important in the context of interviewing women in the home because of gendered roles
and their connection to the domestic sphere. For example, Gray (1992:33), in her seminal study of women’s
use of the VCR, also commented on interruptions of interviews by other family members.
120
Because qualitative interviews (ideally) resemble everyday conversations, they can vary
just as much in terms of length (Lamnek 2010:323). Usually, they last between half an hour and
four hours, but sometimes even longer (Lamnek 2010:323).163 Since it is difficult to remember
or note down the detailed contents of such lengthy conversations, doing audio recordings
is helpful. Although there is broad agreement in the literature that interviews should be
audio-recorded, one also has to be aware of potential problems: sometimes, recording can
intimidate people and prevent them from talking openly (King et al. 2019:103). However,
as King et al. (2019:103) also point out, people usually forget about the audio recording soon
after they have engaged in the conversation. This was also the case in the present study.
All interviews were recorded simultaneously with two recording devices164 and their presence
did not seem to impede on the participants’ openness.
There are also deliberate measures that can be taken to purposefully promote interviewees’
rapport – their willingness and ability to talk freely. In general terms, it is key to gain
participants’ trust for rapport to develop (King et al. 2019:106). In order to create understanding
and trust, it is crucial to acknowledge that any interview involves imbalances in power.
Although qualitative interviews are arguably less hierarchical than quantitative ones
(Lamnek 2010:306), ultimately, it is always the interviewer who is in control (Kvale 2007:14;
Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:3). The interviewer decides which questions to ask, what to
follow up on, and generally guides the conversation (Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:33).
Additionally, it is also the interviewer who gets to finally interpret the conversation and
who determines the relevance of what has been shared (Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:34).
As Kvale and Brinkmann (2009:34) point out, this unequal distribution of power can lead to
counter-reactions on the part of the interviewee. This can manifest, for example, in a lack of
cooperation or in questioning the interviewer’s role (Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:34).
What can interviewers do to gain interviewees’ trust and to encourage rapport?
Firstly, it is essential to recognize that any interview involves imbalances in power.
Acknowledging this fact opens up the possibility of consciously reflecting on these imbalances
(Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:34) and of subsequently working on reducing them.
163 The conversations with interviewees (including life graph discussions and walking interviews) lasted from
1 hour and 36 minutes to 3 hours and 30 minutes. In total, the material amounted to 29 hours and 38 minutes.
164 One of the two recording devices used served as a back-up in case of technical malfunction of the
main device. Indeed, this proved to be useful because in the case of one interview the main recording was patchy.
The interview could be recovered for the most part through the back-up.
121
Secondly, there are some concrete strategies the interviewer can employ to address imbalances
in power and thus support rapport. Lamnek (2010:354) suggests that the interviewer should
make sure to convey to the interviewee that he or she indeed is an expert in the matter discussed.
This, he argues, positively influences mutual respect and mutual acceptance between
interviewee and interviewer (Lamnek 2010:354). King et al. (2019:107) draw attention to
the need for the interviewer to reflect on his or her presentation of self in the interview situation.
Among others, physical appearance as well as styles of verbal and non-verbal expression
are actively interpreted by the interviewee and thus need to be taken in to account
(King et al. 2019:107). In terms of helpful mind-sets, Kvale and Brinkmann (2009:31)
put forward the strategy of “deliberate naïveté.”165 This strategy implies a maximum degree of
openness on the part of the interviewer, “bracketing of presuppositions,” and attentive listening
that takes into account both, the things interviewees share and the things they do not
(Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:31). Other scholars recommend similar neutral styles
of interviewing (Diekmann 2013:439; Lamnek 2010:316).
In the study at hand, asymmetries in power between interviewer and interviewee were
explicitly acknowledged. Active efforts to counter imbalances in power included repeatedly
assuring interviewees of their expertise in the area of media technology change and of the value
of their contribution for the investigation. The interviewer also attempted to practice
“deliberate naïveté,” as suggested by Kvale and Brinkmann (2009:31). In addition,
as Fontana and Frey (2000:655) point out, it matters how researchers represent themselves
in research situations. In terms of self-representation, the interviewer drew attention to
her status as a PhD student in recruiting participants and again at the beginning of the interview.
Supporting a student in her efforts to finish her degree was important to many interviewees and
seemed to decrease power asymmetries. Interviewees also seemed to appreciate that
a comparatively younger women in her 30s was seeking to learn more about their life-long
experiences with media technologies. Also, the fact that interviewer and interviewees shared
a gender identity (as women) helped to establish rapport. This became particularly evident
during the walking tours through the home, a highly gendered space in Austrian culture.166
As noted previously (Ratzenböck 2016b:54), I4, for example, during the tour through her home
explained that she puts a kitchen towel on her printer in the study, so it does not collect dust.
165 Kvale (2007:12) also uses the term “qualified naïveté” to describe this strategy.
166 This can, for example, be inferred from the fact that, in Austria, women do more unpaid work,
such as housekeeping, than men (Federal Minister for Women and Civil Service at the Federal Chancellery 2010).
122
In doing so, she also ensured the interviewer that this practice does not mean that she does not
want to clean. This moment can be interpreted as a gendered encounter in a society in which
household work continues to be highly gendered. On the one hand, I4 apparently felt the need
to justify her housekeeping practices to another woman. On the other hand, and more
importantly, small talk on housekeeping (as a gendered practice) seemed to increase rapport
and to contribute to a more relaxed conversational atmosphere.
Similar to the beginning of the interview, openness is also important during the subsequent
interview process. It particularly matters in three respects. Firstly, interviewers continuously
need to work on keeping an open mind-set and generally on embracing flexibility.
Secondly, they need to be open towards different ways of working with a question guide.
And thirdly, they must be open towards the course of the conversation. Keeping an open
mind-set involves employing “deliberate naïveté” (Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:31),
but also accepting flexibility as a core feature of the qualitative interview
(Brennen 2013:28–29; Lamnek 2010:319) on a practical level. The latter refers to making many
decisions on how to employ methods on the go, as the interview is already under way
(Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:16). In the study at hand, this, for example, included decisions on
breaks and on whether to allow family members to come in on the conversations or not.
Openness towards how to use the prepared question guide includes understanding it as a “script”
(Kvale 2007:56), which can be used more or less flexibly. If a question guide is used, it needs
to be employed thoughtfully. Interviewers should not just tick off one question after the other,
a procedure which Hopf (2013:358) poignantly denounces as ‘question guide bureaucracy.’167
As Helfferich (2009:181) insists, the questions noted down should be used flexibly –
both in terms of their order and in their exact phrasing. This can be challenging, however,
because there are other imperatives of questioning that should be observed, such as avoiding
to ask too complex and multiple questions at once (King et al. 2019:111) or avoiding
suggestive questions (King et al. 2019:110). For this reason and in order to facilitate the
later analysis, the main questions of the present guide were thus asked in a wording that closely
aligned with their initial phrasing. However, questions were not necessarily asked in the
original order in which they appeared on the guide, but rather at the point when they fit into
the ongoing discussion. As noted, such flexible use of the question guide matches Witzel’s
(1985:236-237) recommendations in the context of the problem-centered interview.
167 In the German original: “Leitfadenbürokratie” (Hopf 2013:358).
123
Yet, being open towards the course of the conversation goes beyond using a question guide
flexibly. As Kvale (2007:65) highlights, the quality of an interview depends on both,
how the interviewer poses initial questions and on how he or she reacts to interviewees’
answers. For a good interview, it is crucial that the interviewer practices “active listening”
(Kvale 2007:63). In addition to registering content, this also means paying close attention to
how interviewees share their stories (Kvale 2007:63). Moreover, Kavle (2007:63) promotes
the “art of posing second questions.” Practicing this art, interviewers can spontaneously ask
different types of questions during the interview. Probing encourages participants to share
further explanations, including details and examples (King et al. 2019:96; Kvale 2007:61).
Importantly, it also sustains rapport (King et al. 2019:113–15). “Structuring questions”
(Kvale 2007:61 italics in original) can help guide interviewees back to the main topic
if they keep digressing too much. And “interpreting questions” (Kvale 2007:62,
italics in original) or “prompts” (King et al. 2019:96) confront interviewees with interpretations
of what they have shared, asking them for clarification (also see Lamnek 2010:319;
Witzel 1985:247). As Brennen (2013:37) emphasizes, any conversation includes constant
analysis of what has been said. Thus, it is a good idea to make sure that the interpretations
of interviewer and interviewee are congruent (Brennen 2013:37). And, although not a question,
sometimes silence is an important reaction to interviewees’ answers, which can help them
reflect and prepare what they want to share next (Kvale 2007:61).
In the study at hand, all of these questions and techniques have been used, some more often
than others. Because the interviews conducted were in many ways oriented towards
a narrative approach, probing and practicing silence have been most important.
Particularly the latter has proven to be effective. Often, interviewees continued to elaborate on
their stories after a short period of silence in the conversation.
124
3.3.3 Walking Interviews in Small Domestic Spaces168
After having detailed the conceptualization and use of life graph discussions, as well as
qualitative guided interviews, this section discusses the third method employed in
the main qualitative strand of the study: walking interviews in small domestic spaces.
Generally speaking, walking interviews are conversations during which interviewer and
participant are in movement while talking. In doing so, surroundings often act as stimuli or
prompts for discussion (Anderson 2004:257; Evans and Jones 2011:856). Across disciplines
and fields, the use of mobile methods has become increasingly popular in qualitative research.
Particularly disciplines such as ethnography and cultural geography have advanced the
concept of mobility with regard to methods. In ethnography, Kusenbach (2011:184) developed
the “go-along” as a method of qualitative inquiry, which she characterized as “a hybrid between
participant observation and interviewing.” In cultural geography, Anderson (2004) early on
proposed “walking whilst talking” as a useful method to understand how people relate to place.
However, there are many additional examples of variations of walking interviews,
such as Evans and Jones’ (2011:849) “walk and talk method,” Doughty’s (2013:145)
“practice of ‘walking-with’” or Wiederhold’s (2015:608) “peripatetic interviewing.”
Disciplines and fields in which walking interviews have been used are diverse and range from
urban planning and geography (Jones et al. 2008; Ricketts Hein, Evans, and Jones 2008;
Evans and Jones 2011; Holton and Riley 2014; Spinney 2015) to communication studies
(Wiederhold 2015) and health studies (Doughty 2013).
There is an increasing amount of projects using and reflecting on walking interviews.
Often, they are conducted outdoors. The use of walking interviews in people’s homes,
however, seems to be less common. This, Roberts (2014) notes has resulted in a gap in
research literature on the topic. Although walking interviews in people’s homes are
less common than in outdoor contexts, there are some examples of research that has employed
mobile methods in people’s homes. Two particularly noteworthy examples in this context
are the extensive works of Sarah Pink (2004) and Maria Bakardjieva (2005). In her study
on gender, domestic products, and everyday life experiences, Pink (2004) conducted
“‘tour[s]’ of the home” (2004:27)/“video tours” (2004:28) with her informants.
168 This subchapter includes ideas the author developed in the papers “‘Let’s Take a Look Together’: Walking
Interviews in Domestic Spaces as a Means to Examine ICT Experiences of Women 60+” (Ratzenböck 2016b) and
“Recycelte Fernseher und ‘abgestochene’ Computer. Zur Erforschung von Medienerfahrungen von Frauen 60+
durch Interaktionen mit Medienobjeckten während ‘Walking Interviews’ in Wohnräumen” (Ratzenböck 2017b).
125
Similar to the study at hand, these tours of the home, which were documented
using video recording, took place after an initial interview (Pink 2004:27).
Bakardjieva (2005) moved through the homes of the people participating in her study on
Internet practices in everyday life. Because of the similarity in topic as well as the design of
these “home visits” (Bakardjieva 2005:79), Bakardjieva’s (2005) mobile method is
a particularly important reference point for the present study.169 Similar to Pink’s (2004)
investigation and the study at hand, Bakardjieva (2005) also combined the tours through
people’s homes with other qualitative methods. The “tour[s] of the computer and
Internet-related spaces in the respondents’ homes” which Bakardjieva (2005:83) conducted
were embedded in an initial interview and subsequent digital “tour of the ‘computer space’,”
as well as a group interview with participants’ family members. Importantly, and similar to
the present project, the interviewees, not the interviewer, led these tours of the home
(Bakardjieva 2005:83). The main aim of these tours, which were also audio-recorded
(Bakardjieva 2005:84), was for Bakardjieva (2005:83) to “see and experience” where
participants engaged with their computers and the Internet in their homes. Key advantages
Bakardjiva (2005:79) identified using the method of “home visits” were twofold.
On the one hand, participants could confirm and add detail to their previous accounts
(Bakardjieva 2005:85). On the other hand, the engagement with concrete spaces and devices
in the home helped participants address computer skills and challenges in a practical manner
(Bakardjieva 2005:85).
In this study, the indoor walking interviews constituted loosely structured interviews conducted
during walks with participants through their homes (also see Ratzenböck 2016b:53–54).
As mentioned previously, they took place after the life graph discussion and the
guided sit-down interview. Subsequent to the guided interview, the researcher suggested
“Let’s take a look together at all media devices, if this would be okay?”170 in order to check in
with the participant and make sure the interviewee was comfortable with the tour of the home.
169 Another interesting example of research on people’s ICT engagement (in this case also specifically
focusing on older adults) which involves mobility is the work of Mitzner et al. (2010). Mitzner et al. (2010:1712)
asked participants to do “a mental walk through their homes.” In doing so, they encouraged participants to
mentally go through the rooms of their home and recall times when they had used different technologies
(Mitzner et al. 2010:1712).
170 “Wären Sie damit einverstanden, wenn wir uns nun noch gemeinsam anschauen, was Sie alles an
Mediengeräten haben?”
126
However, participants had been also asked previously, before meeting with them, whether they
would be comfortable with such a tour. The walking interview then began under the lead of
the interviewee, who set the pace and route of the tour. Interviewer and interviewee walked
from room to room and eventually stopped when the interviewee pointed out a media device.
Either the participant started to elaborate on the device right away or otherwise the researcher
acknowledged its presence. In doing so, the interviewer said something like “So this is your
TV-set/radio/computer.” Usually, the interviewer also asked the interviewee to turn on
the media device and to explain what she normally does with it. In an effort to assist them
in these reflections, the interviewer provided some general open-ended questions about
the device, such as “What does it look like to you?” or “Where is it positioned?” Finally,
the researcher also asked the participant for permission to take a photo of the media device. 171
Mainly, these photos served as a memory aid for the researcher later on, but taking a photo
often also prompted interviewees to add further details or to explain functions and features of
the device.
As any method, doing walking interviews in people’s homes has both advantages
and disadvantages. Detailed methodological reflections on the potential and challenges of using
walking interviews in small domestic spaces to explore media experiences of older women
have been documented previously in Ratzenböck (2016b) and Ratzenböck (2017b). Both papers
include general methodological considerations but also numerous concrete examples of
how walking interviews contributed to gaining a more nuanced understanding of older women’s
media experiences. The following remarks will briefly summarize some of these
previous considerations (Ratzenböck 2016b, 2017b) as well as add some specifics to them.
Overall, advantages of walking interviews in small domestic spaces, as conducted in this study,
clearly outweigh disadvantages. Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge and reflect on
some of the methods’ downsides. In this project, two challenges were found to be
particularly noteworthy: practicalities and the negotiation of privacy and trust moving through
participants’ homes. As noted previously (Ratzenböck 2016b:54), practicalities are an issue
in terms of performing multiple tasks at once. In the present study, the interviewer had to
simultaneously carry a recording device while in motion, watch her step and direction,
formulate questions, listen attentively to what is being said, and ask further questions.
171 The practice of taking a photo of the media devices discussed with the interviewees was inspired by
the research protocol of Fernández-Ardèvol (2014, 2013), which the question guide for the guided interview was
also based on (see section 3.3.2.3).
127
Doing all of this at the same time can make it difficult to stay focused and direct full attention
towards the interviewee and her story. To some degree, all kinds of interviews – moving or not
– require the performance of simultaneous tasks and include occasional interruptions.
However, mobile methods invite additional disruption (Hall, Lashua, and Coffey 2006:3;
Wiederhold 2015:612–13). While some, like Wiederhold (2015:612–13), frame this increase in
disruption positively, because it can also lead to productive serendipity, it certainly constitutes
a challenge in practical terms.
In addition, moving through the home, interviewees have to subtly negotiate privacy and trust,
particularly with regard to the most private areas of the home, such as bathrooms and bedrooms
(Ratzenböck 2016b:54). In the present study, participants often highlighted these negotiations
by commenting on tidiness (or its absence) as well as housekeeping. In this context, it is crucial
to assure participants that researchers are interested in learning more about people’s lives,
without imposing judgment. This is generally important when conducting qualitative interviews
of any kind (King et al. 2019:111; Patton 2015:57). However, it has special weight when
interviewing at home. As Pink (2004:29) emphasizes, conducting research in people’s homes
often entails asking them about things they normally do not talk about. Thus, special attention
needs to be paid to building trust. In the study at hand, it was certainly helpful that interviewer
and interviewee had already spent some hours together in the interviewee’s home before
starting the tour. Nevertheless, the interviewer had to repeatedly ensure participants that
she was here to learn, not to judge, and that anything they chose to share would be of interest.
Although the closeness to everyday life can be a challenge, it is also one of the very advantages
of interviews conducted in the home (Ratzenböck 2016b:55). According to Patton (2015:48),
qualitative research per se is somewhat “naturalistic” because it is conducted in “real-world
settings.” This is particularly true for interviews conducted in the home, especially if compared
to other types of interviews, which do not take place in spaces that are part of participants’
everyday life. A similar point is made by Bakardjieva (2005:79) who additionally argues that
visiting people in their homes is even more “real” than the somewhat artificial situation that
participant observation in a household would create. However, although interviewing people in
their homes allows for glimpses into their everyday life, including their family life and
situatedness in a community and neighborhood (Herzog 2005:36), it still represents an unusual
situation for most people. Just by being there and asking questions, the interviewer interferes
with what participants would normally do (Patton 2015:49). The notion of qualitative research
as “naturalistic” (Patton 2015:48) thus has to be understood as a relative one.
128
Pink (2004:31–32), reflecting on the home tours she conducted with people, emphasizes
the performative dimension of researching people’s everyday life. Aptly, she states:
“Doing such research in the home inevitably means that rather than living the everydayness of
people’s lives alongside them, the researcher is learning about people’s representations of their
everyday life” (2004:32). This was certainly also the case in the present project. Notably,
being at interviewees’ homes helped them foreground the familial embeddedness of their
ICT use in everyday life. This became evident early on in the project (Ratzenböck 2016b:55),
but proved to be even more important over the course of the study.
Another advantage of interviewing people in their homes is that it is potentially inclusive
(Ratzenböck 2016b:55). If interviews are conducted at home, people who are less mobile
or flexible can also take part in a study.172 This also turned out to play an important role in
the present investigation. Most of the twelve interviewees had many family responsibilities,
such as cooking or looking after grandchildren, and conducting the interviews in their homes
certainly helped them make time for participating in this research project.173 Two participants
– interviewees 3 and 7 – continued to cook and bake in their kitchens while replying to
the interviewer’s questions. Integrating the conversation into their usual routines, they probably
were able to take more time for the interview than they would have been able to otherwise.
This enabled the creation of rich and detailed interview material.
Furthermore, there are three particular advantages that the movement through the space of
the home while interviewing entails. Firstly, it allows for the observation of participants’
interactions with objects in their home (Ratzenböck 2016b:55, 2017b). In a way, this is perhaps
the most obvious advantage of conducting interviews on media objects in the home.
Nevertheless, analyzing this advantage closely, it is possible to differentiate a sub-set of
distinct benefits. Directly observing interviewees’ interactions with media devices in the home,
we can explore how people act together with them (also see Ratzenböck 2016b:55, 2017b:255).
Rather than thinking of people and media technologies as completely separate entities,
we can understand them as “quasi-objects,” in Latour’s (1993:55) terms.
172 Sin (2003:308) has made this point particularly with regard to health status.
173 Generally, women’s preference to be interviewed in the home because of family responsibilities
has also been mentioned in previous research, such as Herzog’s (2005:37).
129
Building on Latour’s work, Crow and Sawchuk, (2015:188), for example, suggest
conceptualizing mobile media technologies as “mobile assemblage.” Such an assemblage,
they argue, encompasses more than the mere presence of a media device and also includes
“practices, sets of relations and fluid associations between both human and non-human actors”
(Crow and Sawchuk 2015:188). Similarly, Blaakilde (2017:1) describes media use as
“a conflating of technology and human action.” Observing people and their media devices
together in the home helps us understand that objects are not detached from human actions.
Rather, they possess a ‘stimulating character for actions,’174 as Bosch (2010:23) has termed it.
Through their design and other features, objects evoke associations and make some interactions
more probable than others. In the context of media engagement, Schäffer (2009:43) has pointed
to the fact that media technologies themselves incorporate habitual aspects with regard to design
and usability which influence how people interact with them. Thus, observing interviewees’
interactions with media devices, we can learn more about how the devices themselves structure
people’s engagement with them.
Importantly, implicitly or explicitly, objects also always represent social knowledge
and evaluations (Bosch 2010:23). Observing what people do with objects, we can also learn
more about the social worlds these objects are part of. A similar point is made by Bakardjiva
(2005:7) introducing her study on people’s everyday life interactions with the Internet.
She describes the scope of her project as being to “expose the dual life of technology as
an object in the everyday lifeworld on the one hand, and as an embodiment of social relations
on the other” (Bakardjieva 2005:7). This study takes a similar approach, understanding
the use of media technologies as a mundane activity, but at the same time as a representation of
people’s social embeddedness. Observing people’s interactions with ICTs in the home during
walking interviews certainly has helped strengthening this perspective.
174 In the German original: “Aufforderungscharakter für Handlungen” (Bosch 2010:23).
130
In addition, interactions with media objects during the walking interviews allowed for
the expression of non-verbal forms of knowledge (Ratzenböck 2016b:55, 2017b:254).
This includes, for example, implicit knowledge or routines, which are often difficult
to verbalize. Engaging with the media objects enabled participants to show instead of tell
their experiences.175 In some cases, this variety in options of how to share knowledge was
crucial and allowed interviewees to share more complex accounts of their media experiences,
which added new dimensions to the findings (also see Ratzenböck 2016b:59).
Secondly, moving through the space of the home allows participants to shift their perspectives
in a multiplicity of ways. If conducted subsequently to other conversations, as in
the present study, the walking interviews provide interviewees with an opportunity to
emphasize and add, contradict and negotiate, or downplay statements they made earlier
(Ratzenböck 2016b:55). This is important, as this complexity in accounts certainly is more
representative of people’s lived everyday realities. However, this is a general advantage of
any multi-method design. In the case of the walking interviews in people’s homes, it is also
the physical shifting of perspectives by walking through several rooms that supports
the simultaneous shifting of contents and reflections (Ratzenböck 2016b:56). This potential of
walking interviews in shifting participants’ perspectives has also been pointed out previously
by Anderson (2004:257–58) as well as Ricketts Hein et al. (2008:1277).
Thirdly, walking jointly through people’s homes helps reduce asymmetries in power inherent
to any research interview (Ratzenböck 2016b:56). As Hall et al. (2006:3) suggest,
walking interviews “even out some of the power differentials which even the most informal
of interviews can struggle to throw off.” Similar observations have also been made by
Anderson (2004:258). A key factor in this context is that it is often the interviewees,
not the interviewer, who lead a walking interview.176 If interviewees lead the way,
this also grants them more agency in terms of directing the discussion (Hall et al. 2006:3).177
175 An example of a similar approach includes the work of Fernández-Ardèvol and Ivan (2016).
They took pictures of older adults’ mobile phones when discussing their use with them in order to prompt
interaction with the device (Fernández-Ardèvol and Ivan 2016:87). In doing so, they attempted to compare
verbal accounts to participants’ actual use of the mobile phone (Fernández-Ardèvol and Ivan 2016:87).
176 However, it is important to note that there are different versions of walking interviews, involving different
degrees of hierarchy. In this context, Evans and Jones (2011:850) propose a useful typology of walking interviews
according to route determination and degree of familiarity of the interviewee with the site of the interview.
177 Wiederhold (2015:608), discussing her use of mobile methods, emphasizes that granting interviewees
the lead in her study empowered them, turning them into “tour guides and storytellers, positioned as local experts.”
131
This was also the case in the present study. The interviewees lead the tours through their homes,
which did create a more balanced power situation. It certainly helped that the
walking interviews were designed to resemble a normal tour of a home that might be offered to
a visiting relative, friend, or neighbor (Ratzenböck 2016b:56). Such a tour of the home alludes
to a common form of social interaction and much less to more hierarchical forms
of communication. This is crucial, because as King et al. (2019:100) rightly point out,
the confrontational sitting arrangements of traditional research interviews can evoke
associations of usually highly hierarchical interactions, such as job interviews.
3.3.4 Accompanying Documents
After completing the walking interviews through participants’ homes, the interview encounter
ended with some small talk, shared reflections on the conversation, and the interviewer’s
request to fill out a short questionnaire on socio-demographic details (see Appendix).
The short questionnaire used in the present study was based on the previously mentioned
research protocol developed by Fernández-Ardèvol (2014b; 2013) that had also inspired
the question guide of the qualitative interview. The short questionnaire included questions about
participants’ age, place of birth, current place of residence, living arrangements,
educational attainment, social networks, retirement status, and previous professional contexts.
Finally, interviewees were also asked whether they would be interested in participating in
similar research projects in the future and further space was provided to include additional
comments or suggestions. The main purpose of the short questionnaire was to note down key
socio-demographic details that served as contextual information for the later analysis of
the qualitative material.
In addition, in several cases (I6, I7, I8, I9, I10), the researcher also wrote a postscript about the
interview situation after the meeting had been completed, as suggested by Witzel (1985:236).
These postscripts were based on a form and accompanying instructions provided by Helfferich
(2009:193, 2009:201). Inspired by Helfferich (2009:193, 2009:201), the recording sheets for
both the qualitative and the walking interview included sections for noting down details on how
contact had been established, the interviewee’s motivation to participate, the relation of
the interviewer to the interviewee, the interview site, the atmosphere, difficulties,
and further observations. These notes were only prepared if the interview situation seemed
to be particularly noteworthy in any of these regards and the researcher wanted to make sure to
remember these details during the later analysis.
132
3.3.5 Summary of Qualitative Methods Used and their Integration
Before discussing sampling strategies and outcomes, the qualitative methods employed will be
briefly summarized. As outlined above, the design of the main qualitative strand of the study
included three qualitative methods: life graph discussions, qualitative guided interviews,
and walking interviews in small domestic spaces. All of them were conducted on the same day
at the home of the interviewee. The methods were employed according to a general
research protocol (see Appendix). The purpose of preparing this general protocol was to ensure
transferability of the method design for future studies in the subject area.
Prior to the interview appointment, participants received an empty template of a life graph
to fill out in advance. This life graph was inspired by a graphic exhibit by Shove (n.d.),178
discussed in a presentation by Howell (2014) and further material presented by Howell (2014).
The graph consisted of two axes. The x-axis indicated a participant’s years of life and the
y-axis the intensity of media use. Provided with detailed instructions, participants were asked
to indicate how their use of three exemplary kinds of media (radio, TV, Internet) has developed
over the life course. The purpose of the life graph was to provide participants with
an opportunity to think about their media biographies, to serve as a starting point of
the conversation, and to frame the discussion in terms of biography. At the beginning of
the conversation, the interviewer invited the interviewee to share what she had noted down in
her life graph. Then, the conversation seamlessly transitioned into the qualitative interview.
The interview was the core element of the qualitative strand and combined narrative and
structured elements of interviewing. The qualitative interviews all employed a question guide
and can thus be characterized as guided interviews (e.g. Helfferich 2009:179;
Lamnek 2010:326). In addition, Kvale’s (2007:10–11) and Kvale and Brinkmann’s (2009:27)
“semi-structured life world interview,” as well as Witzel’s (1985) “problem-centered
interview” inspired their design. To ensure documentation, all conversations were
recorded digitally. Topics addressed included participants’ media biographies, their use
and evaluation of ICTs, general strategies of ICT use, and general assessments.
178 Available online (see references), as mentioned in a presentation by Howell (2014).
133
Some of the questions used in the guide were inspired by theoretical concepts,
such as Mannheim’s “generation location,” (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]), Schäffer’s (2009:42)
‘media practice cultures,’ and Maierhofer’s (2003, 2004b, 2004a, 2007, 2012) approach
of anocriticism. Largely, however, the question guide was based on a protocol and interview
outline by Fernández-Ardèvol (2014; 2013). With regard to the order of questions,
the guide was administered flexibly during the interview.
Subsequent to the guided qualitative interview, the researcher initiated the walking interview
through the home. Led by the interviewee, interviewer and interviewee walked from room
to room and stopped whenever the interviewee pointed out a media device. If the participant
did not elaborate on the device herself, the interviewer prompted a short discussion of
the device. Usually, the participant was also asked to turn on the media device briefly to show
what she normally does with it. In addition, the researcher took a photo of the device
for documentation but also to prompt further comments. While mobile methods,
such as walking interviews, are increasingly gaining in popularity, they are often
conducted outdoors. As Roberts (2014) notes, this has resulted in a gap in research literature on
walking interviews conducted in people’s homes. The present study thus aimed at contributing
to the reflection on the difference walking with people in their homes makes as a method of
qualitative investigation, particularly in the context of examining media experiences of
older women (Ratzenböck 2016b, 2017b). Thus, in addition to employing methods to
generate empirical data, the main qualitative strand of this study also contributed to
methods development.
After concluding the tour through the home, the appointment ended with the interviewer’s
request that the interviewee fill out a short questionnaire on socio-demographic details.
Similar to the question guide used in the interview, the short questionnaire was based on
the protocol by Fernández-Ardèvol (2014b; 2013). In multiple cases, the researcher also
produced postscripts after the interview, using recording sheets based on a form and
accompanying instructions by Helfferich (2009:193;201).
134
In terms of a general approach to qualitative research, the present study aligns with Kvale’s
(2007:19–20) and Kvale and Brinkmann’s (2009:48–49) idea of the interviewer as “traveler.”
“The interviewer-traveler, in line with the original Latin meaning of conversation
as ‘wandering together with,’ walks along with the local inhabitants,
asking questions and encouraging them to tell their own stories of their lived world
[…]. The potentialities of meaning in the original stories are differentiated and
unfold through the traveler’s interpretations of the narratives he or she brings back
to home audiences. The journey may not only lead to new knowledge; the traveler
might change as well. […]”
(Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:48–49, italics in original)
Such an approach to interviewing, as outlined by Kvale and Brinkman (2009:48–49) and Kvale
(2007:19–20), is relevant to the present study in three regards. Firstly, it acknowledges
the interactive nature of interviewing. Interviewing is a co-construction. Secondly, it points to
the multidimensional nature of people’s experiences, as well as accounts thereof. There are
always two sides to the coin and many sides to each story. Thirdly, it draws attention to
processes of interpretation and reporting. These are acts of inquiry and translation of data into
different forms of knowledge – collective as well as individual, institutional and personal.
3.4 Study Participants
This subchapter discusses sampling and recruitment of participants of the qualitative strand
of the study, as well as ethical considerations. In addition, characteristics of participants will be
briefly described in order to contextualize the report on the analysis of the qualitative material
in subsequent chapters.
3.4.1 Sampling
The main qualitative strand of the study was designed to include women aged 60 to 70 years
at the time of the interview, residing in the Austrian province of Styria. Initial inclusion criteria
thus were gender, age, and place of residence. The reason for limiting the age range was
the need to create a comparable group of participants with regard to certain criteria. In Austria,
the Internet became more broadly accessible in the early 2000s (GfK Austria 2012:2).
135
Hence, women who were aged 60 to 70 years at the time of the interview were likely to
have been engaging with new ICTs, such as the Internet, through discourse or in practice already
in their working lives, if employed before retiring. In terms of media biographies, limiting the
age range of interviewees to 60 to 70 years allowed for comparability of potential experiences.
The province of Styria was chosen as a geographical focus region for the qualitative strand
of the study because, when planning the project, it was one of three Austrian provinces
close to the overall Austrian percentage of Internet users (Statistik Austria 2012).
Thus, the province of Styria was considered a good vantage point for exploring the use of
particularly new ICTs. Specifying such selection criteria in advance is also suggested in
the literature on qualitative designs because it allows researchers to explore diversity in
other regards more intensely later on (King et al. 2019:82).
With regard to size, qualitative studies use relatively small samples (Diekmann 2013:532;
Kvale 2007:44; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:113; Lamnek 2010:325; Patton 2015:52). –
What does this mean in concrete terms? As Brennen (2013:30) poignantly puts it:
“Unfortunately, there is no magic number of interviews that must be done.” However, there are
some rules of thumb. According to Kvale (2007:44) and Kvale and Brinkmann (2009:113),
for example, qualitative interview studies usually include around 15 (+/-10) interviews.
Rather than breadth, qualitative inquiries aim at researching phenomena in depth
(Patton 2015:52). As Kavle (2007:44) and Kvale and Brinkmann (2009:113) observe,
“many [interview studies] would have profited from having had fewer interviews in the study,
and instead having taken more time to prepare the interviews and to analyze them.”
Hence, contrary to common remarks from those not familiar with the principles of
qualitative research, the issue is not so much how many interviews are conducted,
but how interviewees are selected and how the material is analyzed.
Concerning the selection of interviewees, the qualitative strand of the study was inspired by
“theoretical sampling,” developed by Glaser and Strauss (2009 [1967]) within the frameworks
of Grounded Theory. Theoretical sampling refers to a procedure of cyclical collection and
analysis of data (Glaser and Strauss 2009 [1967]:45–77; Corbin and Strauss 2015:134–52;
Charmaz 2000:509, 2000:519; King et al. 2019:82; Merkens 2013:296). This essentially
means that not all data is collected at once. After a first round of data collection,
the material is analyzed. The findings of this initial analysis then inform the next round of
data collection (and so on). Charmaz (2000:519) captures this process in a nutshell,
stating that theoretical sampling is about going “where the theory leads us.”
136
In this context, theory refers to theoretical considerations as well as “gaps” which emerge
inductively from the analysis of the material collected (Glaser and Strauss 2009 [1967]:47;
Charmaz 2000:519). Or – put another way – after a first phase of data collection,
preliminary hypotheses are formulated which are then tested gathering further data,
in order to again formulate hypotheses (Merkens 2013:293). In addition, Corbin and Strauss
(2015:136) remark that “[t]heoretical sampling is concept driven,” which means that
it considers the development of concepts and organizes sampling in a manner supporting
the development of concepts in their full breadth and depth (Corbin and Strauss 2015:137).
A crucial question in the context of theoretical sampling is, of course, how to design
the first round of data collection. Here, Glaser and Strauss (2009 [1967]:45) argue that
the initial collection of data is essentially based on “general sociological perspectives”
as well as “a general subject or problem area.” This reflects the mostly inductive nature
of Grounded Theory. In the study at hand, the general subject area were media experiences of
older women, including the social problem of potential exclusion of those who are not online.
General theories that influenced the design of the investigation from the onset were,
most importantly, Mannheim’s (1952 [1927/28]) theory of generations as well as Maierhofer’s
(2003, 2004b, 2004a, 2007, 2012) approach of anocriticism.
In the main qualitative strand of the study, data collection took place between
December 2014 and February 2016, including three distinct phases. During the first phase,
lasting from December 2014 to February 2015, three conversations took place (with I1, I2, I3).
This phase was exploratory; aiming at gaining general insights into media experiences
of women aged 60 to 70 in Styria. Particular emphasis was put on exploring
media generational experiences. Thus, deliberatively, three interviewees were recruited that
shared similar work experiences in an office setting, in order to temporarily bracket
the influence of professional experiences on media biographies and solely focus on
shared generational experiences. These first three interviews were then analyzed in depth.
Although focusing on methodological reflections, some results of this first phase of analysis
have been documented in a separate book chapter (Ratzenböck 2017b).
The second round of data collection lasted from March 2015 to May 2015 and included
conversations with two interviewees (I4 and I5). Since results obtained in the first round
had generated basic insights into typical generational media experiences of women aged
60 to 70, this phase aimed at introducing more diversity into the sample, particularly
in terms of place of residence, professional backgrounds, and media repertoires.
137
While I1, I2, and I3 had all lived in an urban or suburban setting, I4 and I5 lived in
the countryside. In addition, I5 – unlike I1, I2, I3, and I4 – had never worked in an office setting.
In fact, she had only been formally employed very briefly as a seamstress, as a young adult
and before becoming a full-time family care-taker. Moreover, unlike other participants,
I5 also self-identified as a non-user of the Internet. Again, all interviews and accompanying
life graph discussions as well as walking interviews conducted up to this point were then
analyzed in detail at the end of the second round of data collection. The analysis focused on
examining interrelations of media generational experiences with individual media
biographical experiences. Results of this second phase of analysis have been documented in
a separate paper (Ratzenböck 2016a) (also see chapter 4 for key considerations which emerged
during this phase of the analysis). Ratzenböck (2016b) includes results obtained in this
phase of analysis, although it focuses on methodological reflections.
The third phase of data collection finally took place from November 2015 to February 2016
and included life graph discussions, guided interviews, and walking interviews at home with
I6, I7, I8, I9, I10, I11, and I12. Here, the focus in sampling was again on
diversifying professional backgrounds as well as degrees of ICT engagement.
Following Corbin and Strauss (2015:139), sampling continuously took into account
“analytical leads” found in the analyses of data. During this phase of data collection
and analysis, the potential importance of living situations for engagement with particularly
new ICTs started to emerge. Thus, attention was also paid to including different living situations
(e.g. living with a partner, living with a large intergenerational family, living with a partner but
adult children close-by). Early results of the third phase of analysis have been documented in
a separate paper (Ratzenböck 2017a), examining 10 of the 12 interviews ultimately conducted.
The final analysis of all 12 conversations is detailed in chapters 4-7 of the present thesis.
The question that arises here, however, is why the collection of data stopped after
12 conversations. The answer is twofold, including considerations about
“theoretical saturation” (Glaser and Strauss 2009 [1967]:61) as well as feasibility. According
to Glaser and Strauss (2009 [1967]:61), theoretical saturation is reached when new data does
not yield any new important insights. Or – put differently – when new data does not lead to
changes in an emerging theory, theoretical saturation has been reached (Brüsemeister 2008:31).
138
After having conducted 12 interviews, this was the case with regard to many topics.
Increasingly, the interviewer started to recognize patterns and repetitions in what was shared
by interviewees. At such a point, theoretical saturation was reached, indicating that it was time
to end data collection (Glaser and Strauss 2009 [1967]:61; Brennen 2013:30). However,
also a second consideration played into ending data collection at this point: mere feasibility.
Because the encounters with participants included life graph discussions, guided interviews,
and walking interviews in their homes, a lot of qualitative material was produced.
Ultimately, audio recordings amounted to 29 hours and 38 minutes. This represents an extensive
amount of material to be analyzed by a single researcher. Thus, also considerations of feasibility
played a role in ending the collection of data after 12 interview appointments.
3.4.2 Recruitment
As Merkens (2013:288) notes, accessibility is a common issue in qualitative research.
This was no different in the present project. Recruiting participants for the qualitative strand
of the study represented a challenge.179 Thus, recruitment strategies were diversified
and included referrals through colleagues, snowball sampling, advertisement at
a public university event, as well as an info session during a computer class for seniors
organized by a project management unit of the City of Graz.
The first interviewee was recruited through a fellow researcher who kindly promoted the study
and succeeded in interesting I1 in participating.180 Subsequently, I2, I3, and I4 were recruited
through snowball sampling. Snowball sampling uses initial interviewees’ recommendations
to recruit further participants (King et al. 2019:87–88). Although convenient,
it is not unproblematic. As King et al. (2019:87) point out, people are likely to recommend
others with similar perspectives, which inevitably leads to an unbalanced sample.
Thus, they only recommend snowball sampling if recruitment indeed proves to be difficult
(King et al. 2019:88). Since, in early phases, the study focused on exploring media biographies
in terms of Mannheim’s (1952 [1927/28]) idea of “generation location,” the bias introduced
through snowballing was considered to be acceptable in the initial phases of the project. At this
point, the most important factor was that interviewees were aged between 60 and 70 years.
179 Early studies on the gendered use of ICTs, such as Gray’s (1992:35) seminal study on women’s use of
the VCR, reported similar problems in recruitment of participants.
180 As Lamnek (2010:324–25) points out, in qualitative research projects, initial contacts are usually established
through the connections of the researcher with institutions or private persons.
139
However, as the study progressed, it became increasingly important to diversify the sample,
in an effort to explore interrelations of generational experiences with individual
media biographical experiences. Thus, the initial round of snowballing was interrupted after
the appointment with I4. Further participants were recruited with the aid of a variety
of strategies, including private contacts of the researcher (I5, I7),181 advertisement at
a public university event on the topic of aging (I6),182 occasional further snowballing (I8, I11),
an info session at a computer class for seniors (I9),183 and referrals of a colleague
who occasionally worked with older adults (I10, I12). The reason for diversifying
recruitment strategies was that it turned out to be rather difficult to interest older women
in participating in the study. One reason might be that participation included the researcher’s
visit to interviewees’ homes and thus their private space. This, as well as the considerable
commitment in terms of time, might have deterred some from participating.
As Wolff (2013:335) points out in the context of discussing fieldwork, qualitative research
demands quite a lot from informants. Among others, they have to trust the researcher and
his or her intentions, find time to participate in research interventions, deal with shifts
in perspectives, and assist the researcher in finding out what is relevant and what not –
to just name a few aspects (Wolff 2013:335). Thus, researchers should not underestimate
the barriers of participating in a study that interviewees face.
3.4.3 Ethics
As many have pointed out (e.g. Kvale 2007:23; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:62;
Patton 2015:495), research interventions have an effect on people. Since qualitative research is
highly interactive (see discussion in section 3.2.2), it prompts participants to reflect deeply on
the issues discussed and perhaps also on themselves and their lives more
generally (Patton 2015:495, 2015:496). Because of these effects, ethical considerations are
particularly important in qualitative research (Patton 2015:496). However, as Hopf
(2013:591) notes, ethics are more complex in qualitative than in quantitative research.
181 I5 and I7 did not know each other, nor lived in the same area. They were recruited from different
personal contexts of which the researcher was part.
182 I6 attended this public university event as an interested layperson.
183 I9 did not participate in this computer class herself but happened to be at the premise at the time of
the info session.
140
Particularly, anonymity and confidentiality are more difficult to realize in qualitative projects
(Hopf 2013:596; Kvale 2007:28; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:72). Reasons for this are
the usually smaller sample sizes of qualitative studies, the kinds of data produced
(e.g. transcripts with private details) (Hopf 2013:596), as well as narrative styles of the
reporting of results (Kvale 2007:28; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:72).
Although there is general agreement in the field of qualitative research that
ethical considerations are important, there are different regional traditions in approaching
the topic. As Hopf (2013:590) highlights, much attention has already been devoted to
ethical issues in the American context as early as in the 1960s, while it only became a more
prominent topic in German sociology in the 1990s. To date, this difference in discourse
is visible when reviewing German and American literature on qualitative research.184
Regardless of such differences, however, it is possible to cite a number of general
ethical criteria, which are widely considered to be relevant in the context of qualitative research.
Among the most commonly cited ethical issues that should be considered in qualitative research
are informed consent (Brennen 2013:29; Corbin and Strauss 2015:13; Fontana and Frey
2000:662; Hopf 2013:591–92; Kvale 2007:27; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:70–72;
Patton 2015:497–98), participants’ right to privacy/confidentiality and/or anonymity
(Corbin and Strauss 2015:13; Fontana and Frey 2000:662; Hopf 2013:590; Kvale 2007:27–28;
Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:72–73; Patton 2015:497–98), as well as their protection from harm
(Fontana and Frey 2000:662; Hopf 2013:594–95; Kvale 2007:28; Kvale and Brinkmann
2009:73; Patton 2015:496). Hopf (2013:590), Kvale (2007:27), and Kvale and Brinkmann
(2009:70) additionally emphasize the importance of communicating to informants that
their participation in a study is voluntary. Moreover, some authors also point to
general ethical issues, which qualitative researchers should address. These include,
for example, reflection on a project’s academic and greater social contribution
(Kvale 2007:23–24; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:62), rigorous engagement with methods,
as well as efforts to complete a project and making sure its results are being published
(Corbin and Strauss 2015:13–14).
184 An illustrative example for the extensive consideration of ethical issues in the American tradition of
qualitative research is Patton’s (2015:496–97) “Ethical Issues Checklist.”
141
As probably in many projects, in the present study, informed consent and confidentiality were
the two most important ethical issues to be considered. At its most basic level, informed consent
includes ensuring participants know about the purpose, design, as well as potential risks and
benefits of a study, are informed about the voluntariness of their participation, as well as their
right to withdraw from the study at any point (Kvale 2007:27; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:70).
Of course, this also includes addressing confidentiality (Kvale 2007:27;
Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:71). In this context, Patton (2015:497–98) as well as
Kvale (2007:27) and Kvale and Brinkmann (2009:71) call attention to the need for striking
a balance between sharing too much – and potentially confusing – information and sharing
too little information with participants. Considering this challenge, in the qualitative strand
of the study, certain information was shared repeatedly with participants, first during
recruitment and then again at the beginning of the interview appointment. This included,
for example, the main purpose of the study, as well as the promise of confidentiality.
Conversely, some information was only shared once, at the beginning of the interview meeting,
in order to avoid over-information. This strategy aimed at ensuring the truly informed consent
of participants.
Already during recruitment, participants of the qualitative strand of the study received detailed
information about the study’s purpose. In addition to information about the main research topic
– older women’s lifetimes of experiences with ICTs – this included the information that
the interviewer conducted research for her PhD thesis. In addition, informants learned about
the methods employed for the study right at the beginning and were asked whether they would
be comfortable with a home visit. Since the topic of media experiences was not deemed
particularly sensitive, special risks of participating in the study could not be identified and were
thus also not communicated. In terms of benefits, the researcher emphasized the participants’
valuable contribution to research and scholarship, as well as to the interviewer’s academic
studies and degree completion. Voluntariness of participation as well as the promise of
confidentiality were also already communicated during recruitment.
142
At the beginning of the interview appointment, the study’s focus was again repeated. Here,
the interviewer stated the following to ensure participants knew what the study was about:
‘I am interested in how women of your generation use various kinds of media – for example
radio, TV, computer, and Internet – and also how they have used them in the past.’185
In addition, the promise of confidentiality was repeated at the beginning of the conversation,
including additional explanation on how excerpts from the transcript would be anonymized
when used in presentations and publications. In addition, the interviewer explained that
interviewees of course had the right to withdraw from the study at any point and the option
not to answer questions, if they preferred to do so. Interviewees were also invited to share
any questions they might have on the project.
With regard to confidentiality, interviewees were also informed at the meeting that
the audio files would only be available to the interviewer as well as research assistants helping
in preparing draft transcripts of the conversations. Research assistants were explicitly informed
about their responsibility to respect confidentiality before audio recordings were shared.
Further measures undertaken to ensure confidentiality throughout the research process also
included the exclusive storage of audio files and digital transcripts in password-protected
computer networks. In the reporting of results, confidentiality was then realized by using labels,
such as “I1” or “I10” instead of interviewees’ names. In addition, no names of companies,
institutions, or precise geographical reference points (such as city districts or a village name,
for example) mentioned during the actual conversations were communicated when publicly
reporting on findings.
3.4.4 Characteristics of Participants
Although many of the characteristics of the participants are only reported in an
anonymized manner, it is nevertheless important to share some details for contextualization.
In the following paragraphs, all 12 women who participated in the qualitative strand of the study
will be introduced briefly – without mentioning specifics such as names – but providing enough
information to contextualize the quotes cited in subsequent chapters on the analysis of
the qualitative material.
185 “Ich interessiere mich dafür, wie Frauen Ihrer Generation verschiedene Medien – zum Beispiel Radio,
Fernsehen, Computer und das Internet – nutzen und in der Vergangenheit genutzt haben.”
143
As mentioned before, interviewee 1 was recruited through a fellow researcher who had kindly
promoted the study among older women. This kind of mediation probably contributed to I1’s
openness towards the researcher and to the length of the conversation, which with 3 hours
and 30 minutes, turned out to be the longest of all discussions. At the time of the interview,
I1 was 66 years old and living in a house in the suburbs of the Styrian capital, together with
her husband. She had completed high school (including A levels), and then worked as
a secretary in the public sector, in addition to being a homemaker, before retiring in 2009.
I1 has two adult children (a son and a daughter), as well as three grandchildren.
Interviewee 2 was recommended as an informant by I1. At the time of the interview, I2 was
69 years old and thus ultimately the oldest participant of the study. She lived alone in
an apartment in the suburbs of Graz (but a different area than I1). She had finished high school
(with A levels). After graduating, she had worked as a secretary in the business sector,
before becoming a full-time ‘family manager,’186 as she put it. During her adult life, I2 had
suffered the loss of her husband, which also led her to take up her profession as a secretary
again, this time working for an NGO. I2 retired 10 years prior to the interview appointment and
has two adult children (a son and a daughter), as well as multiple grandchildren.
Interviewee 3 was also recruited through snowball sampling. Although I3 was supportive,
the interview had a difficult start. When the interviewer showed up for the appointment,
I3 was not at home. As it turned out, she had forgotten about the meeting but, after her husband
gave her a call, she quickly returned home. Although the interviewer assured I3 repeatedly that
her forgetting about the appointment was no problem at all, I3 seemed to be slightly distressed.
Also, she was pressured for time, needing to complete many chores around the house.
This resulted in a rather rushed conversation at first. I3 was also the only participant who
had not engaged with the life graph prior to the meeting. Only when the interviewer assured I3
that she would not mind if she continued to go about her household chores, she visibly relaxed.
A substantial part of the conversation then took place in I3’s kitchen while she prepared
lunch for her intergenerational family. During the interview, her husband interrupted the
conversation multiple times. Later on, her daughter-in-law briefly came in on the conversation.
186 “Familienmanagerin” (I2)
144
I3 lives in a house in the suburbs of Graz, together with her husband and her adult son,
daughter-in-law, and grandson.187 At the time of the interview, she was 60 years old and thus
among the youngest participants. In terms of education, I3 had completed an apprenticeship
and then worked as a secretary in the business sector, in addition to taking care of her family.
Interviewee 4 was recommended as a participant by I3. At the time of the interview, she was
62 years old. Her house, which she shared with her ‘entire clan,’188 as she put it, was situated
in a village in the countryside. In addition to her husband, her adult son, her daughter-in-law,
and her grandkids lived with her. Her granddaughter also came in on the interview towards
the end of the appointment. In terms of education, I4 had completed a commercial school and
then worked as an accountant for a logistics company, in addition to caring for her family.
Interviewee 5 was recruited through a private contact of the researcher. Of all interviewees,
she was the only one who self-identified as a non-user of the Internet. Although the interviewer
assured her repeatedly that she had interesting information to offer, I5 remained slightly
skeptical about her potential contribution to the study. This might also have contributed to
the fact that the conversation with I5 turned out to be the shortest of all discussions
(nevertheless, the conversation still lasted 1 hour and 36 minutes). I5 lived in a small town and
was 62 years old at the time of the interview. Similar to I3 and I4, she shared a house with
her adult son, daughter-in-law, and a grandchild. She also has another adult son as well as two
further grandchildren who do not live with her. She had completed an apprenticeship
as a seamstress but had only worked in this profession very briefly, before becoming a full-time
homemaker. During her career as a homemaker, she has cared for multiple older relatives,
her children and her husband, as well as her grandchildren.
Interviewee 6, aged 63, was recruited at a public university event on the topic of aging in which
she had participated as an interested layperson. Now living in the capital of Styria, she was born
in the UK and migrated from Britain to Austria. I6 indicated to have completed an academic
degree and used to work as a social worker before retiring three years prior to the interview.
She has an adult son living in another province of Austria as well as an adult daughter living
in the UK. I6 lives together with her husband.
187 During the conversation, I3 also mentioned further grandkids in passing.
188 “ganze Sippe” (I4)
145
Interviewee 7, a 62-year-old woman, was again recruited through a private contact of
the researcher. Together with her ‘extended family,’189 as she put it, she lives on a large property
in the countryside. Different members of the family live in multiple houses built in close
proximity to each other. She shares her housing unit with her husband. However, her adult son,
daughter-in-law, as well as her adult daughter, son-in-law, and multiple grandchildren also live
on the property. In addition, I7 also has another adult son who does not live on the property.
I7 has completed an apprenticeship. She used to run a grocery store together with her husband
and continues to work part-time in a super market. However, she had retired from full-time
work seven years prior to the interview.
Interviewee 8, aged 62 years, was recommended as an informant by I7. She lives in a house
in the countryside, together with her husband. At the time of the interview, her adult son was
building house close to her home. The property also included a farm. Although I8 had
completed an apprenticeship as a hairdresser, she then worked as a farmer. Among others,
she had farmed chicken together with her family. I8 retired four years prior to the interview,
but still seemed to engage in some aspects of farming (at least discursively). I8 also has an adult
daughter who lives in a different city and had left home when she went to university.
Interviewee 9 was recruited at a computer class organized by a project management unit of
the City of Graz. Although I9 did not participate in the class, she happened to be on the premise
on the day the researcher visited the organization. At the time of the interview, I9 was 62
years old. In adult life, she had suffered the loss of her husband and now lives alone in
an apartment in the capital. I9 had completed high school (with A levels) and then worked
as an accountant, in addition to caring for her family. Although retired from full-time work,
she continues to work part time in an office. She has two adult sons.
Interviewee 10 was recruited through a colleague who occasionally worked with older adults.
I10 was 61 years old when she participated. She has an adult daughter and lives alone in
her house, located in the countryside in Western Styria. In terms of education,
she had completed a commercial school. Before retiring five years prior to the
interview appointment, she had worked as a bank clerk in the region, in addition to caring for
her family, and running her own business as an esoteric counsellor on the side. In retirement,
she has continued her esoteric business.
189 “Großfamilie” (I7)
146
Interviewee 11 was recommended as an informant by I5 and lives in the same small town
as herself. At the time of the interview, I11 was 66 years old. After having completed
a commercial school, she had worked as a secretary, in addition to taking care of her family.
I11 is a politically engaged person and used to serve as town mayor. Having retired from
formal work five years prior to participating in the study, she continues to actively contribute
to multiple NGOs and working groups. I11 lives alone in her house. She has two adult children
(a son and a daughter).
Interviewee 12 was 67 years old at the time of the interview. Similar to I10, I12 was recruited
through a colleague who occasionally worked with older adults. She also lived in the
countryside in Western Styria. I12 had completed a commercial school and then used to work
as an accountant. She had retired ten years prior to participating in the study. I12 lives alone in
her house and has an adult daughter.
Table 15 below summarizes the characteristics of the participants and highlights important
sampling criteria. As mentioned before, initial inclusion criteria for the study were
gender (female), age (60-70), and place of residence (province of Styria). In multiple rounds of
data collection and analysis further sampling criteria were added successively. In order of their
introduction as criteria, these were: professional experience, place of residence (urban vs. rural),
and household composition (generational vs. intergenerational). More generally, the sampling
also aimed at including women with different levels of educational attainment.
Since during the final analysis (when data collection had already been completed), the status of
being a mother and/or grandmother proved to be key with regard to older women’s
ICT engagement, information on children and grandchildren is also noted. However,
as this only proved to be important during the analysis, the exact number of children and
grandchildren (including those not living in the same household) was not always collected.
Also, participants were not asked explicitly about grandchildren. Available information
is nevertheless stated for comparability.
147
Ag
e
Location Household
composition
Educational
attainment
Professional
experience190
Children Grand-
childen
I1 66 suburb lives w. husband
high school
(A levels)
secretary
son,
daughter
three
I2 69 suburb lives alone high school
(A levels)
secretary,
homemaker
son,
daughter
multiple
I3 60 suburb
intergenerational
apprenticeship secretary
son (more?) multiple
I4 62 village
intergenerational
commercial
school
accountant
son (more?) multiple
I5 62 small
town
intergenerational
apprenticeship seamstress,
homemaker and
caregiver
two sons three
I6 63 city lives w. husband academic
degree
social worker
son,
daughter
none191
I7 62 country-
side
intergenerational
apprenticeship owner of
grocery store
(in retirement:
part-time shop
assistant)
two sons
and one
daughter
four
I8 62 country-
side
lives w. husband apprenticeship hairdresser,
farmer
son,
daughter
multiple
I9 62 city lives alone high school
(A levels)
accountant
(in retirement:
part-time
accountant)
two sons none
I10 61 village lives alone commercial
school
bank clerk,
esoteric business
(in retirement:
continues
esoteric business
daughter none
I11 66 small
town
lives alone commercial
school
secretary,
mayor
son,
daughter
none
I12 67 village lives alone commerical
school
accountant daughter none
Table 15: Overview of interviewees' characteristics
190 With regard to professional experiences, it has to be noted that all of the women interviewed were also
homemakers in different phases of their lives. However, during the interviews, participants foregrounded different
elements of their professional experiences. Some highlighted their roles as mothers and homemakers while others
did not and emphasized other work experiences. Table 15 thus highlights the professional identities which
the interviewees also emphasized themselves.
191 Interviewees were not asked explicitly in the interview whether they had grandchildren (or how many).
However, if no grandchildren were mentioned in the conversation, it is assumed that there were none. This seems
to be a reasonable assumption, because interviewees who did not mention grandchildren of their own did often
refer to friends’/acquaintances’ grandchildren. Thus, it seems likely that they would have also mentioned
grandchildren of their own. I12 explicitly stated not to have any.
148
3.5 Transcription
As mentioned previously, conversations with all interviewees were audio-recorded.
Subsequently, these digital recordings were transcribed. Transcription is the transformation of
“raw material” (Silverman 1997:115) – in the present case spoken words – into a form that
allows for detailed analysis (also see Kowal and O’Connell 2013:438). As Silverman
(1997:124) points out, there is no such thing as a “perfect” transcript. The quality of a transcript
depends on the resources available and is ultimately largely defined by its adequacy for
the later analysis (Silverman 1997:124; Kvale 2007:94; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:180).
Although there is no standard procedure for producing transcripts (Kvale 2007:95;
Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:181, 2009:186; Silverman 1997:124), it is still important to
pay attention to the process of transcription. As many scholars of qualitative research emphasize
(Kowal and O’Connell 2013:440; Kvale 2007:92–93; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:177–78;
Silverman 1997:117), transcription is more than a mere administrative task. It is a process
of construction (Kowal and O’Connell 2013), of transformation (Silverman 1997:115),
interpretation (Kvale 2007:92; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:177), and translation from
an oral into a written form (Kvale 2007:93; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:178).
Thus, it is important to develop a standardized procedure for transcription within
the frameworks of a specific project, in order to allow for the comparability of transcripts
(Kvale 2007:95; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:180).
As Kvale (2007:95) and Kvale and Brinkmann (2009:180) note, in interview studies recordings
are usually transcribed by secretaries. One reason for the frequent outsourcing of this task is
certainly feasibility. Usually, transcribing one hour of interview material takes between
four and six hours (Brennen 2013:37).192 Particularly if data collection and analysis are
conducted cyclically, as in approaches inspired by Grounded Theory, assistance in transcription
will almost certainly be required. In the present study, transcriptions were partly done by
the author and partly by two research assistants.193 The initial interview was transcribed by
the author. Transcribing, one can learn about one’s own style of interviewing
(and how to improve it) and also start with analyzing content (Kvale 2007:95;
Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:180).
192 Similarly, Kvale (2007:95) and Kvale and Brikmann (2009:180) mention that in their experience it takes
ca. five hours to transcribe one hour of recordings.
193 The author would like to thank the late Mag.a Erika Mörth, as well as Dr. Oana Hergenröther for
their assistance in preparing multiple of the draft transcripts.
149
Subsequently, to allow for a cyclical collection and analysis of data in a reasonable period
of time, two research assistants helped with the preparation of draft transcripts.
As recommended in the literature (Kvale 2007:95; Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:180), the author
provided assistants with detailed instructions. These included general rules for transcribing
qualitative interviews, inspired by guidelines issued by the Institute of Cultural Anthropology
and European Ethnography of the University of Graz (Institut für Volkskunde und
Kulturanthropologie. Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz n.d.),194 as well as a specific
transcription scheme, adapted with minor variations from Knoblauch (2011:160)
(see Appendix).195 In addition to spoken words as such, the transcription scheme used in
the present study required the transcription of further details. Among these were length
of pauses, speaking volume, emphases of words or syllables, drawling, interruptions of words
and sentences, uncertain transcriptions, as well as remarks on, for example, non-verbal acts. 196
Transcription thus included verbal, prosodic, paralinguistic, and sometimes also extra-linguistic
expressions (Kowal and O’Connell 2013:438). In terms of orthography, standard orthography
was used for the most part, since this reduces the workload of transcription substantially
(Kowal and O’Connell 2013:438). Sometimes, dialect terms were included, if common
dialect words or phrases were used by interviewees.197 Transcription was also assisted by
the use of two kinds of software, “Express Scribe” as well as “F4/F5.” All draft transcripts
prepared by assistants were then revised by the author, listening again to the recordings,
and occasionally changing and amending the drafts if necessary. The last three interviews were
again transcribed by the author, without relying on drafts, since there was no further sampling
– and thus speedy analysis – necessary.
194 Meanwhile, the department has changed its name to “Institut für Kulturanthropologie und
Europäische Ethnologie.” The guidelines were issued when the department still used its previous name.
195 These instructions for transcription had also already been used and tested in this form by the author in
a previous project (Masters’ thesis) (Ratzenböck 2013).
196 The latter could of course only be included if transcripts were prepared by the interviewer.
197 For reporting – in the present thesis and other publications – quotes from the transcripts were slightly edited
for readability.
150
3.6 Analysis of Qualitative Material
As mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, qualitative research is often concerned with
processes of meaning-making and their interrelation with actions in everyday life. The previous
subchapters discussed how qualitative material was generated for the study at hand,
using various methods of data collection and building on participants’ support. This subchapter
will consider methods of analysis and how the material collected for the main qualitative strand
of this study has been analyzed. Interpretation of qualitative material requires structured
thinking as much as creative imagination. To support the first – structured thinking –
all transcripts have been analyzed using the software “MAXQDA.”198 Such programs facilitate
the analysis of interview material and help maintain an overview – especially if working with
large amounts of data (Kelle and Kluge 2010:61; Kvale 2007:99; Patton 2015:65, 2015:529).
However, computers and software do of course not lighten the workload of interpretation
(Corbin and Strauss 2015:243; Kvale 2007:99; Patton 2015:65, 2015:529). Here, the analytical
skills of the researcher come into play. In the present study, the analysis of the qualitative
material was inspired by three procedures: content-structuring qualitative content analysis
(Kuckartz 2018), Grounded Theory (Glaser and Strauss 2009 [1967]; Corbin and Strauss 2015),
and empirical development of types (Kelle and Kluge 2010). These strategies and techniques
of analysis will be detailed in the following sections.
3.6.1 Content-Structuring Qualitative Content Analysis
In terms of a general analytical strategy, the analysis of the qualitative material of
the present study was inspired by Kuckartz’ (2018) ‘content-structuring qualitative
content analysis.’199 Kuckartz (2018) proposes a pragmatic but simultaneously rigorous way to
analyze qualitative data. Combining deductive and inductive steps, this procedure allows for
a thorough analysis, while keeping an overview of the material in its entirety. This combination
of analytical logics is a key advantage of the procedure suggested by Kuckartz (2018).
While it allows for inductive analysis and thus exploration, it also proposes a set endpoint of
analysis and thus prevents qualitative researchers from getting lost in details.
198 For the final analysis, presented in this thesis, version 18.1 of MAXQDA was used.
199 In the German original: “inhaltlich strukturierende qualitative Inhaltsanalyse” (Kuckartz 2018).
151
Content-structuring qualitative content analysis, as developed by Kuckartz (2018:97–121)
consists of seven phases. The first phase includes ‘initiating engagement with the text,
highlighting of important passages, and writing memos’200 (Kuckartz 2018:101).
Here, the material should be read carefully, highlighting parts that seem to be noteworthy
(Kuckartz 2018:101). Kuckartz (2018:101) also recommends to note down comments and
questions about the material on the margins, as well as spontaneous ideas for analysis in memos
(Kuckartz 2018:101). After having read the material, researchers write a short summary of
each case included in the analysis (Kuckartz 2018:101). In the study at hand, all of these steps
were observed. Transcripts of life graph discussions, guided interviews, as well as
walking interviews were read thoroughly during different analytical stages, annotating ideas
and observations. Also, summaries of all twelve cases included in the study were prepared.
The second phase is concerned with the ‘development of thematic main categories’201
(Kuckartz 2018:101). Most importantly, this phase aims at structuring the material in a useful
way in order to facilitate the analysis. Usually, main categories can easily be derived from
the research question guiding a project as well as the question guide used in interviews202
(Kuckartz 2018:101). However, the main categories can also be created inductively,
if a topic seems to be particularly noteworthy during the initial reading of the material
(Kuckartz 2018:101). As soon as the thematic main categories have been established,
Kuckartz (2018:102) suggests testing their relevance through a first analysis of a data subset.
The main qualitative strand of the present study consisted of three main categories,
which were derived from the research question: influential biographical backgrounds for
ICT use, patterns of evaluation of ICTs in everyday life, and patterns of ICT use
in everyday life.
200 In the German original: “Initierende Textarbeit, Markieren wichtiger Textstellen und Schreiben
von Memos” (Kuckartz 2018:101).
201 In the German original: “Entwickeln von thematischen Hauptkategorien” (Kuckartz 2018:101).
202 Kelle and Kluge (2010:67) make a similar point, arguing that the question guide of an interview provides
useful starting points for the later analysis because interviewees – logically – mainly talk about the topics
listed there.
152
In the third phase, entitled ‘initial coding process: coding of the entire material
(available at the time) according to the main categories,’203 the material is structured
fundamentally, in an effort to facilitate a more detailed analysis (Kuckartz 2018:102).
Conducting the final analysis of all twelve cases combined, this step proved to be quite
labor-intensive. In the qualitative strand of the study, due to the use of three different methods,
interviewees discussed the same topics at different points. Thus, it took considerable time to
complete initial coding with the main categories during the final round of analysis.
Phase 4, ‘compiling all passages which have been assigned to the same main category,’204
and phase 5, ‘inductive development of subcategories from the material’205
(Kuckartz 2018:106) go hand in hand. After having retrieved all passages belonging to
a main category, subcategories are developed inductively from the material
(Kuckartz 2018:106).206 In the study at hand, phase 5, as described by Kuckartz (2018:106),
was not fully implemented. Instead, some subcategories were also derived deductively from
topics addressed in the life graph discussions and guided interviews. In particular, this was
the case with regard to the first main category, influential biographical backgrounds for
ICT use, and the second main category, patterns of evaluation of ICTs in everyday life.
Subcategories of the third main category, patterns of ICT use in everyday life, however,
were indeed developed inductively from the material. Table 15 below provides an overview of
the subcategories generated deductively and inductively in the final round of analysis,
including all 12 cases. In terms of contents, the three main categories, as well as
the 12 subcategories, will be described in detail in chapters 4-7.
203 In the German original: “Erster Codierprozess: Codieren des gesamten (bis zu diesem Zeitpunkt
vorhandenen) Materials mit den Hauptkategorien” (Kuckartz 2018:102).
204 In the German original: “Zusammenstellen aller mit der gleichen Kategorie codierten Textstellen”
(Kuckartz 2018:106).
205 In the German original: “Induktives Bestimmen von Subkategorien am Material” (Kuckartz 2018:106).
206 Kelle and Kluge (2010:76) have called this procedure ‘synopitcal analysis’ (“synoptische Analyse”).
153
Main Categories Subcategories
1. Influential biographical backgrounds
for ICT use
a. Generation-specific patterns
of media experiences in childhood and adolescence
b. Work-related patterns
of media experiences in adulthood
c. Family-related patterns
of media experiences in adulthood
2. Patterns of evaluation of ICTs
in everyday life
a. General relevance of new and old ICTs
in everyday life
b. Positive evaluations of new ICTs
c. Positive evaluations of old ICTs
d. Negative evaluations of new ICTs
e. Negative evaluations of old ICTs
f. Sense of familiarity with new ICTs
g. Accessibility and usability of new ICTs
3. Patterns of ICT use
in everyday life
Core Category: ICT use in service of others
Type 1: family centered ICT use
(Subtype 1a: family care work with ICTs,
Subtype 1b: family history writing with ICTs)
Type 2: professional and
community-oriented ICT use
(Subtype 2a: professional service use of ICTs,
Subtype 2b: community-oriented use of ICTs)
Secondary Category: Self-oriented and
individually fulfilling ICT use
Type 3
(Subtype 3a: pursuit of personal interests
and self-expression with ICTs,
Subtype 3b: self-educational use of ICTs
Subtype 3c: Use of ICTs for “casual leisure”)
Table 16: Main categories and subcategories of the main qualitative strand of the study
154
In phase 6, ‘second coding process: coding of the entire material according to the
refined scheme of categories,’207 the material is analyzed in utmost detail (Kuckartz 2018:110).
To complete this step, all material has to be coded again, using all the main categories and
subcategories developed previously (Kuckartz 2018:110). In this phase, researchers can also
collapse or split subcategories in order to refine the scheme (Kuckartz 2018:110). As discussed
previously in the context of sampling for the qualitative strand of the study, the project at hand
involved multiple rounds of analysis. Thus, the scheme of subcategories evolved over time and
could be refined repeatedly.
After phase 6 has been completed, Kuckartz (2018:111) recommends drawing up
‘case-related thematic summaries,’208 particularly if the material is extensive and if topics are
discussed at different points in the transcripts. Kuckartz (2018:111–17) suggests a specific
procedure and format for producing these thematic summaries. In this study,
thematic summaries were inspired by his design but not prepared in the same format. However,
the case summaries also included the main topics and subcategories and a short review of
how these were relevant for each participant, in the researcher’s own words
(Kuckartz 2018:111–12). To prepare thematic summaries for each case has multiple
advantages. Among others, they ensure a systematic and extensive analysis as well as
a thorough documentation of the analysis (Kuckartz 2018:117). However, as Kuckartz
(2018:112) points out, they are also a lot of work to produce. Also in the study at hand,
preparing case-related thematic summaries required much time. Ultimately, all summaries
combined resulted in 300 pages of tables and text.
207 In the German original: “Zweiter Codierprozess: Codieren des kompletten Materials mit
den ausdifferenzierten Kategorien” (Kuckartz 2018:110). 208 In the German original: “Fallbezogene thematische Zusammenfassungen” (Kuckartz 2018:111).
155
Lastly, phase 7 focuses on ‘the actual analysis’209 and ‘preparing the presentation of results’210
(Kuckartz 2018:117). In this context, Kuckartz (2018:117–20) suggests multiple approaches
for another focused analysis of the material. These approaches include examining
the main categories and their interrelations, interrelations of subcategories within
a main category, correlations of socio-demographic characteristics with categories developed
in the analysis211,212, as well as combinations of codes in the material. In terms of presentation,
he discusses visual representations of analyses and synthesizing findings and thorough
documentation of the process of analysis (Kuckartz 2018:120–21). In the main qualitative
strand of the study, analysis of the material and reporting focused on the main categories a
nd their subcategories (see chapters 4-6), as well as their interrelations (see chapter 7).
3.6.2 Strategies and Techniques of Analysis in Grounded Theory
With regard to a general strategy, the analysis of the material relied on the steps outlined
in Kuckartz’ (2018) content-structuring qualitative content analysis. Concerning
specific strategies and techniques of analysis, however, the interpretation of the qualitative
material also built on procedures and recommendations that have been developed within
the framework of Grounded Theory (Glaser and Strauss 2009 [1967]; Corbin and Strauss 2015).
Ultimately, approaches inspired by Grounded Theory aim to build theories from data.
As Glaser and Strauss – the two sociologists who had originally developed Grounded Theory
(Corbin and Strauss 2015:6) – explain, of course already existing general theoretical concepts
inform the initial collection and analysis of data (Glaser and Strauss 2009 [1967]:46).213
These primary concepts then need to prove their “fit and relevance” for the theory emerging
from the detailed analysis of the data (Glaser and Strauss 2009 [1967]:46).214
209 In the German original: “die eigentliche Analyse” (Kuckartz 2018:117). 210 In the German original: “die Ergebnispräsentation vorbereiten” (Kuckartz 2018:117).
211 Inspired by Kuckartz’ (2018:119–20) suggestion to prepare cross-tables comparing socio-demographic
characteristics with topics discussed by participants, the researcher composed a table comparing the living situation
of interviewees (living in an intergenerational household or not) with their attitudes towards and use of new ICTs
(frequency, relevance, security). The preparation of this cross-table had been encouraged by earlier rounds of
analysis, which suggested a potential connection between intergenerational living arrangements and the degree of
engagement with new ICTs. The cross-table was used as an analytical tool and not for presentation of findings.
However, hypotheses generated with the help of this cross-table will be discussed in chapters 4-6.
212 Kelle and Kluge (2010:110) also recommend the use of cross-tables to assist the development of types.
213 Also see Charmaz (2000:515).
214 For theoretical starting points of the study, see chapter 1.
156
However, although already existing concepts contribute to the investigation, the focus of
Grounded Theory is on inductive analysis (Glaser and Strauss 2009 [1967]:46). In the
qualitative strand of the study, analytical procedures suggested in Grounded Theory thus
particularly informed inductive phases of the analysis.
Corbin and Strauss (2015:88) define analysis of qualitative material as follows: “Analysis is the
act of taking data, thinking about it, and denoting concepts to stand for the analyst’s
interpretation of the meaning intended by the participant.” In the present study,
the interpretation of the qualitative material was inspired by Grounded Theory’s understanding
of analysis in terms of specific analytical strategies, as well as concrete techniques.
Specific analytical strategies inspired by Grounded Theory, for instance, included
“questioning” and “making comparisons” (Corbin and Strauss 2015:90). On the most
basic level, the first can be understood as Grounded Theory’s impetus to “question everything”
(Corbin and Strauss 2015:99, initials added by author). However, as Corbin and Strauss
(2015:91) point out, researchers do not necessarily need to ask elaborate questions during
the analysis of their material. On the contrary, it can be beneficial to just ask oneself
“questions of who, what, when, where how, and with what consequences” while reviewing
the material (Corbin and Strauss 2015:92). Two particular kinds of questioning mentioned by
Corbin and Strauss (2015) played an important role in the analysis of the interview transcripts
of the present study: “sensitizing questions” (Corbin and Strauss 2015:92, initials in original)
and “what if” questions (Corbin and Strauss 2015:100). The first can be characterized
as questions such as “What is going on here […]?”, “Who are the actors involved?”,
“Or what is its meaning to them?” (Corbin and Strauss 2015:92). In the study at hand,
similar questions were asked constantly in analyzing the interview transcripts.
An illustrative example of how this procedure has been useful is the case of I5. At first,
the researcher could not make sense of the following statement of I5: “Internet ist gestrichen
[…] dadurch, dass wir einen Hund haben nicht […].”215 – Why would having a dog not allow
you to use the Internet? After repeatedly thinking about this sentence – and most importantly
asking “What is going on here […]?” (Corbin and Strauss 2015:92) – it occurred to
the researcher that both the dog and the Internet are things I5 has to “care for.” Of course,
I5’s statement can also be interpreted as an equation of the Internet with other leisure interests.
215 ‘Internet isn’t applicable […] because we have a dog, right […].’ (I5)
157
However, through the repeated analysis of the material and contextualization of this statement
with other remarks of hers, it became increasingly evident that the concept of “caring for”
matters to I5 (and also matters more generally with regard to older women’s engagement with
new ICTs, as it turned out). Asking “sensitizing questions” (Corbin and Strauss 2015:92,
italics in original) was thus crucial for the analysis of the interview material. More generally,
also playing the “what if? game” (Corbin and Strauss 2015:101) proved to be a productive
analytical strategy. As Corbin and Strauss (2015:101) explain, this most importantly means
allowing the mind to wander and engage with the material creatively, repeatedly asking what
alternative scenarios might look like.
In addition to the constant questioning of the material, analysis in Grounded Theory also
relies on “constant comparisons” (Corbin and Strauss 2015:93, italics added by author).
As Corbin and Strauss (2015:96) explain, making comparisons encourages abstract thinking.
Comparisons can be done in various ways, including “theoretical comparisons,”
“close-in comparisons,” and “far-out comparisons” (Corbin and Strauss 2015:95). The first
refers to abstract thought experiments. The latter two, however, invite creative comparisons of,
on the one hand, very similar phenomena, and on the other very different phenomena,
which could nevertheless share certain characteristics (Corbin and Strauss 2015:95).
Repeatedly, these strategies of comparisons were employed in analyzing the interview material.
Two specific techniques of analysis developed in Grounded Theory used in the qualitative
strand of the study were “open coding” (Corbin and Strauss 2015:87) and writing memos
(Corbin and Strauss 2015:106–33). Open coding refers to the exploratory identification of
themes in the material (Corbin and Strauss 2015:87, 2015:243). Although this technique
informed the entire analytical process, it was particularly applied in phase 1, 5, and 6 of
Kuckartz’ (2018) content-structuring qualitative content analysis (see section 3.6.1).216
Essentially, open coding refers to detailed and reflective analysis of sections of material,
in order to arrive at abstract interpretations (Corbin and Strauss 2015:238).
As Corbin and Strauss (2015:12) emphasize, description is a prerequisite for developing
an integrated theory. To use a metaphor: The various abstract interpretations developed during
open coding are building blocks, which can later be used to build such an integrated theory.
Conducting open coding, researchers look at a particular section of the material and try
to reduce the contents expressed (Corbin and Strauss 2015:87).
216 Conducting both open coding as described here, as well as deductive coding, the final analysis of
the qualitative material consisted of 4,423 coded elements of text.
158
In doing so, they employ specific strategies, such as questioning and making comparisons,
as described above (also see Corbin and Strauss 2015:238). However, open coding goes beyond
mere description. As Corbin and Strauss (2015:232) point out, researchers need to
“understand what the underlying issues are rather than focusing on the obvious.”
To achieve this, they compare different potential meanings of expressions
(Corbin and Strauss 2015:97), as well as different sections with each other
(Corbin and Strauss 2015:87). There are also specific techniques analysts can use.
Three concrete procedures suggested in Grounded Theory, which have been used in
the qualitative strand of the present study, are “flip-flopping” (Corbin and Strauss 2015:97),
“waving a red flag in our minds” (Corbin and Strauss 2015:98), and looking for
“time-related words” (Corbin and Strauss 2015:100, italics in original). The first
refers to a strategy of mentally evoking opposites of a phenomenon mentioned
(Corbin and Strauss 2015:97). – What would the opposite of a phenomenon or experience
look like? The second urges researchers to note specific words mentioned by informants,
such as “always, never, everyone, and no way,” since they draw attention to a continuum
of experiences (Corbin and Strauss 2015:98). The researcher should then go ahead and think
about other points of this continuum (Corbin and Strauss 2015:98). Thirdly, noting words
related to time can help analysts to think more closely about the contexts of certain processes
(Corbin and Strauss 2015:100). Applying such techniques, analysts eventually come up with
concepts of varying degrees of abstraction (Corbin and Strauss 2015:69). The most abstract
concepts are then called “categories” (Corbin and Strauss 2015:69). These are the most relevant
ones, constituting the building blocks – or “structure” (Corbin and Strauss 2015:77) –
of the developing theory. However, these building blocks are not made of solid material,
they are moldable. As Corbin and Strauss (Corbin and Strauss 2015:87, 2015:233) explain,
all meanings ascribed are always preliminary and need to be confirmed through further analysis.
When coding, writing memos helps researchers document their analysis and a project’s
overall process (Corbin and Strauss 2015:118). Memos should not only be descriptive but
aim at abstraction and reflection of the concepts developed through analysis
(Corbin and Strauss 2015:119). Charmaz (2000:517–18) points out five distinct advantages of
preparing memos: being able to reflect on ideas, directing the analysis, defining categories
more closely, identifying interrelations of categories, and, last but not least, strengthening the
researcher’s confidence in his or her analytical skills. In addition, Corbin and Strauss
(2015:118) mention a very banal reason for writing memos: to ensure one can remember what
one was thinking about months ago.
159
Although Corbin and Strauss (2015:106–33) provide an abundance of examples of memos,
they insist that there is no perfect way of doing them and encourage researchers to develop their
“own style and techniques” with regard to memos (Corbin and Strauss 2015:119). Importantly,
they also point out that whenever researchers have an inspiring idea for analysis, they should
write it down immediately (Corbin and Strauss 2015:122). In the study at hand,
memos have been written in various forms whenever analyzing the qualitative material.
For the most part, they have not been extensive, but still amounted to 48 pages of writings.
In addition to specific strategies and techniques, this project also shared Grounded Theory’s
general aim: to build a theory from data. Such a theory links the different categories developed
through analysis (Corbin and Strauss 2015:13). At the center of each grounded theory is a
so-called “core category” (Corbin and Strauss 2015:8, 2015:13). This core category should
summarize a study’s key topic and relate to all other categories and concepts
(Corbin and Strauss 2015:13). The relations between the core category and all other categories
and concepts ultimately represent the theory developed (Corbin and Strauss 2015:13).
The purpose of such empirically grounded theories is to explain phenomena but also to generate
concepts that can be used in further research (Corbin and Strauss 2015:62). In order to work
towards these objectives, the main qualitative strand of the study includes the integration of all
categories into an empirically grounded model, which will be discussed in detail in chapter 7.
3.6.3 Generating Types
In addition to Kuckartz’ (2018) content-structuring qualitative content analysis and
the use of specific analytical strategies and techniques of Grounded Theory
(Glaser and Strauss 2009 [1967]; Corbin and Strauss 2015), the analysis of the qualitative
material also included the generation of types. This process was guided by recommendations
of Kelle and Kluge (2010). As Kelle and Kluge (2010:56, 2010:109) point out,
comparisons of cases already play a role in qualitative sampling. In order to be able to compare
different cases to each other, the sample must include a certain degree of heterogeneity
(Kelle and Kluge 2010:109). Similarly, comparisons of cases take place during the
initial analysis of qualitative material (Kelle and Kluge 2010:10). As Kluge and Kelle (2010:58)
highlight, and as could also be seen in the discussion above, Grounded Theory heavily relies
on analytical strategies involving comparisons. Ultimately, to compare is to structure
the material and to identify inherent patterns (Kelle and Kluge 2010:59).
160
Building on these general considerations, Kelle and Kluge (2010:91–107) suggest
a four-step process to develop distinct types through the analysis of qualitative material.
The process they suggest includes: ‘development of relevant dimensions of comparison,’
‘grouping of cases and analysis of empirical regularities,’ ‘analysis of thematic interrelations,’
and ‘characterization of the types developed’217 (Kelle and Kluge 2010:91). The first step
in developing types through qualitative analysis thus is to identify those categories that are
best suited to differentiate between cases and simultaneously highlight similarities
(Kelle and Kluge 2010:91). Categories suited to differentiate between cases and identify
similarities between cases can be generated in multiple ways (Kelle and Kluge 2010:94–95).
One way of creating these categories is through coding (Kelle and Kluge 2010:94),
as conducted in the present study (see sections 3.6.1 and 3.6.2). In the context of this project,
categories that proved to be particularly well suited for the creation of types were categories
referring to different purposes of ICT use (see chapter 6).
After the categories suited best for comparison have been identified, cases are grouped and
examined with regard to inherent patterns, in a second step (Kelle and Kluge 2010:91).
Here, Kelle and Kluge (2010:93) recommend thoroughly examining ‘internal homogeneity’218
as well as ‘external heterogeneity’219 of the developing types. The first requires
a maximum degree of similarity within a type and the latter a maximum degree of variance
between different types (Kelle and Kluge 2010:85). Importantly, one case (e.g. one person)
can belong to more than one type (Kelle and Kluge 2010:86, 2010:111). If for example,
looking into types of actions – as in the present study – one interview can include accounts on
multiple types of actions (Kelle and Kluge 2010:86). Although individual cases were of interest
in the qualitative strand of the study, patterns of actions were even more important and thus
chosen as a focus for the analysis.
In a third step, researchers should identify the most important characteristics of a type and
find out how those make a difference (Kelle and Kluge 2010:91). As Kelle and Kluge
(2010:101) point out, any social science analysis should transcend mere description and thus
also offer some explanations of interrelations. At this point, the types generated can also
be further differentiated, leading to the creation of subtypes (Kelle and Kluge 2010:103).
217 In the Geman original: “Erarbeitung relevanter Vergleichdsdimensionen,” “Gruppierung der Fälle und
Analyse empirischer Regelmäßigkeiten,” “Analyse inhaltlicher Sinnzusammenhänge,” “Charakerisierung der
gebildeten Typen” (Kelle and Kluge 2010:91).
218 In the German original: “interne Homogenität” (Kelle and Kluge 2010:93).
219 In the German original text: “externe Heterogenität” (Kelle and Kluge 2010:93).
161
As can be seen in chapters 6 and 7, this was also done in the present study. Here, the three
basic types of ICT use of older women identified through the analysis of the qualitative material,
family-centered ICT use (Type 1), professional and community-oriented ICT use (Type 2),
and self-oriented and individually fulfilling ICT use (Type 3), were further differentiated
into subtypes.220
After types have been developed in basic terms, they need to be characterized in detail in
a fourth step (2010:92). As Kluge and Kelle (2010:106) emphasize, this step does not represent
a small detail, but is part of the analytical process. Among others, it involves the thoughtful
choice of names for types, in order to do justice to the complexity of empirical reality and
people’s lived experiences (Kelle and Kluge 2010:106).
3.7 Reporting of Qualitative Findings
Before discussing findings of the main qualitative strand of the study, a short note on
the reporting of qualitative results. Similar to generating and analyzing qualitative material,
writing about it is a process of interpretation. Writing about research includes
multiple transformations. The accounts people share in interviews are first being “re-created”
in multiple rounds of interpretation and analysis (Denzin and Lincoln 2000:23).
In addition, people’s accounts are usually re-organized in a linear manner, which often differs
considerably from the ways in which people have shared their stories (Charmaz 2000:527).
And, ultimately, these re-created and re-ordered accounts become a “public text” that is shared
with a larger audience (Denzin and Lincoln 2000:23). Considering these transformations,
it cannot be emphasized enough that qualitative research is indeed a co-creation of participants
and researcher (Corbin and Strauss 2015:29; Denzin and Lincoln 2000:21; Kvale 2007:19–20;
Kvale and Brinkmann 2009:48–49).
220 Type 1 ultimately included two subtypes (see subchapter 6.1), Type 2 could be differented into two subtypes
(see subchapter 6.2), and Type 3 could be differentiated into three subtypes (see subchapter 6.3).
Also see Table 16 in section 3.6.1.
162
The following chapters (4-7) present the findings of the main qualitative strand of the study.
In an effort to facilitate immersion into the text, the author would like to share some
instructions for reading with the audience.
• Most interviews (all but interview no. 6) were conducted in German by the author.
If substantial quotes from German transcripts are used in the continuous text,
they are cited in their original German version. These quotes are marked using
double quotation marks. For each original German quote from a transcript,
a translation into English, prepared by the author of the thesis, is provided in
a footnote. Translations are marked using single quotation marks. The author took
great care in translating. This included repeated re-reading and comparison
of translations, as well as the effort to represent interviewees’ voices as closely as
possible. The author is aware that the use of German quotes in the continuous text
might affect the readability of the report. However, benefits seemed to outweigh
disadvantages in this regard. Most importantly, the decision to include German
original quotes in the continuous text has been made in an effort to grant voice to
interviewees and to acknowledge the local context of the study.
• Since interview no. 6 was conducted in English, the opposite applies.
Original quotes of this interview in English are cited in the continuous text and
translations into German, prepared by the author, are provided in a footnote.
Again, double quotation marks are used to indicate original quotes and single
quotation marks to indicate the author’s translation.
• As always, there are exceptions from the rule. If only brief quotes (such as a
single word or short sequence of words) are used from German transcripts,
their English translation is used in the continuous text. The original terms used
in German by interviewees are then provided in footnotes (when terms are used
for the first time). This is not meant to confuse readers. Rather, after trying out
multiple variations, it showed that this enhances readability and also prevents
the creation of “Denglish/Denglisch” sentences. – In other words, of sentences that
include a wild mix of English and German words.
• To assist orientation, italics have been used in the report to highlight important
topics and findings. These are of course just suggestions in terms of what is
particularly noteworthy. Hopefully, the reader her- or himself will discover further
points of interest engaging with the text.
163
4 Influential Biographical Backgrounds for ICT Use221
This and the subsequent chapters discuss the findings of the main qualitative strand of the study.
What results did the qualitative investigation of ascription to and use of different
media technologies by women aged 60 to 70 yield? How do they connect to previous research
conducted in this area and to the theoretical background of the investigation (see chapter 1)?
And ultimately, what does the research conducted contribute to the discussion on older adults’
– particularly older women’s – interpretation and use of ICTs in their everyday lives?
These are the guiding questions that underpin this and the following chapters. Already when
designing the qualitative investigation, the focus of interest was on biographical backgrounds
of participants (generationally and individually), patterns of evaluation (attitudes towards
different technologies and evaluation of their relevance), as well as patterns of action
(purposes and contexts of use). Using the language of Kuckartz’ content-structuring qualitative
content analysis (see section 3.6.1), it can be stated that these three areas were the initial
‘main thematic categories’222 (Kuckartz 2018:79–80) used in the qualitative strand of the study.
However, as this research was explorative, the main categories were classified in more detail
and further subcategories were established through conducting and analyzing
life graph discussions, guided interviews, and walking interviews in small domestic spaces.
While chapter 5 and 6 will look into current experiences of women aged 60 to 70 with ICTs,
this chapter focuses on past interactions with media technologies throughout the life course.
Chapter 7 will then combine past and present perspectives of interviewees and offer
an integrated view on interrelations of biographical backgrounds, patterns of evaluation,
and patterns of action of ICT use in the everyday lives of older women.
The present chapter describes influential biographical backgrounds for the use of
information and communication technologies by women aged 60 to 70 that could be identified
through the qualitative strand of the study. Three important areas of biographical backgrounds
emerged through the analysis of the qualitative material: generation-specific patterns of
media experiences in childhood and adolescence, work-related patterns of media experiences
in adulthood, and family-related patterns of media experiences in adulthood.
221 Partly, this chapter includes ideas the author developed in the paper “Examining the Experiences of
Older Women with ICTs. Interrelations of Generation-Specific Media Practices and Individual
Media Biographies” (Ratzenböck, Barbara 2016a).
222 In the German original the term “thematische[…] Hauptkagegorien” is used (Kuckartz 2018:79–80).
164
4.1 Generation-Specific Patterns of Media Experiences in Childhood and Adolescence
As Taipale et al. (2017:1) highlight, the use of a generational perspective to study experiences
with digital technologies is a “well-established practice in social sciences and media studies.”
Although the generational perspective received increased criticism towards the 2010s,
particularly because of potentially inviting an oversimplified classification of users into
binary groups of technologically competent (young) and technologically challenged (old)
generations of users (Taipale et al. 2017:1), it still remains relevant, as this analysis will
also show. As discussed previously in section 1.4.3.3, multiple studies on older
technology users that employ a generational perspective have drawn on ideas of Karl Mannheim
(1952 [1927/28]) and this qualitative investigation was partly informed by Mannheimian
thought as well. As elaborated on earlier, generation understood as “location” according to
Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]) emphasizes the importance of youth experiences for the formation
of patterns of attitudes for social actors (see section 1.3.2). Mannheim thought that particularly
(though not exclusively) early life experiences have a special potential for shaping views on
the world because, as any new situation that people experience, they possess a particularly
high degree of “moulding power” (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:296). This idea has been
criticized repeatedly in the context of studying media experiences of older adults, as it can lead
to downplaying the influence of later life experience (old age included) on media use.
However, as already highlighted elsewhere (Ratzenböck 2016a:59), if one reads Mannheim
(1952 [1927/28]:298) closely, one can see that, although he emphasizes the particular relevance
of youth experiences, he actually talks of the processing of life experiences as “inner ‘dialectic’”
and not as inflexible “summation or agglomeration.” Thus, in this study, childhood media
experiences are not understood as clear-cut determinants for interpretations of
media technologies used later in life, but rather as flexible elements that individuals use
in the creation of meaning with regard to media technologies in everyday life. Drawing on
such a reading of Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]), analyzing early life experiences with
media technologies is helpful in understanding elements of the discursive negotiation and
practical interpretation of media in the everyday lives of older women.
165
One important reason for talking about generation-specific media experiences of women aged
60 to 70 is that they do matter to them, as the interviews showed. Generation-specific patterns
of media experiences in childhood and adolescence play a prominent role in the narrations of
the interviewees. Partly, this has to do with the methodology employed in the study.
As described in subchapter 3.3, the interviews usually started with a discussion of a life graph
on the media biography of the interviewee, drawn and written by the participants prior to
the interview appointment. In preparing the life graph, participants were invited to share
media-related memories from childhood and adolescence, adulthood (working age),
and the present. Since the graph started with ‘0 years of age,’ an explicit prompt was provided
to also include early media memories. Thus, it is hardly surprising that interviewees often
did share those memories, first in the life graph and later in their oral narration. In addition,
the interview guide included a specific question on media devices in the childhood home.
However, two things are noteworthy regarding interviewees’ accounts on media memories from
childhood and adolescence: the length and detail of their responses and the great
correspondence of media experiences in childhood and adolescence across most interviews.
Both point to the relevance of a generational perspective when researching media use of older
women in everyday life, particularly because multiple interviewees (I1, I2, I6, I7, I10, I11, I12)
used the term “generation”223 themselves to frame their past and also present media experiences.
4.1.1 Limited Availability of Media During Childhood and Adolescence
One theme of great correspondence across interviewees’ narrations are memories of
limited media use in childhood and adolescence compared to later periods in life. This current
finding corresponds with earlier, partial analysis of the material (Ratzenböck 2017a:29).
Although the definition of ‘limited media use’ varies across cases – some remember
not having had any media in the home at all when a child (I2, I5), while others talk about only
having had a few TV channels to choose from as a young teen (I6) – the experience of a limited
availability of media during childhood and adolescence is a shared one among participants.
223 “Generation” in the transcripts of those interviews conducted in German.
166
In terms of memories of few media devices in the childhood home, the case of I5 seems to be
the most extreme: she remembers that her family did not have a radio or TV until the 1960s
or perhaps even the 1970s. Although I2 does not remember a radio in her parents’ home
as a child either, she shares memories of a radio in her grandmother’s apartment,
which was located in the same building as her parents’, thus having had regular access to a radio
as a child. While I2 explains that right after the war, her parents were not necessarily fond of
the radio because it also evoked negative associations, such as air raid warnings, I5 explains
the lack of a radio with the geographical location, because she grew up on a secluded farm
in the mountains. In addition, both make reference to limited financial resources when
reflecting on childhood media memories, a theme that is also echoed by some participants
who did have a radio in their childhood home (I4, I7, I11). Apart from I2 and I5,
all other interviewees remember a radio in the home in which they grew up.
As I3 succinctly put it: “Einen Radio. Dann waren wir schon fertig. Sonst hat es nix gegeben
[...].”224 The most common experience of the cohort interviewed can thus be described as
growing up with a radio in early childhood and then witnessing the arrival of TV in
their parents’ home only during adolescence.225, 226
4.1.2 The Importance of the Radio
Having officially been established in 1924 (Braunbeck and Schlögl 2004:23–26;
Godler et al. 2004:247), Austrian radio was widespread, with one million registered listeners
in the late 1940s, continuing to grow through the 1950s, and by 1961 reaching two million
registered listeners (Godler et al. 2004:250–52). This development of the Austrian radio
in the 1950s and 1960s corresponds with the importance the interviewees attach to the radio.
224 ‘A radio. That was it. There was nothing else […].’ (I3)
225 The correspondence of this experience across most cases is interesting because one interviewee (I6)
did not grow up in Austria but in the UK. I6 explicitly reflects on technical developments concerning media
in Austria and the UK, which she identifies as having been more advanced in the UK at the time. However,
taking a close look at all the cases, the experience of I6 seems to be comparable to most other interviewees.
Although I6 (together with I9 and I12) indeed was among those participants who had a TV in the home earliest
compared to the other interviewees (around the age of 12).
226 However, many of the interviewees share memories of watching TV collectively in public, semi-private,
or private groups earlier (see section 4.1.3).
167
Many interviewees have fond memories of particular radio shows they listened to as children
and adolescents. One program multiple interviewees (I5227, I8, I9, I10) listened to, for example,
was “Traummännlein,”228 a show with short stories for children described by
Herczeg and Rosenberg (2004:59) as a classic for generations of children. It started in 1955
(Herczeg and Rosenberg 2004:59) and (with interruptions) has continued to be broadcasted
until today (steiermark.orf.at 2017).
An important element of this radio experience was that the show was broadcasted
in the same time slot every day, as I10 remembers: “[...] [A]lso wir haben als Kinder
das ’Traummännlein’ [...] gehört, das war so ein Punkt, wie wir noch klein waren.
Ansonsten, es ist der Radio auch nicht den ganzen Tag gelaufen, man hat zu gewissen Zeiten
Radio gehört.”229 Here, the theme of limited availability of media comes up again,
this time not in terms of media devices but regarding the amount of time one spent engaging
with media. In addition, interviewees also remember other favorite shows, for example
“Einfach zum Nachdenken”230 (I2) or “Tanzmusik auf Bestellung”231 (I7, I9)
and exciting sports events, such as ski races with Austrian skiing legend Toni Sailer (I2).
Even more important for interviewees than family programs, music shows, and sports programs
was, however, the emancipatory power of the radio, particularly during adolescence.
Especially important was the radio station Ö3 which featured music popular among
young people at the time. I4 remembers this vividly:
“[…] [I]ch glaube mit 14 Jahren sowas, […] habe ich von einem Onkel
ein Geld gekriegt, dann habe ich mir ein Taschenradio gekauft, das mit Batterien,
und dann habe ich immer im Bett, wenn ich schlafen gegangen bin, habe ich
[Radio gehört], da hat es anscheinend schon Ö3 gegeben […], ja, das war für mich
der Hammer. Aber da habe ich nur mehr für mich leise [Radio hören] dürfen,
weil das hat ja keinen anderen interessiert und außerdem diese Musik war ja
für die Erwachsenen fürchterlich. Und ich habe halt [Radio gehört], das Ö3,
das war etwas Neues, etwas Tolles, ich kann mich noch gut erinnern.
Das muss Ende 60 gewesen sein, [...] [wie] das Ö3 Programm gekommen ist
und das höre ich heute noch fast immer.”232
227 As stated, I5 did not have a radio in her childhood home for a long time, but she listened to this show
occasionally at her aunt’s house.
228 Can roughly be translated as ‘Sandman.’
229 ‘[S]o as kids we listened to ‘Traummännlein,’ […] that was a point [means fixture] when we were still little.
Otherwise, the radio was also not on the entire day, one listened to the radio at certain times.’ (I10)
230 Can roughly be translated as ‘Food for Thought.’
231 Can roughly be translated as ‘Chose Your Dance Music.’
232 ‘[…] I think I was about 14 years old […] when I got some money from an uncle, I then bought myself
a pocket radio, the one with batteries, and then, in bed, when I went to sleep, I did [listen to the radio], apparently,
168
The radio program Ö3233 was launched in 1967 (Grissemann 2004:74) as an innovative channel
(Lachnit 2017) combining information, different kinds of music, literature, reports
and reflections (Grissemann 2004:74).234 For some of the interviewees who remember
listening to Ö3 during adolescence (I2, I4, I9, I11), it was a way of differentiating themselves
from adults and of creating their individual but also generational identity. In the case of I4,
it is also noteworthy that she has continued to listen to the Ö3 station until today, which again
points to the relevance of childhood experiences for contemporary use of media technologies.
The radio was exciting and sometimes even out of bounds for interviewees. Interviewee 7,
for example, remembers how she secretly went to the kitchen at night to listen to music shows
such as “Tanzmusik auf Bestellung” with other kids (presumably her siblings).
In an amused tone, she describes how she and the other kids would sit on the kitchen floor
in the dark for an hour in the 1960s, particularly on Saturday nights when “Tanzmusik auf
Bestellung” was on, to listen to the radio. There, they quite literally created their own
generational space as radio listeners. The secretive radio listening in the kitchen only stopped
when I7 and her siblings got a small transistor radio that they could take to their room:
“[…] [U]nd da haben wir [Kinder] dann schon eigentlich Druck gemacht
[gegenüber den Erwachsenen], dass wir gern ein Radio hätten für uns im Zimmer,
weil der Großvater hat immer etwas anderes hören wollen wie wir. Das ist so,
die Generationen hören eben verschiedene Sachen […].“235
In this case, it is interesting that I7 immediately connects these memories from
early adolescence to the present day by stating that she also notices differences in taste regarding
radio channels between herself and her adult daughter living in the same building on their farm.
When I7’s daughter comes to her apartment for a longer visit, she changes channels on I7’s
radio, which I7 attributes to generational differences.
Ö3 [Austrian radio station] did already exist, […], yes, that was absolutely awesome to me. But I could only
[listen to the radio] very quietly, by myself because nobody else took an interest in that and additionally this music
was horrible for the adults. And I did [listen to the radio], this [station] Ö3, that was something new,
something great, I remember that well. That probably was towards the end of the 60ies, [...] [when]
the Ö3 program was introduced and I still listen to it most of the time today.’(I4)
233 Short for ‘Österreich 3’ which translates to ‘Austria 3’ and at the time was particularly popular among
young people.
234 I2 called the Ö3 station even “revolutionär” (‘revolutionary’).
235 ‘[…] [A]nd we [the children] actually then put pressure on [the adults], we wanted a radio for our room
because grandfather always liked to listen to something else than we did. That’s how things are,
the generations just like to listen to different things […].’ (I7)
169
In the qualitative material, there are multiple accounts of portable radios in adolescence and
the sense of freedom that came with them. For I4, I7, and also I12 they meant emancipation
from adults and the ability to create their own physical and generational listening spaces.
I3 adds to this that portable radios also allowed its users to take them outside and that one
was not restricted to the indoors anymore. Remarkably, she also says that the radio
has ‘accompanied’236 (I3) her throughout life. Thus, for the cohort interviewed the radio
is often connected to memories of excitement and to experiences of discontinuity
(emancipation from adults), as well as continuity over the life course
(continuation of generational differences in radio listening and continuity of radio listening
through one’s own life course).
The latter is connected to what Blaakilde (2017:12) in her investigation of radio biographies of
older Danish people termed the “becoming of radio bodies,” an embodied experience of
the radio as central to everyday life, a sense of having “grown together with the radio”
over time, as she termed it. In this study, such a sense of ‘growing with’ is also described by I4.
Reflecting on various memories from childhood and working life, she states: “In 50 Jahren
hat sich da [in Bezug auf (Medien-)Technologie] etwas gerührt. Ja, ich meine,
wir sind mitgewachsen, aber für die alten Leute muss das nicht leicht gewesen sein,
die müssen haben, sind auch mitgewachsen, natürlich"237 (I4). Sometimes, growing (up) with
the radio also took place in an almost literal manner for interviewees. I8, for example,
who got her first own radio as a present for her Confirmation, remembers having carried it
‘under the arm’238 and that it was ‘always with [her]’239 when she began her apprenticeship
training in adolescence. Compared to participants in Blaakilde’s study (2017), who were born
between 1928 and 1948 and thus markedly older, most interviewees of this investigation
experienced becoming a “radio body” (Blaakilde 2017) early in life. This can be exemplified
by a statement of I11. Asked about her first own radio, she says:
236 “begleitet” (I3)
237 ‘Within 50 years, a lot of things have been set in motion [with regard to (media) technology].
Well, I mean, we grew with it, but for the old people this probably wasn’t easy, they have had to,
also grew with it, of course.’ (I4)
238 “unter dem Arm” (I8)
239 “immer dabei” (I8)
170
“Na, das ist so nebenher gegangen. Ich kann nicht sagen, dass ich [gedacht habe]:
’Ah, ein Radio!’ Das war es eigentlich nicht. Das war eigentlich Standard.
Da hast du eine Wohnung und da gehört ein Radio dazu. Also wir haben auch
in der ersten Wohnung schon ein Radio gehabt, aber das war nicht etwas,
wo man sagt: ‘Mei, da freue ich mich!’ Das ist erst beim Fernseher
dann das gewesen. Weil Radio war schon von Kindheit [an] immer mit [dabei],
der Fernseher ist dazu gekommen und damit ist es was ‘Ah’, etwas Besonderes!
Oder genauso wie [der] PC oder sonst etwas. [...] [D]as ist dann dazu gekommen.
Aber was du schon als Kind mitkriegst, schon immer, das ist dann nicht das
‘Ah’[...]. Das habe ich gar nicht so empfunden.”240 (I11)
Reflecting on the statements of I4, I8, and I11, an interesting question arises: When do people
think they stop to ‘grow with’241 (I4) media technologies?242 And also, at which point in life
does technological change become challenging or ‘not easy,’243 as I4 puts it? If we read
the statement of interviewee 11 closely, we can see that she did not think of the radio as special
because it ‘had always been there from childhood on,’244 while the case of the TV was different
because it ‘was being added’245 (I11). Her narration strongly alludes to Mannheim’s
(1952 [1927/28]) ideas of generation location and the importance he ascribed to
early life experiences for interpretational patterns retained over the life course.
240 ‘Well, that kind of happened along the way. I can’t claim that [I thought] ‘Ah, a radio!’ It actually wasn’t
like that. It actually was the norm. If you have a flat, a radio belongs to it. So, we also already had a radio
in our first flat but you didn’t think: ‘Oh, I am excited!’ That then only happened with the TV. Because radio
had always been there from childhood on, TV was being added and thus it was [like] ‘Ah,’ something special!
Or the same with the computer or something. [...] [T]hat was being added. But what you continuously witness
as a child, always, that isn’t then ‘Ah’ […]. I actually didn’t perceive it like that.’ (I11)
241 “mit[…]wachsen” (I4)
242 In more general terms, Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]) was also concerned with the question of how long
people ‘grow with' developments. In a footnote of his his influential essay “The Problem of Generations,”
he wonders how long during the life course people make experiences that later become a “natural view of
the world” (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:299–300). Drawing on research in language acquisition, he concludes that
fundamental world views develop similarly to language and dialect (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:299–300).
243 “nicht leicht” (I4)
244 “war schon von Kindheit [an] immer mit [dabei]” (I11)
245 “dazu gekommen” (I11)
171
In this case, this would be the perception of the radio as ‘the norm’246 and other media devices
as ‘being added,’ as I11 describes it.247 Thus, the idea of a particular “moulding power”
Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]:296) attributed to early life experiences and their potential to
transform into what he called a “natural view of the world” (1952 [1927/28]:298–99)
are also of relevance for this study.
4.1.3 Collective TV Watching
In addition to the experience of limited availability of media and the importance of the radio
in childhood and adolescence for most participants, another topic with great correspondence
across cases was collective media consumption. The large majority of recollections shared
in this regard were memories of collective TV watching.248 In Austria, regular TV broadcasting
started in 1957, after a test program had been running for two years (Hüffel 2004:12).
At the beginning, there were only about one hundred thousand registered viewers
but this number increased to more than a million by 1968 (Hüffel 2004:12). As stated,
of the interviewees in this study most experienced growing up with a radio as a child and only
witnessed the introduction of TV into the home in adolescence.249 However, before the TV
arrived in their family’s home or their first own home, many participants were able to
watch TV in public places (e.g. at an education center) and semi-private places
(e.g. in a youth group) or privately at relatives’ or neighbors’ houses who already owned a TV.
246 “Standard” (I11)
247 In her investigation of favorite objects of unemployed individuals, Bosch (2010:376) speaks of
the ordinariness of TV in terms of it ‘already having subsided into collective routine’ (“schon in die
kollektive Routine abgesenkt”). The term ‘subsided’ (“abgesenkt”) (Bosch 2010:376) might also be helpful
in understanding the experience of interviewees of the present study with regard to the radio. For interviewees of
the present study, different to other media devices, the radio has been so common for all of their life that it
is mostly perceived as ‘normal’ and unproblematic – with very few exceptions (see section 5.6.2).
248 Although three interviewees (I4, I5, I10) also share accounts of collective telephone use in terms of only
having had a single phone or a few phones in the entire village.
249 For interviewees who remember and share when they got their first TV (either in their home of
childhood/adolescence or their first own home), ages of when the TV arrived range from 12 years (I6; I9; I12)
over 15 years (I3), 17 years (I4; I1 – who states she was either 17 or 18 when they got a TV in her parents’ home,
out of which she moved soon after she got married at 19 and then was without a TV in her own home again
until age 22), and 18 years (I8) to 19 years (I7).
172
Two interviewees, I6 (who grew up in the UK) and I9 experienced the arrival of TV
early in their teen years and describe how their homes became a meeting point for kids (I6)
or adults and kids (I9) of the neighborhood who wanted to watch TV. Whether collective
TV watching happened in their own childhood home or they went to another place
to watch TV, remarkably all interviewees – without exception – share memories of
collective TV watching.
As Pensold (1999:69) notes, TV first started to spread in the public area and not
in private homes, partly because a TV set was expensive to buy. Of the interviewees
in this study, I2 and I10 remember watching TV in public places, defined here as venues
everyone could go to provided one paid the entrance fee or had enough money for consumption.
With 69 years of age, I2 was the oldest person to participate in the qualitative strand of the study
but she has comparatively early recollections of collective TV (and also cinema250) watching,
which probably has to do with the fact that she grew up in Austria’s largest city, Vienna.251
She still has vivid memories of her very first encounter with TV:
“[…] [M]eine ersten Kontakte mit dem Fernsehen, also, da sind wir gegangen
ins Wiener Volksbildungshaus […] und […] in einem großen Saal,
haben wir uns angeschaut, eine Fernsehauf[führung], [eine] Eigenproduktion
des österreichischen Fernsehens, war Ur-Faust, haben sie aufgenommen
fürs Fernsehen, also nicht für einen Spielfilm war das, und das sind wir gegangen
[…] und das war eben eine tolle Inszenierung. Das war am 22. April 1961,
Eintritt 3 Schilling. Bitte (lacht), historisch dokumentiert. Nein, es war ganz
historisch interessant, also dann hat der ganze Saal auf so ein kleines Kastl
geschaut, nicht.”252 (I2)
250 In addition to watching TV publicly, I2 has even earlier memories of watching the weekly newsreel
(entitled “Fox – Tönende Wochenschau”) and the coronation ceremony of Queen Elisabeth II at the cinema,
which very much impressed her as a young girl.
251 As Pensold (2018:142) states, during the early phases of TV in Austria, it was mostly
an “urban phenomenon.”
252 ‘[…] [M]y first contacts with TV, well, we went to the Vienna Educational Center. […] and […]
in a big hall, we watched a TV produ[ction], [a] self-production of the Austrian TV, it was ‘Urfaust,’
they shot it for TV, so this wasn’t for a movie, and we went there, […] and that was just a great production.
That was on April 22, 1961, entrance fee of three Schillings. There you go (laughs), historically documented.
No, it was absolutely interesting historically, well, than the entire hall looked into such a small box, right.’ (I2)
173
While I2 frames her first TV encounter in the context of highbrow culture
(‘[…] this wasn’t for a movie […]’253), I10’s memories of watching TV in public
are more ordinary. On Wednesday and Saturday afternoons she was allowed to go
to an inn to watch TV, a place that has also been described as a popular venue for
TV watching during early broadcasting in Austria by Pensold (1999:69–72, 2018:142).
Particularly on the weekend, I10’s grandmother accompanied her and other kids
to the inn, where she would have a glass of wine while the children watched kids’
programs such as “Lassie” and “Fury.” Although I10 describes her experience of
watching TV in a public place in more ordinary terms, she still states that the TV outings
to the inn were ‘a kind of treat’254 when she was a child. This remark highlights
how special TV still was for interviewees in childhood and adolescence.
In addition to watching TV in public settings, multiple interviewees (I1, I3, I4, I5, I11)
share accounts of what could be termed semi-private collective TV watching,
which refers to consumption experiences that were formalized in some regard
(e.g. one sometimes had to pay an entrance fee) but did not take place in institutions
such as an inn or an education center. For example, I3 recalls:
“[…] [D]a hat es einen Bauern gegeben in unserem Dorf, ich komme vom Land,
der hat einen Fernseher gehabt und da durften wir mittwochs um einen Schilling
‘Kasperl’ schauen gehen. Also, da haben wir einen Schilling zahlen müssen dort
und dann haben wir ‘Kasperl’ schauen können. Ja, das, das war meine Kindheit
[…].”255
I1, I4, I5, and I11 describe experiences similar to that of I3. I11 remembers watching
“Kasperl” for fifty Groschen with a local family who had the first TV in the area.
She underlines the significance of those events stating: “Also das war,
woah, Fernsehen!”256 Growing up on a remote farm, I5 even walked three or four
kilometers to watch “Kasperl” for half an hour on Wednesday afternoons
in a local midwife’s house around the age of eight.
253 “[…] also nicht für einen Spielfilm war das […]” (I2)
254 “irgendwie bissel Belohnung” (I10)
255 ‘[…] [T]here was a farmer in our village, I come from the countryside, he had a TV and there,
on Wednesdays, we were allowed to go watch ‘Kasperl’ for one Schilling. So we had to pay a Schilling there and
then we could watch ‘Kasperl.’ Well, that, that was my childhood […]’ (I3). (“Kasperl” means ‘Punch.’)
256 ‘So that was, wow, TV!’ (I11)
174
For her, watching “Kasperl” was something special: “[…] [D]as war fürs ganze Tal
schon eine Sensation damals, […] das war schon super” (I5).257 Also having grown up
in the countryside, I4 remembers watching TV on Saturdays at a farm in the village and
how about twenty people were sitting in the farmhouse room to watch an
‘important program.’258 While early TV memories of I1 are a little different from
those of I4, I5, and I11, they are still comparable in terms of their semi-private character.
She recalls what she terms a ‘funny TV experience’259 during a youth exchange program
in Croatia around 1960 when she got to know sitting rooms where young people met
and which were equipped with a TV. This experience, she states, was
‘very, very memorable.’260
Until I1 had her own TV, it took some more years, but in addition to her encounter with
TV in sitting rooms in Croatia, she also remembers private collective TV watching
when she was nineteen at her brother-in-law’s and a neighbor’s. This practice of
“Fernsehbesuche”261 (Pensold 1999:93) is also described by I6, I7, I8, I9, I10, I11,
and I12. I8 shares a detailed account of one such visit during her childhood:
“[…] Fernseher haben wir keinen gehabt und […] unsere Nachbarn haben
einen Fernseher gekriegt, da war ich schon acht Jahre und da haben wir
am Samstag immer kommen dürfen. Da ist alles verdunkelt worden, ganz spannend,
sitzen haben wir am Boden müssen, dass wir ja nichts schmutzig machen und
da haben wir immer ‘Lassie’ angeschaut und ‘Fury,’ die Kindersendungen
am Samstagnachmittag, gell.”262
Adding to this account in a later part of the interview, I8 also remarks that during their visits
to the neighbors they were only allowed to watch one program at a time. After the program
would finish, the TV was turned off, except for occasions when they went to a different
woman living in the neighborhood who liked to watch ski jumping and allowed the kids to join
her sometimes.
257 ‘[…] [T]hat was a sensation for the entire valley back than […] that was actually great.’ (I5)
258 “eine wichtige Sendung” (I4)
259 “ein lustiges Fernseherlebnis” (I1)
260 “sehr, sehr einprägsam” (I1)
261 Can be translated as ‘TV visits.’
262 ‘[…] [W]e didn’t have a TV and […] our neighbors got a TV when I was already eight years old and
we were always allowed to come on Saturdays. Then, everything was dimmed, very exciting, we had to sit
on the floor, so for sure nothing would get dirty, and there we always watched ‘Lassie’ and ‘Fury,’
the kids’ programs on Saturday afternoons, right.’ (I8)
175
I7 mentions that when she was about 10 years old, she only watched TV at a neighbor’s for
‘about half [an] hour, hour, once a week.’263 Only when she was ‘a little older,’264
she would be allowed to watch ‘a few other programs,’265 which were however
‘carefully selected’266 (I7). Again, similar to the radio, the topic of limited availability of media
during childhood and adolescence also comes up here, in the context of the TV.
Along with others, I10 also talks about limited media availability with regard to
“Fernsehbesuche” (Pensold 1999:93) and early broadcasting of TV in more general terms.267
She states:
“ […] [D]a war ja das nicht, dass [das] Fernsehprogramm von in der Früh bis
am Abend war, sondern da war ab einer gewissen Zeit erst Fernsehen. […]
Und Filme und gewisse Sachen, das hat es am Samstag, Freitag, Samstag, Sonntag
gegeben, da war unter der Woche am Abend gar kein Fernsehen in dem Sinn, ja.
Das kann man sich nicht vorstellen, ja.”268 (I10)
Although generally there might have been less interaction with media, there was
‘more contact with neighbors’269 (I8) in the early times of TV broadcasting in Austria,
as I8 but also Pensold (1999:93–94) remark. Thus, it is hardly surprising that the narrations of
childhood media memories of most interviewees include memories of watching TV
in small private groups. As mentioned, in most cases, interviewees went somewhere
to watch TV, but in two cases (I6 and I9), neighbors and relatives actually visited
the interviewees’ families because they were among the first ones in the neighborhood to have
a TV. I9 recalls this in detail:
263 “so halbe Stunde, Stunde, einmal in der Woche” (I7)
264 “bissel größer” (I7)
265 “ein paar andere Sendungen” (I7)
266 “genau ausgewählt” (I7)
267 For a detailed account on how limited TV broadcasting generally was during its early times in Austria,
see Pensold (2018:161–63).
268 ‘[…] [T]here just wasn’t TV broadcasting from morning to evening, but there only was TV
from a certain time on. […] And movies und certain things, that was on on Saturdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays,
on evenings during the week, there was no TV in that sense, yes. One can’t imagine that, yes.’ (I10)
269 “mehr Kontakt mit den Nachbarn” (I8)
176
“[…] [Wie] wir den ersten Fernseher gekriegt haben, das war ungefähr
wie ich zwölf Jahre alt war, das war im Jahre 1964. Das war natürlich
ein Schwarzweißfernseher und der ist in einer großen Wohnküche gestanden,
weil da gab es kein Wohnzimmer, und das war eine Sensation für
die ganze Umgebung, das heißt, da sind wirklich Nachbarn gekommen,
die ‘Löwinger-Bühne’ schauen und Kinder gekommen ‘Kasperltheater’ [schauen]
am Mittwoch […] und am Sonntag hat es auch irgendetwas gegeben,
so wie ‘Lassie’ oder ‘Fury’ und […] die Küche war dann voll mit mindestens zehn,
fünfzehn Kindern oder Leuten halt […] und alle […] haben irgendeine
Sitzgelegenheit mitgebracht, ein Stockerl oder so, und dann haben alle ferngeschaut
und das ist viele Jahre so gewesen […].”270
Interestingly, talking about collective TV watching at her parents’ home, I9 states that
she was bothered by having so many people in their eat-in kitchen because,
especially from about 16 on, she wanted to study for school in peace and had to go
to the cold bedroom to do so. However, as discussed, many other interviewees connect
memories of collective TV watching to excitement – probably also because it did not take place
in their own homes.
Summing up experiences of collective TV watching of the cohort interviewees represent,
one thus might state that collective TV watching took place in public, semi-private,
or private settings and was often related to feelings of excitement or used as a reward by adults.
In addition, it is noteworthy that, recalling collective TV watching, interviewees repeatedly
referred to the limited availability of TV, either through restrictions imposed by adults or simply
because there was not as much broadcasting.
270 ‘[…] [When] we got the first TV, that was about when I was twelve years old, that was in
the year of 1964. That was of course a black and white TV and it was located in a large eat-in kitchen because
there was no living room and that was sensational for the entire area, that means neighbors actually came to see
‘Löwinger Bühne’ and kids came [to see] ‘Kasperltheater’ on Wednesdays […] and on Sundays there also
was something, like ‘Lassie’ or ‘Fury,’ and […] the kitchen was then filled up with at least ten, fifteen kids or,
well, people […] and all […] had brought something to sit on with them, a stool or something, and then everybody
watched TV and it was like that for many years […].’ (I9)
177
4.1.4 Inhibitory Rules of Media Use
As already stated in the previous subchapters, media consumption in the childhood and
adolescence of interviewees was often limited. While most accounts on restricted interaction
with media evolve around the TV, some interviewees (I5, I10) also report limited consumption
of the radio.271 In addition to limitations set by adults with regard to time spent with media,
interviewees also remember what is termed here inhibitory rules of media interaction during
childhood and adolescence. As outlined previously (Ratzenböck 2016a:62) in an analysis of
the first five interviews conducted for this project, two significant rules described by
interviewees are ‘Be quiet when the radio is on’ and ‘Don’t break it.’ Out of the final sample
of twelve interviewees, four (I1, I2, I4, I8) connect the radio to reducing other sounds
in the home while listening. All four interviewees who recall the rule of
‘Be quiet when the radio is on’ remember it in connection to news broadcasts. As I8 explains,
“[…] [W]enn die Nachrichten [kamen] oder irgendwas gekommen ist, dann hat es dann eben
geheißen ‘Still’ und dann war ein jeder still und dann ist er [der Radio] halt ein bissel
lauter gedreht worden.”272 I1, in her narration of childhood media memories, adds that
having had to be quiet was not a fun experience. She actually ‘hated’ 273 it that
‘one was not allowed to say anything anymore’274 (I1) when the news were on.
As argued previously (Ratzenböck 2016a:62), childhood rules such as ‘Be quiet when
the radio is on’ convey a sense of distance towards media technologies. This is particularly
evident when it comes to the rule of ‘Don’t break it’ because it often involves not touching
the media object. In more or less explicit terms, this rule is being mentioned by five interviewees
(I1, I2, I3, I5, I6). The most straightforward description in this regard is offered by I3:
“[…] [V]on Kindheit auf war [es] immer ‘Mach es nicht hin, mach es nicht hin,’ […]
das war immer so, nicht, weil man sich ja etwas Neues kaum leisten konnte.”275 It is noteworthy
that interviewees often discursively link memories of this rule to present day media interactions.
271 In the case of I5, listening to the radio was ‘almost never’ (“fast nie”) allowed.
272 ‘[…] [W]hen the news or something came on, then it was like ‘Quiet’ and then everybody was quiet
and then it [the radio] was just turned up a little.’ (I8)
273 “gehasst” (I1)
274 “[…] da durfte man nichts mehr sagen […]” (I1)
275 ‘[…] [F]rom childhood on, [it] always was like ‘Don’t break it, don’t break it,’ […] it was always like that,
right, because new things were just hardly affordable.’ (I3)
178
When asked why she does not like to just try things on new media devices, I3 answers:
“Weil ich nach wie vor glaube, da kann ich etwas kaputt machen, was ja gar nicht der Fall ist,
aber das ist irgendwo gefestigt […].”276 And I2 also states: “Weil wir [als] ältere Generation
haben das Handicap, dass wir glauben, wir machen was kaputt. Das ist ganz tief in uns drinnen,
also nicht nur in mir […]. ‘Um Gottes Willen, wenn ich das jetzt mache, dann ist alles weg.’
So ungefähr.”277 A similar statement is also made by I1. While I5 and I6 do not explicitly
mention commands of not breaking things or share still being afraid of doing so, they still recall
that media objects were not something you could just touch as a young person. In this context,
I6, for example, explains that she does not actually remember using the TV herself as a child
but that her parents operated it and I5 recalls that that kids were not allowed to touch
the radio at all. These statements are all the more remarkable because on multiple occasions
interviewees share accounts of restrictions regarding media but at the same time negate
that those restrictions were actual explicit rules.
For example, I8 adds to her earlier account on how everybody had to be quiet when
the radio was on: “Also, da hat es eigentlich keine Regeln gegeben […].”278 This is interesting,
as her statement of “[…] dann hat es dann eben geheißen ‘Still’ und dann war
ein jeder still […]“279 (I8) does indeed very much sound like a common rule of everyday life
in her childhood. A similar observation can be made in the case of I1. As demonstrated,
she vividly remembers how she actually ‘hated’ (I1) having to be quiet when the news were on,
but at a later point in the interview, when the interviewer again brings up her account of
having had to be quiet during radio broadcasting, she negates that there were any explicit rules
with regards to media objects. There are more examples of this paradox – many implicit but
few explicit rules – to be found in the interview material. In addition, there were also
multiple interviewees (I7, I9, I10, I11280) who did not recall any inhibitory childhood
media rules, independent of how they are termed or framed. I9, for example, states:
276 ‘Because I still believe that I can break something, which isn’t even the case but this is
somehow fixed […].’ (I3)
277 ‘Because we, [as] an older generation, have the handicap of thinking we will break something.
This is very deep inside of us, so not only in me […]. ‘Good heavens, if I do that, then everything is gone.’
Something like that.’ (I2)
278 ‘Well there weren’t any rules actually […].’ (I8)
279 ‘[…] then it was like ‘Quiet’ and then everybody was quiet […]’ (I8)
280 I11 remembers that she first had to finish homework as an adolescent before being allowed to watch TV
but no rules in terms of how to behave when a media device was turned on or who was allowed to operate it.
179
“Also, es hat eigentlich, was ich mich erinnern kann, von meinen Eltern her
keine Beschränkung gegeben, die gesagt haben, ‘Das darfst Du nicht’,
weil da muss man auch […] die Wohnsituation [bedenken], wir hatten nur eine
Wohnküche und ein Schlafzimmer, so viele Möglichkeiten hat es nicht gegeben.”281
However, in the majority of cases, interviewees do remember some kind of implicit restriction
of interaction with radio and TV during childhood and in multiple instances also connect it
to later patterns of dealing with new media, particularly to an aversion to just trying out things
on a computer or cell phone. As outlined in section 1.4.3.3, Schäffer (2009), building on
Mannheimian ideas, speaks of the retaining of patterns of media engagement over
the life course in terms of ‘generation-specific media practice cultures.’282 At the core of
his concept is the idea that during youth people develop particular styles of interaction with
media devices which eventually coalesce into what he identifies as distinct
‘media practice cultures’283 (Schäffer 2009:42). When acquired at a young age,
these habitual modes of interaction seem ‘natural’284 for people and they tend to be kept
over the life course (Schäffer 2009:42). According to Schäffer (2009:42),
media practice cultures primarily operate at the subconscious level. This might explain why
the interviewees in this study repeatedly mention restrictions with regard to media during
childhood and adolescence but do not identify them as explicit rules. The commandments of
‘Be quiet when the radio is on’ and ‘Don’t break it’ were so normal for interviewees
growing up that they do not even identify them as memorable explicit norms of engagement
with media technologies.
Schäffer’s (2009) work is also of relevance for this study in another regard.
Empirically investigating his concept of generation-specific media practice cultures,
he found out that older media users prefer deliberately planned interaction to trial and error
approaches when dealing with new media (Schäffer 2009:45). Similar tendencies could
also be identified in the qualitative material. These results point to the relevance of investigating
media experiences of older adults from a media biographical perspective.
281 ‘Well, there were, from what I can recall, no restrictions by my parents who said ‘You mustn’t do this’
because you have to take [into account] the living situation, we only had an eat-in kitchen and a bedroom,
there weren’t so many possibilities.’ (I9)
282 “Generationsspezifische Medienpraxiskulturen” in the German original (Schäffer 2009).
283 “Medienpraxiskulturen” in the German original (Schäffer 2009:42).
284 Schäffer (2009:42) uses the term “’natürlich[…]’” in the German original.
180
Although accounts of early media experiences (the limited availability of media, the importance
of the radio, collective TV watching, and childhood media rules) sometimes might sound rather
banal at first, they are actually highly relevant for current media engagement in terms of
older women’s’ “inner ‘dialectic’” (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:298) when making sense of
new media devices at retirement age of which these experiences remain part.
4.2 Work-Related Patterns of Media Experiences in Adulthood
In addition to media memories from childhood and adolescence, work-related experiences with
media technologies are also important for older women’s understanding of media technologies.
Of the twelve interviewees, eight did a considerable amount of office work during their
professional careers, as a secretary in a public institution (I1), an NGO, a business (I3, I4, I112),
or a bank (I10). In some cases, professional careers also included work in several of
these settings (I2, I9, I11). Four interviewees worked in environments that involved no or little
office work, as a housewife (I5), a social worker (I6), a retail saleswoman and cashier (I7),
and as a farmer (I8).
As Östlund (2005:26) has pointed out, given their long horizon of experience, older people
can be considered actual experts of media technology change. Similarly Sawchuk and Crow
(2010:55.2) propose a shift of perspectives, recognizing seniors’ decade-long experience with
numerous ICTs instead of foregrounding deficits in their use. Particularly interviewees who
worked in office settings experienced increasing engagement with various media technologies
over the years. These included teletypewriters, electric and electronic typewriters, dictaphones,
landline phones, answering machines, copying machines, fax machines, and different
generations of computers – minicomputers (which despite their name were still quite large
and often used by research institutions and engineering companies (O’Regan 2016:109)),
as well as personal computers and cell phones. Many of those interviewees who primarily
worked in different settings than the office also engaged with media technologies for work.
I6, for example, sometimes had to do PowerPoint presentations although most of her work
as a social worker was with clients. I7 dealt with various types of cashiers and accounting
systems and I8 experienced the introduction of computer-controlled feeding and airing systems
for chicken farming. Only I5 states to have had almost no interaction with media technologies
during her work life as first a seamstress and then a housewife.
181
As previously highlighted by scholars engaging with older peoples’ ICT use (Buse 2010;
Östlund 2005; Suopajärvi 2015) and as this and prior analyses of the qualitative material
(Ratzenböck 2016a) have shown, work environments and their equipment with ICTs influence
the perceived relevance of media technologies in later life. People who engaged a lot
with computers during their professional life tend to also engage with them more in retirement
than people who did less so (Buse 2010:995–96; Östlund 2005:34; Suopajärvi 2015:121).
Results of the qualitative strand of this study indicate a similar and strong pattern in this regard.
Older women whose professional careers involved a considerable amount of office work differ
in their approaches to and use of new ICTs, such as the computer, from those whose working
lives involved little media engagement, as the following analysis will show.
4.2.1 Ambivalent Experiences with Early Computers
A common media technology all interviewees with previous office jobs engaged with
at the beginning of their careers were typewriters. In most cases they used electric typewriters
and sometimes also electronic ones later on. While accounts of typewriters were numerous
but mostly told without much emotion, the introduction of computers was a memorable
turning point for many interviewees. Although on a global scale, the first commercial computer
(the IBM 305 RAMAC) had been introduced in 1958 (Heilmann 2012:18), it took much longer
for computers to become part of everyday office life. Computers first started to spread
more widely in the 1970s (Heilmann 2012:170), but they were still very large and
also expensive. Some of the interviewees, for example I1 who worked as a secretary at various
units of a research institution, still remember these bulky minicomputers of the 1970s vividly:
“[…] [D]er [Computer] war in einem Raum, ungefähr, ich würde sagen zwanzig
Quadratmeter Raum, vom Boden bis zur Decke bummvoll mit lauter Gerät.
Das war ein Computer, das waren die Anfänge.”285 Others (I3, I4, I9, I10, I12) also recall
early computers, that still differed markedly from later personal computers, served very specific
purposes like accounting, and filled up entire rooms. These large machines were met with
ambivalent feelings by interviewees, as on the one hand they promised to simplify work
and on the other were not all that easy to operate and thus caused some anxiety.
285 ‘[…] [T]he [computer] was in a room, about, I would say twenty square meters of space,
from floor to ceiling it was filled up with appliances. That was a computer, that were the beginnings.’ (I1)
182
Similarly, Buse (2010:995), in her study on older computer users, reported “initial feelings of
fear and apprehension” of users who witnessed the introduction of computers during their
professional lives, but also appreciation of the computer in terms of simplifying work processes.
This ambivalent notion of the computer can be illustrated by a statement of I12. She states that
her and her colleagues were ‘excited’286 about the computer the company got for accounting
purposes, but at the same time she remembers:
“[…] [W]ir waren ängstlich, wir haben uns gefürchtet beinahe
vor dem [Computer], […] erstens einmal ist die Erklärung sehr schlecht gewesen
von den Firmen wo er gekauft wurde, es hat keine richtige Einschulung gegeben,
[…] bei den Unterlagen [… ] haben wir uns nicht ausgekannt, da waren wir einfach
zu blöd dazu, das haben wir nicht verstanden. Und so ist man halt schön langsam
erst selber in das System hineingewachsen. Aber es war nicht so leicht.”287 (I12)
Interestingly, in the case of work experiences with media technologies the notion of
‘growing’ with/into devices comes up again, as it did previously in the context of childhood
media memories. Across the qualitative material, multiple interviewees (I4, I7, I10, I12)
see themselves as ‘growing’ with/into technological devices at different points in the life course.
Remarkably, a sense of ‘growing’ with/into media technologies was mostly mentioned by
interviewees who interacted a lot with ICTs in their professional lives working in office jobs
(I4, I10, I12). Only I7, who worked as a retail saleswoman and cashier, talked about ‘
growing’ with/into technologies. Of those who worked in office jobs, I4 offers the most succinct
summary of this experience of a dynamic process during which technologies and people
develop simultaneously. She states: “Man wächst ja mit auch, mit der Maschine”288 (I4).
This conceptualization of the relationship between oneself and a device is
reminiscent of Latour’s (1996) idea of an “actor-network” that puts relationships between the
human and the non-human in the spotlight (for a concise description, see Schäffer 2003:29).
286 “begeistert” (I12)
287 ‘[…] [W]e were anxious, we were almost afraid of the [computer], […] first, the explanation by
the companies where it had been bought was very bad, there were no real trainings, […] we did not understand
the materials, we were simply to stupid for that, we did not understand it. And so one slowly grew into the system.
But it was not that easy.’ (I12)
288 ‘One also grows with [it], with the machine.’ (I4)
183
In an actor-network, human and non-human actors are not “fixed entities” but
“circulating objects undergoing trials” (Latour 1996:374). The actor-network is “defined by the
competence it is endowed with, the trials it undergoes, the performances it is allowed to display,
the associations it is made to bear upon, the sanctions it receives, the background in which it is
circulating etc.” (Latour 1996:378). In the case of the interviewee-computer network one might
identify competence as the successful realization of commands, trials as interactions
in daily work life, performances as output in terms of punched cards or accounting sheets,
associations as connections with other people-device networks in the office, sanctions as its
long-term replacement by newer people-device networks (the secretary-personal computer
network, for example), and the background as accelerated technological change. In other words,
following the actor-network theory line of thought, the interviewee-computer network –
and its growing together – depends on its successful performance and output, other interactions
in the office, and technological long-term developments. Although the theoretical core of
this thesis is not anchored in actor-network theory and generally presupposes an increased
agency of human actors vis-à-vis technological devices, this conceptual reference is still
relevant since it helps to foreground interviewees’ experiences of sometimes intimate
but nonetheless complicated relationships with technology. In addition, it highlights the fact
that interviewees do not perceive technologies as something one can appropriate in a fast
manner but as something one needs to get to know gradually and find a customized way of
inter-action with. This notion is also reflected in a statement of I10. She remembers the
introduction of early computerized systems at the bank where she worked as
‘a special experience process’289 (I10) that changed her agency as an employee into a kind of
joint acting of her and the computer:
“Eine gewisse, na ja, Verselbständigung im Grunde hat sich da aufgetan,
weil, ja, das hat einfach von sich aus was gemacht, wir haben gewusst,
das verbucht [etwas], das arbeitet im Hintergrund, da brauche ich nicht Belege
nehmen und mit der Hand noch eintippen, sondern das macht selbstständig
schon vieles. Und okay, was geschieht da so irgendwo, das kann ich nicht mehr
ganz so kontrollieren, weil ich das ja nicht mehr ich alleine selber bin,
sondern Programme, was dahinter steh[en].”290
289 “ein eigener Erfahrungsprozess” (I10)
290 ‘A certain, well, independence arose, because, yes, it just did some things by its own, we knew,
it is booking [something], it works in the background, I don’t have to take accounting records and type them in
by hand, but it does many things on its own. And okay, I can’t entirely control anymore what is happening there
somewhere because it isn’t anymore myself alone, but programs that are in the background.’ (I10)
184
As can be seen from the statement above, for I10 engaging with the computer meant a loss of
control and a shift into a new work mode in which it was no longer herself alone who processed
accounting records but also the computer programs. This constituted an entirely new form of
interaction with technology for I10, as it did for many others. Thus, it is hardly surprising that
she also describes the becoming of a self-computer network – to build on Latour’s (1996)
thoughts – in ambivalent terms. On the one hand she and her colleagues were ‘curious’291 (I10)
about the computer, which promised to reduce tedious tasks, but on the other hand there was
also the experience of ‘having pressed wrong buttons’292 and not being entirely sure of how
the computer works. In a similar way, multiple other interviewees expressed negative feelings
towards early computers. I3, for example, talked about the ‘anger’293 that she felt at early
computers when they did not run smoothly and caused problems and I12 was even ‘afraid’294
of the minicomputer, as illustrated earlier. At the same time, accounts of interaction with early
computers are often told in an ambivalent manner. As stated, I10 was insecure in her use of
early computers but she also highlights that none of her colleagues thought of quitting their jobs
because of the introduction of the computer and that, overall, the new experience was positive.
This ambivalent account of experiences with early computers is characteristic for the qualitative
material of this study.
4.2.2 Initial Negative Experiences with Personal Computers
While narrations of interactions with early minicomputers are more ambivalent in terms of
positive accounts (I3295, I9296, I10297, I12298) and negative accounts (I3299, I12300),
or rather neutral accounts (I1, I4), later experiences with the personal computer are more often
only framed negatively.
291 “neugierig” (I10)
292 “falsche Tasten gedrückt” (I10)
293 “Wut” (I3)
294 “gefürchtet” (I12)
295 “gefreut” (‘was happy’) (I3)
296 “Fortschritt” (‘progress’) (I9)
297 “positiv” (‘positive’) (I10)
298 “begeistert” (‘excited’), “gerngehabt” (‘liked’) (I12)
299 “Wut” (‘anger’) (I3)
300 “Furcht” (‘fear’), “gefürchtet” (‘feared’), “waren ängstlich” (‘were afraid’) (I12)
185
Becoming more common in the 1990s (Heilmann 2012:173), small personal computers marked
another great technological advance, mainly because they featured graphic user interfaces that
were easy to navigate (O’Regan 2016:138). Thus, the introduction of small personal computers
in business (and private households) has been rightly hailed as a “milestone” and even
“paradigm shift” (O’Regan 2016:143) in terms of computer accessibility. However, as stated,
many of the women interviewed for this study have less positive memories of their first
encounters with personal computers. Their introduction thus constitutes a discontinuity in many
interviewees’ media biographies, as no previous device – not even the early minicomputer –
was framed so negatively overall. I1 summarizes this general sentiment towards the PC
by stating: “Und ja, der Computer, das war schon zäh […].” I1 thought there was ‘no need’301
for using a PC at work (although she later turned into a ‘computer convert’ who now likes
using it). I2 witnessed the increased use of office computer programs relatively close to
her retirement and describes working with them as rather difficult because things
‘did not yet run smoothly.’302 I3 – who was excited about the introduction of earlier
minicomputers despite a high learning curve and some initial challenges – states that learning
how to use PC programs, such as Excel and database programs, was difficult because
as soon as she had learnt something and did not use it again immediately, she forgot again.
I4 was not excited about ‘staring into a box for the entire day’303 and connects this to
her decreased private interest in the PC during her professional life. I10 observed that working
on the PC was bad for employees’ eyesight and that some colleagues had to get glasses.
And although I9 and I12, as the only ones, mention that the PC was a ‘great support’304 (I9)
and ‘a blessing’305 (I12) in general terms, they also add that its efficiency led to cutbacks in
office staff (I9) and that some programs were difficult to use (I12).
301 “keine Notwendigkeit” (I1)
302 “noch nicht gut gelaufen” (I3)
303 “den ganzen Tag ins Kastel hineinschauen” (I4)
304 “große Unterstützung” (I12)
305 “ein Segen” (I9)
186
Although many interviewees mention negative experiences that they associate with
the introduction of the PC, out of all the interviewees, I6 is the one who stated her frustration
with the PC at work most strongly: “So, no, I didn't really like it.” 306 She explains:
“And it certainly challenged me at work just before I retired. There were certain things people
were doing on the computer and I had to ask younger people. I didn't like doing that.
How you do certain things” 307 (I6).
In addition to having to acquire new skills late in professional life, I6 mentions another
important explanatory factor for the negative experiences with the PC that many interviewees
shared: its general conceptualization. As described in subchapter 4.1, despite the limited
availability of media and some inhibitory rules of media engagement in childhood and
adolescence, radio and TV were perceived as pleasurable things that served as ‘a kind of treat’
(I10). And although early minicomputers were talked about in ambivalent terms already,
there were still multiple positive and/or neutral accounts on them in the qualitative material.
The perception of the personal computer, however, was quite different in most cases.
As I6 explains: “The computer was not seen as a thing of pleasure really then. I associated it
with just, sort of, filling out things and what was necessary.”308 This finding is particularly
noteworthy, as not all devices of the work setting (e.g. the phone, the typewriter,
early computers) were framed as negatively as the PC by the interviewees. The PC certainly
played a special role for the professional identity of interviewees with office jobs since it
was used for many daily tasks from its introduction onwards and thus, unsurprisingly,
was also prominent in biographical media narrations. In this regard, the PC differs from other
office devices, such as copying machines or telephones, which were mentioned only in passing
by the interviewees. In addition to the PC, early computers and typewriters were also mentioned
on numerous occasions by interviewees with previous office jobs and are thus likely to
have also played a role in interviewees’ professional identities, often for many years.
306 ‘Also, nein, ich habe es wirklich nicht gemocht.’ (I6)
307 ‘Und es war definitiv eine Herausforderung kurz vor der Pension. Die Leute haben gewisse Sachen
am Computer gemacht und ich habe jüngere Leute fragen müssen. Das habe ich nicht gern gemacht.
Wie man gewisse Dinge macht.’ (I6)
308 ‘Der Computer wurde damals nicht wirklich als etwas Erfreuliches wahrgenommen. Ich habe es
einfach mit, naja, dem Ausfüllen von Sachen und dem, was notwenig war verbunden.’ (I6)
187
However, interestingly, only the PC was framed mostly negatively by interviewees with
previous office jobs. While all interviewees who worked in offices without exception
mentioned typewriters, they mostly talked about them in an indifferent manner.
And, if interviewees did evaluate their experiences with typewriters, they mostly framed them
in terms of technical progress. Experiences with early minicomputers were mostly ambivalent,
including both negative and positive aspects. In contrast to all other office media devices,
the PC was, however, predominantly framed negatively by interviewees who worked in offices.
Thus, the conceptualization of media devices seems, among other factors, to depend on
the biographical moment of their introduction as well: the later their point of introduction,
the bigger the potential of a negative framing. This resonates with Mannheim’s
(1952 [1927/28]) notion of “generation location” and the formative power he attributes to
early life experiences, which has also repeatedly been established in the context of media use
(Bolin 2014, 2017b, 2017a; Bolin and Westlund 2009; Buse 2010:996, 2010:1006).
In addition, Schäffer (2009:44) highlights that if media skills are not acquired in a ‘playful’309
– and thus probably joyful – way, which often (though not exclusively) happens during earlier
life phases, a sense of distance towards the device remains. Interviewees of the study express
this sense of distance through initial negative feelings towards the personal computer and
an often functional approach to using it.
A common response to this argument might be to state that the PC naturally caused more
negative responses in users because it was more complicated to operate than a typewriter.
While a typewriter is certainly more easy to operate than a PC, the same cannot be argued for
early minicomputers. Early minicomputers were not necessarily user-friendly and thus,
as I12 put it, ‘it was not that easy’310 to operate them. However, despite their shortcomings,
early minicomputers were described in ambivalent terms by interviewees. Only the PC,
which was actually supposed to be easier to navigate (O’Regan 2016:138),
was primarily experienced negatively by interviewees in the beginning.
309 In the German original the term “[s]pielerisch” (Schäffer 2009:44) is used.
310 “[…] es war nicht so leicht” (I12)
188
An additional aspect that has to be considered in this context is that for multiple interviewees,
learning how to interact with a PC was initially solely connected to work – and not leisure –
which might have contributed to a framing of the device as not pleasurable. Furthermore,
some interviewees (I1, I6) also experienced pressure at the workplace to start using a computer.
I1, for example, remembers:
“[…] [D]er [Chef] hat ja dann das [die Arbeit am PC] forciert bei uns,
beim Arbeiten. Das war nicht lustig für mich, weil ich habe eigentlich keine
Notwendigkeit gesehen [einen PC zu nutzen] und ich bin ihm aber heute hintennach
sehr dankbar. Der ist glaube ich [19]88 unser Chef geworden und von dort weg
hat der das [die Arbeit am PC] gepusht, der wollte einfach da auch haben,
dass wir alle damit arbeiten. Und ja, wir sind einfach gezwungen worden
[einen PC zu nutzen] […], seine alten Computer haben wir gekriegt, bitte.”311
Such experiences of being pressured to start using a PC certainly also contributed to its original
negative framing by interviewees. Thus, it can be summarized that the conceptualization of
media devices seems to partially depend on the biographical moment of their introduction,
but also on the context of their introduction (e.g. work vs. leisure), as well as on the amount of
external pressure (e.g. to start using a PC in the professional context).
4.2.3 Collective Knowledge Acquisition
During their professional lives, interviewees witnessed massive technological transformation.
As I9 succinctly puts it: “[…] [W]irklich von fast null auf eine heutige Technik.”312
Every decade, new devices and programs would appear and interviewees had to learn
how to use them. Strategies for acquiring technical knowledge varied, but most involved
interaction with other people. Multiple interviewees describe asking individuals –
a superior (I1), a younger colleague (I2, I6) or other colleagues (I12), their own grown-up
children who were involved in business (I7, I8), or a secretary (I6, I11) – for help with
work-related computer issues. Often, they also took computer classes or training courses
(I2, I3, I4, I7, I9).
311 ‘[…] [T]he [boss] actually pushed it [the use of a PC] at our [place of work], at work. For me,
that was not fun because I actually did not see a need for it [using the PC], however, today, retrospectively,
I am very grateful to him. I believe he became our boss in [19]88 and from then on he pushed it [the use of a PC],
he just wanted us all to use it. And well, we were just forced [to use a PC] […], we got his old computers, right.’
(I1)
312 ‘[…] [R]eally from almost zero to today’s technology.’ (I9)
189
In addition, I3 and I4 describe collective learning situations that involved computer specialists
who would come to the company to fix problems with early computers together with
employees. These situations could be very interactive and social. I3 remembers this in detail:
"[…] [Z]um Schluss hast [du] dann mit deinen Computermenschen
das beste Einvernehmen und eine Freundschaft entwickelt sich da, wie du so viel
mit denen zusammensitzt, sei es Fehler korrigieren, meistens, wann machst du das,
am Abend, nicht in der Dienstzeit, weil da ist das ja nicht möglich […].
Da ist man dann, bis das Ganze einmal richtig rennt, so viel zusammen,
[…] dass [wenn] dann zwischendurch einmal eine Pause ist, da sind wir
essen gegangen […] oder Kaffee trinken und dann haben wir gesagt,
so und jetzt tun wir wieder weiter.”313
Learning how to use a computer was mostly experienced as a social process
by interviewees, while individual learning strategies, such as trial and error
or consultation of manuals, were almost inexistent. It is noteworthy that out of all the
interviewees who used ICTs at work, only I9 describes a more individualized strategy of
knowledge acquisition, namely trying out things and thus teaching herself, in addition to
other measures such as a computer class. Hence, collectivity is an integral part of
interviewees’ “inner ‘dialectic’” (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:298) on ICT use at work.
This constitutes a continuity from childhood and adolescence where, for example,
collective TV watching was an important element of media engagement. One reason why
individualized learning strategies were not popular and why interviewees preferred to ask
others for help with the computer at work was the fear of doing something wrong.
As outlined earlier, this fear can be traced back to inhibitory rules of media use in
childhood and adolescence and is part of a ‘generation-specific media practice culture’314
(Schäffer 2009). This can be illustrated by a statement of I1. Talking about her initial use
of the personal computer at work, she explains:
313 ‘[…] [F]inally there is a good understanding and a friendship between the computer people and yourself,
when you are with them so much, for correcting errors, most of the times, when do you do that, in the evening,
not during working hours because it is not possible […]. There you are [together] until the entire thing
works properly, [you] spend so much time together, […] that [when] there was a break, we went to eat something
or for a coffee and then we said, well, we should continue now.’ (I3)
314 “Generationsspezifische Medienpraxiskultur” in the German original (Schäffer 2009).
190
“[…] [I]ch habe zu viel Angst gehabt vorm Herumprobieren, [ich] bin nicht
so diejenige, die so herumzappt und herumprobiert, weil ich immer Angst
habe, dass ich etwas verstelle, heute noch, und da habe ich einfach ihn
[einen höhergestellten Kollegen] nebenan, im Zimmer nebenan,
fragen können.”315 (I1)
One can thus conclude that from the participants’ perspective, computer skills had to be
acquired in interaction with others, not alone and not through self-teaching.
Most importantly, learning with the help of others provided a sense of security and
sometimes this learning process was also enjoyable, as the case of I3 demonstrates.
4.2.4 Continuity of Computer Use
The introduction of computers, particularly personal computers, was experienced as a major
and sometimes even disruptive change by interviewees. Nonetheless, they also talked about
continuities with regard to work-related computer interaction. As discussed, one example was
the notion of ‘growing with’ computers that multiple interviewees suggested.
Another important aspect is the continuation of computer use in retirement when it was already
familiar from the work setting, which has also been identified as important in previous studies,
such as Russell et al.’s (2008:80). In the study at hand, multiple interviewees either got
their ‘own’316 PC or laptop shortly before or after retirement (I1, I3, I10, I11),317 or even took
an old PC or laptop from work home (I7, I9) to continue using it. By far the most prominent
reason for acquiring their own PC or laptop was the desire to continue using the Internet, for
example for e-mails or the use of search engines. I1 summarizes this practice of continuing
the computer use in retirement:
315 ‘[…] I was too afraid of just trying, [I] am not that kind of person that likes zapping and trying out things
because I am always afraid of unintentionally changing something, to this day, and I could just ask him
[a superior] next door, in the room next door.’ (I1)
316 In this context, it is important to note that in some cases there had already been a computer in the private
household before but it was not necessarily considered ‘theirs’ by the interviewees, but rather as a “family thing,”
as I6 puts it. An illustrative example is the case of I3. She and her husband acquired their first private PC
when he retired, ten years prior to the interview. This computer had been used very little by I3. When she retired,
she bought her own laptop, which she now uses. This will be elaborated on further in section 4.3.2.
317 I12 also connects the acquisition of her first private computer to retirement, but it is not quite clear
how much time actually passed after retirement and until she got her first computer.
191
“Und das war für mich selbstverständlich, wenn ich in Pension gehe, […] dann
geht das daheim bei mir weiter! Und ja, dann habe ich mir einfach einen
[Computer] vorher gekauft, […] damit ich auch mit den Mails, dass ich das
überspielen kann und so, dass dann schon nahtlos sozusagen übergeht.”318
Because the computer was already ‘familiar’319 (I3) to many interviewees from work,
it was ‘nothing special’320 (I4) in retirement. Thus, the acquisition of their own PC or
laptop was not described as a particularly memorable event by most. This differs for those
interviewees who had less interaction with computers during their professional lives,
such as, for example, I8, who worked as a farmer for most of her life. I5, who worked
briefly as a seamstress and then was a housewife for most of her life, did not use
the computer much for her work and continues to ascribe very little relevance to it
now in retirement. As already discussed in a previous analysis of some of the qualitative
material (Ratzenböck 2016a:65), this reduced relevance of the computer constitutes
a continuity across many stages of the life course for those with little professional
ICT engagement.
Conclusively, it is important to highlight the diversity of interviewees despite their
similarity in age range. Those interviewees who had office jobs share a similar horizon
of experience. They initially used typewriters for office work and then witnessed
the gradual introduction of multiple generations of computers. Many describe a continuity
in computer engagement over the life course and, despite their initial dislike of the PC,
they acquired their private computer relatively close to retirement to be able to continue
using a computer in general and to go online in particular. On the contrary, women who
engaged little with ICTs in the work context, tend to engage with it less also outside
the workplace, throughout different stages of the life course. This exemplifies why it is
crucial to recognize Austrian women aged 60 to 70 as a diverse group and simultaneously
highlights the need for additional theoretical frameworks complementing Mannheim’s
(1952 [1927/28]) idea of generation “location” to draw attention to diverse aspects of
older women’s life courses, such as Maierhofer’s (2003, 2004b, 2004a, 2007, 2012)
approach of ‘anocriticism’ (see section 1.2.3).
318 ‘And this was a matter of fact for me that I will continue [using a PC] at home when I retire! And yes,
then I just bought a computer before [retiring], […] so I could also with the e-mails, so I could transfer them
and such, so I could continue [using a PC] seamlessly, in a way.’ (I1)
319 “geläufig” (I3)
320 “nicht so etwas Umwerfendes” (I4)
192
4.3 Family-Related Patterns of Media Experiences in Adulthood
As Haddon (2006b:129) notes, it is important to adopt a comprehensive life course perspective
when studying people’s media technology experiences, since every phase of life entails
different contexts which influence a person’s interaction with technology. For this reason,
in addition to early media memories and work-related experiences, the conversations also
explored more private, mostly family-related patterns of media experiences in adulthood.
In terms of a theoretical lens, domestication theory, mostly developed by Roger Silverstone,
David Morley, Leslie Haddon, and Eric Hirsch (Berker et al. 2006:4) constitutes a helpful
framework for analyzing household adoption of new technologies. Specifically, it focuses on
the spatial and temporal integration of media technologies in the home (Haddon 2006b:156).
As outlined in section 1.4.3.2, according to domestication theory, the adoption of
media technologies consists of four ideal typical stages. First, a media object needs to be
purchased or acquired in another way, secondly, it has to physically enter the home, thirdly,
household members need to find time to use it, and lastly, it is used to communicate meaning
to others (Haddon 2006b:4). In their early work, Silverstone, Hirsch, and Morley (1994:20–26)
describe these phases as “appropriation,” “objectification,” “incorporation,” and “conversion.”
While appropriation quite simply is the acquisition of a media object, objectification refers to
the symbolically and aesthetically charged physical placing of the object in the domestic space
(Silverstone et al. 1994:21–24). Incorporation describes the actual use of media objects by
members of a household (particularly with regard to time management) and conversion refers
to meaning-making and interaction with other social groups (the public or peer groups)
mediated through the adopted technologies (Silverstone et al. 1994:24–26). A media technology
has been “domesticated” successfully when household members are accustomed to it,
perceive it as useful and reliable (Berker et al. 2006:3). Although domestication theory includes
distinct phases, it is important to note its process character. Even if an object has been
domesticated at some point, people can also stop using a device. Thus, Haddon (2006b:156)
emphasizes the need to consider varying spectrums of media technology use and Berker et al.
(2006:3) describe the domestication process as “seldom complete.” While the domestication
approach has also been used for studying media interactions in other spaces than the
domestic realm, for example businesses (e.g. Pierson 2006), it is particularly useful for
exploring media experiences in the private setting. Arguably, people have more agency in the
domestic sphere with regard to how to incorporate media devices in their everyday lives.
193
For example, as discussed in section 4.2.2, some interviewees experienced pressure at
the workplace to start using a PC. While people certainly can also experience pressure to start
using certain media devices from family and/or friends, there most likely is more scope for
negotiation in the private realm than in the work setting, where refusal to use a certain device
could result in the loss of one’s job. Due to the larger scope of negotiation in the private setting,
it seems to be particularly interesting to look into how people shape the domestication of ICTs
in their homes.
Throughout their lives, the interviewees in this study had to domesticate a range of different
media technologies. As elaborated on earlier in subchapter 4.1, the radio had always been
important for the vast majority of interviewees from childhood on. Although early memories
also included interaction with the TV, it is ascribed a different quality. Asked about her own
first radio, 11, for example, explains that that it was quite normal for her to have a radio
as an adult because it ‘had always been there from childhood on,’ while TV was different
because it ‘was being added’ and thus ‘something special,’321 as later was the PC and
other media. One could argue that the women interviewed for this study had to domesticate
all media devices they used in their lives, except for the radio.
4.3.1 TV for Parenting
While the radio seems to ‘h[ave] always been there’322 (I11), most interviewees remember
how they got their first TV set when they started life as an adult. Half of the interviewees did
not buy their own first TV but either got it as a hand-me-down device from relatives or
acquaintances (I1, I4, I9) or there had already been a TV in the home when they moved in with
their boyfriends or husbands (I3, I7, I8). In multiple cases, these TV sets were still
black and white and did not work properly all the time. Although TV was not as familiar to
the interviewees as the radio in early adulthood, it still was the norm that one had to get
a TV set for the first own home. As I5 states: “Das war […] ja normal halt, nicht,
wenn du dir eine Wohnung anschaffst, dass du einen Fernseher kriegst.”323 Also for others,
such as I10, it was just ‘natural’324 to get a TV for their own first flat.
321 “etwas Besonderes” (I11)
322 “war [...] immer mit [dabei]” (I11)
323 “It was […], well, normal, right, when you get a flat, you get a TV.” (I5)
324 “natürlich” (I10)
194
However, TV was still perceived differently than the radio, which is illustrated by I2 who
remembers that she initially ‘had to also learn how to deal with this medium.’325 In terms of
its domestication, the TV set got acquired successfully and ‘naturally’ but still
had to be objectified, incorporated, and converted. While interviewees did not talk much about
the objectification of the TV, they shared numerous accounts on how they actually used it.
As Silverstone et al. (1994:24) state, incorporation of media devices relates to their integration
“into the routines of daily life.” In the case of the interviewees of this study, this often meant
incorporating TV into their daily lives as mothers. Mostly, they watched TV together with
their kids. I11, for example, still remembers all the programs she watched together with
her son, such as “Der knallrote Autobus,”326 “Wicke und die starken Männer”327 or
“Knight Rider.” In a similar manner, I9 shares fond memories of shows she used to watch with
her two boys. In the cases of I2 and I9, TV watching with the kids took on a particularly
prominent role in everyday life because their husbands were often away. Besides being fun and
entertainment for kids and adults, TV was also used to educate children. I6 played
English-language videos to her children to support their bilingual upbringing and I5 used TV
as a punishment – if the children misbehaved, she shut the doors of the TV cabinet.
Notably, TV continued to be perceived as a primarily collective medium by the interviewees
in adulthood. Although there are some accounts of watching TV alone, for example by I2
and I9 who used TV for entertainment also independently of their kids, most accounts of
watching TV overall include children and less often friends of the children or
the parents’ friends. Indicative of the perception of the TV as collective medium are stories
about multiple TV sets in the home and their potential to disrupt family life. As I8 explains:
“Die Kinder [...] hätten immer gern einen eigenen Fernseher dann gehabt
wie sie größer sind geworden, das habe ich nie [zuge]lassen, gell. Ich habe
immer gesagt, ja, wenn die Kinder einen eigenen Fernseher haben und dann haben
wir eh da im Wohnzimmer und in der Küche [einen], tut ein jeder nur mehr
sein eigenes [Programm schauen], dann ist überhaupt kein Familienleben mehr,
gell. Und das haben sie mir immer vorgehalten und heute machen sie es aber
eigentlich auch so, ja.”328
325 “musste mit dem Medium auch erst umgehen lernen” (I2)
326 Can be translated as “The Bright Red Bus.”
327 “Vicky the Viking”
328 “The kids [...] would have always liked to have their own TV as they grew up, which I never allowed, right.
I used to say, well, if the kids have their own TV and then we actually have [one] in the living room and
in the kitchen, then everybody is just [watching] his own [program], then there is no family life anymore at all,
right. And they kept nagging about it and today they actually do the same, right.” (I8)
195
At some point, I8 even removed the TV from the kitchen when the kids were at school and
her husband did work outside of the house because ‘everybody was only starring into the TV’329
at that point and she wanted to restore ‘family life.’330 I6 echoes the sentiment of I8 talking
about a small TV that her daughter got for her own bedroom: “[…] I always regretted that
because she used to go down and watch her own stuff and then split the family a bit. But as they
[the kids] became older, teenagers, they developed a different taste. Television when I
was younger, with my family, was family viewing.”331 Although for the interviewees TV was
a source of entertainment, it also bore potential for disruption of family life. This is also visible
in a story I2 shares. When her husband became ill with a serious condition, their TV
broke down, but they did not get a new one for one or two years ‘because […] [if] the kids
watch all kinds of trash, it also brings a lot of disturbance.’332 Conclusively, similarly to
the period of adolescence, TV was mostly perceived as a collective medium by the interviewees,
but it was no longer ‘a kind of treat’ (I10). Interviewees did share positive accounts of
TV watching in adulthood, but overall, mostly framed it functionally, as a tool for parenting
that had to be ‘consciously’333 (I9) managed.
4.3.2 The PC as a “Family Thing” (I6)
Compared to the TV, the computer was even less often framed as an entertainment device
by the interviewees. In many cases, the acquisition of interviewees’ first private computer
in adulthood was connected to their children. I2, I6, I7, I8, and I9 purchased their first computer
for their kids. I8 and her family, for example, first got a computer when her daughter needed
one for school. Having had little contact with it before, the computer was initially ‘all Greek’334
(I8) to her.
329 “ein jeder nur mehr in den Fernseher geschaut hat” (I8)
330 “Familienleben” (I8)
331 ‘[…] Ich habe das immer bereut, weil sie dann hinunter gegangen ist um ihre eigenen Sachen zu schauen
und dann die Familie ein bisschen gespalten hat. Aber wie sie [die Kinder] älter wurden, Teenager,
haben sie einen anderen Geschmack entwickelt. Fernsehen war, wie ich jünger war, mit meiner Familie,
Familienfernsehen.’ (I6)
332 “weil […] [wenn] die Kinder jeden Schund schauen, das bringt dann auch so viel Unruhe” (I2)
333 “bewusst” (I9)
334 “ein spanisches Dorf” (I8)
196
Similarly, I6’s first private computer was a “family thing”335 which she used “hardly at all”336
at the beginning.337 I8, who has been a farmer for most of her life, and I6, a social worker,
were among the interviewees with less professional computer experience. Interviewees who did
have computer experience from their office jobs, such as I4 and I9, did not immediately have
a close connection to the first computer in their home either. As I9 puts it: “[…] [B]eim ersten
PC, der war eigentlich für meinen Sohn, für meinen älteren, da habe ich mich noch nicht viel
gekümmert drum.”338 In the case of I4, the first computer of the household was acquired early
on independently by her son. For her, this computer was a ‘technical miracle,’339 but still
she wondered: “[…] [F]ür daheim, wer braucht das?”340 So even if there was a computer
in the household early on, it did not mean that the interviewees necessarily fully domesticated
it for their own use. These findings are in line with early research on the acquisition of
home computers. In a study on the adoption of personal computers in England in the late 1980s,
Wheelock (1994:103–4, 1994:107) already found that in many cases, families bought
a computer for their children with the intent to support their education and job prospects.
Probably as a consequence of this framing, a considerable amount of women in Wheelock’s
study did not learn how to use the acquired home computer (Wheelock 1994:108) – it simply
was not primarily ‘their’ device. Hirsch (1994:221), in his early case study, also established
a conceptual connection between the home computer and fostering children’s learning
as a mother. Home computers in adulthood were thus doubly framed in terms of ‘work,’
as the present study also shows. On the one hand, as the above statement of I4 indicates,
the computer was seen as a professional device whose’s purpose in the home still
had to be established. The PC was primarily a functional tool for office work.
As I9, talking about her computer at work, remarks: “Ich habe zu der Zeit schon auf einem PC
gearbeitet, aber im Büro. Aber den habe ich nicht zur Unterhaltung verwendet,
sondern zum Arbeiten.”341
335 ‘Familiending’ (I6)
336 ‘fast gar nicht’ (I6)
337 Interestingly, the computer became more relevant for I6 over time, which will be elaborated on
in more detail in chapter 6.
338 ‘[…] [W]ith the first PC, it was actually for my son, the older one, I did not care about it much then.’ (I9)
339 ‘Wunderwerk’ (I4)
340 ‘[…] [F]or home, who needs that?’ (I4)
341 ‘At that time, I did already use a PC, but at the office. But I did not use it for entertainment but for work.’ (I9)
197
On the other hand, the computer was used for family work, either to support kids’ schooling
(I7, I8) and studies (I2) or for gaming (I6). – The only time the computer was seen
as entertaining is with regard to kids’ gaming, otherwise interviewees perceived the computer
as a functional device.
4.3.3 Limited Relevance of the Cell Phone in Adulthood
Although cell phone use became more widespread in the second half of the 1990s in Austria
(Schindelar 2014), interviewees did not elaborate much on it when talking about
media experiences in their adult lives. Those interviewees who did share stories on early
cell phones repeatedly portrayed it as a safety tool. I12, for example, remembers that she got
her first cell phone from her partner as a gift, so she could call her mother, about whom she
worried while traveling. I11 remembers giving a cell phone to her daughter when she
started driving a motor scooter, so she could call if she had an accident. I2, who was an early
cell phone adopter, says that she got it for her trips to see her old father-in-law, who lived in
a remote area. She just felt safer having a phone with her in case anything would happen
to him.342 However, although I2 and I11 are among those interviewees who did share stories on
early cell phones, they do not describe the acquisition or use of the cell phone in adulthood
as particularly memorable. For example, asked in detail about how she purchased her first
cell phone, I2 says: “Ja, ich weiß gar nicht, wo ich das gekauft habe. Das weiß ich nicht mehr.
Das war nicht, ich wollte das und das habe ich gekauft. Das war ohne Emotionen. Es hat auch
gut funktioniert, es war ein riesiges Ding, nicht.”343 I11 did not have any ‘wow experiences’344
either with regard to early cell phones. This functional framing of early cell phones is
not surprising, since mobile telephony was originally designed for business use
(Weber 2008:257, 2008:267), and also perceived as such by users (Comunello et al. 2015:441).
Only in the mid to late 1990s, cell phones gradually became part of popular culture and
were also marketed as fun devices (Haddon 2006b:136; Weber 2008:278–79).
342 Interviewees of this study were of different ages when they got their first cell phones. However,
other investigations such as Ivan’s and Fernández-Ardèvol’s describe the perception of the cell phone as common
“risk management tool” (2017: n.p.) among older adults in more general terms.
343 ‘Well, I do not even remember where I bought it. I do not remember. It was not, I wanted this one
and bought this one. It was without emotions. It also worked well, it was a huge thing, right.’ (I2)
344 “Wow-Erlebnisse” (I12)
198
However, as results of the qualitative strand of this study show, the perception of the cell phone
as a functional device is persistent among women aged 60 to 70 and remains relevant
throughout their lives (see subchapter 5.2.2). In addition, despite also being used individually,
there is some indication that early cell phones were domesticated as collective devices by
interviewees in adulthood. Similar to the computer, early cell phones are mostly a “family
thing.” (I6) However, while the primary function of early computers in the home was to educate
children, the cell phone’s function was to help to keep the family safe.
4.4 Summary of Influential Biographical Backgrounds
This chapter discussed interviewees’ biographical media experiences. Through the analysis,
three important areas of biographical background for ICT use emerged: generation-specific
media experiences in childhood and adolescence (1), work-related patterns of
media experiences (2), and family-related patterns of media experiences in adult life (3).
Particularly, generation-specific media experiences were important for interviewees.
Despite the limited availability of media during childhood and adolescence (1a), interviewees
shared detailed memories of radio and TV engagement. The radio was of special importance
for interviewees (1b) because it was the only device that seemed to ‘h[ave] always been there’
(I11) which led to the feeling of all other media devices as ‘being added’ (I11).
Thus, TV was especially exciting for interviewees and, often consumed collectively (1c),
served as ‘a kind of treat’ (I10) in childhood and adolescence. However, despite positive early
radio and TV memories, interviewees also talk about implicit rules of media use that led to
a sense of distance towards media devices (see Ratzenböck 2016:62). Inhibitory rules
experienced in childhood (1d) had a lasting influence on the interviewees,
manifesting in a persisting fear of breaking devices and an aversion to ‘just trying them out.’
These findings confirm the relevance Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]:298) attached to early
life experiences for the development of a long-lasting “inner ‘dialectic’” and also
the significance of ‘generation-specific media practice cultures’ identified by Schäffer
(2007, 2009) in the context of media engagement.
While accounts on early media experiences are characterized by a great correspondence
across interviews, media experiences in adulthood are slightly more varied. Work settings
had a considerable influence on the breadth and depth of interviewees’ media experiences.
Particularly (but not exclusively) those who worked in office jobs witnessed massive
technological transformation.
199
In terms of attitudes towards new ICTs at the office, the personal computer constitutes
a biographical disruption for interviewees. While bulky minicomputers were still met with
ambivalent feelings (2a) and participants also described a sense of ‘growing with’345 (I4) them,
later personal computers are largely framed negatively (2b). This is noteworthy since
their design was actually intended to make PCs more accessible (O’Regan 2016:143).
This finding supports the assumption that later points of introduction in the life course increase
the potential of a negative evaluation of a device. In addition to being difficult to acquire,
computer skills were also perceived as having to be gained collectively (2c), either by attending
computer classes or by interacting with formal or informal experts. Interestingly, despite strong
initial negative feelings towards the PC, multiple interviewees with previous office jobs report
continuing using a PC or laptop in retirement. This demonstrates that initial evaluations of
a device can also change over time and that evaluation and use of a device are not
necessarily correlated.
Regarding private use of media in adulthood, the interviewees’ social role and identity as
a mother was key. TV continues to be perceived as a primarily collective medium (3a)
that is often consumed with children. Although entertaining, it was no longer as exciting
as it was in childhood and could even be a source of conflict. Similar to the TV, the private PC
was also connected to parenting (3b) and often purchased for the children, which led to
a sense of distance towards the device. Early private cell phones are also framed functionally
in terms of family work and otherwise are ascribed limited releavance in adulthood (3c).
Conclusively, one can observe that there are two main topics that emerged with regard to
biographical backgrounds of ICT use: collectivity and functionality. From childhood and
adolescence to adulthood, media is primarily experienced and conceptualized as collective
(collective TV watching in childhood and adolescence, collective acquisition of computer skills
at work, the private PC as a “family thing” (I6)). Regarding functionality, there is a noticeable
biographical shift between childhood and adolescence vs. adulthood. Early on, media are
entertaining and pleasurable, which changes markedly in adulthood – even with regard to
private TV use. In adulthood, media becomes mostly functional, in the professional as well as
in the private realm.
345 “wächst […] mit” (I4)
200
5 Patterns of Evaluation of ICTs in Everyday Life
While the previous chapter discussed relevant biographical backgrounds for the use of
information and communication technologies of the interviewees – identifying the ideas of
collectivity and functionality as important generational reference points for ICT experiences –
this chapter focuses on current patterns of evaluation of ICTs. In the following sections,
the discursive negotiation (negative and positive evaluations of various ICTs), as well as its
practical implications for everyday life media use will be presented, before discussing current
patterns of ICT use in chapter 6. Chapter 5 will discuss three topics, the general relevance
interviewees ascribe to new and old ICTs in their everyday lives, positive evaluations of
new and old ICTs (Which new and old ICTs are important to them and why? What do they like
about new and old ICTs?), and negative evaluations of new and old ICTs (Which new and
old ICTs are less relevant to them and why? What do they not like about new and old ICTs?).
In this context, it is important to note that relevance and evaluation are not necessarily
congruent. One can, for example, like a particular medium in general terms, but not find it
convenient to use – or the other way around. Thus, both relevancies and evaluations of ICTs
will be discussed.
It is crucial to note that at the time of the interviews, none of the participants of the qualitative
strand of the study still pursued formal full-time work. While the media biography section of
the interviews, discussed previously, touched upon media experiences up to retirement
(childhood and adolescence, adult working life, as well as adult private life), the remainder of
the conversation then focused on media use in retirement. From a research perspective,
retirement constitutes an interesting vantage point for investigating media use as an
everyday life practice. As a major transition in the life course, retirement presents
an opportunity for reflection and for introducing new routines into everyday life.
As Verplanken et al. (2008) and Verplanken, Roy, and Whitmarsh (2018) argue within
the frameworks of their “habit discontinuity hypothesis,” major changes in life increase
the likelihood of reconsidering habits and of being more open to new information pertinent to
everyday life behavior. As contexts change, automatic behavior might be questioned more
easily and consciously (Verplanken et al. 2018:192), which can lead to a readjustment of
priorities (Verplanken et al. 2018:199).
201
While Verplanken et al. (2008) and Verplanken et al. (2018) discuss the interplay of situational
and behavioral change mostly in the context of environmentally-friendly behavior and choice
of transportation modes, early (e.g. Haddon et al. 1996) and more current studies
(e.g. Nimrod 2007) on older adults’ engagement with ICTs have also identified transition into
retirement as a crucial time for changes in media practices.
While at the time of the interview the participants of the qualitative strand of the study
had already been retired from formal full-time work (if employed previously) for some years,
the conversations did still evoke reflections on their entry into retirement and the effects it had
on their media use. Repeatedly, interviewees compared their ICT engagement before and after
retirement discussing continuities and discontinuities of their media use. As highlighted
in section 4.2.4, multiple interviewees either got their own PC or laptop shortly before or after
retirement or took a device from work home when retiring. On the one hand, this represents
a continuity in terms of devices used, on the other, it also represents a discontinuity, as ICT use
necessarily became more private and, in many cases, required the acquisition of their
own devices. As the following sections will show, not only use but also current evaluation of
ICTs by participants is characterized by both continuities and discontinuities of
pre-retirement sentiments.
5.1 Smart or Senior Phone? – The General Relevance of New and Old ICTs in
Interviewees’ Everyday Lives
Regarding the general relevance of new ICTs for participants, defined as both interest and use
in everyday life, one strong differentiator emerged from the qualitative material: the cell phone.
(Aspiring) ownership of a smartphone on the one hand and taking to senior cell phones
on the other were indicative of the broader relevance interviewees ascribed to new ICTs.
As Larsson et al. (2013:165) have highlighted in the context of the Internet,
seniors’ Internet-based activities should be understood as a “continuum” in terms of use.346
The same can be stated for seniors’ use of new ICTs more broadly. While all interviewees used
new ICTs – either directly or through others – a varied spectrum of the extent of use
could be identified, ranging from very little to substantial use.
346 Also see section 1.4.3 for a discussion of Lenhard and Horrigan’s (2003) notion of the “digital spectrum.”
202
On this spectrum, supporters of the senior cell phone were closer to the pole of little use.
Out of all twelve interviewees, only two (I3, I5) indicated that they would like a cell phone
particularly designed for seniors (with big buttons and large fonts) to be their next cell phone.
In this context, it is noteworthy that factors which one might expect to increase interest in
a senior cell phone, such as higher chronological age or physical limitations, did not appear
to play an important role for either I3 or I5 in their desire for a senior cell phone.
Aged 60 at the time of the interview, I3 was the youngest participant of the main qualitative
strand of the study and I5 was among the younger participants, aged 62 at the time of
the interview. Also, neither of them mentioned any major physical restrictions.
As the analysis showed, their interest in the senior cell phone was much more related to
a generally limited interest in all kinds of new ICTs, as well as the expectation that
a senior cell phone would be convenient to use. Out of all the participants, I3 and I5 were
the interviewees who overall noted new ICTs as having the least relevance in their lives
compared to the other interviewees. I5, for example, self-identified as a non-user of the Internet
and I3, while using the Internet, also stated – with some noteworthy exceptions347 – a rather
low relevance of new ICTs. As the main reason for wanting a senior cell phone, I3 and I5 both
mentioned better usability in terms of ‘easy handling’348 (I3) due to features such as
bigger numbers and buttons (I5).
None of the other interviewees wanted a senior cell phone, at least not in the near future.
Among most participants, the senior cell phone was perceived to generally be for ‘others,’
for ‘older people’349 (I4, I10) in general and for older relatives more specifically –
an older sister (I4), an older mother-in-law (I6), an older cousin (I8), or other unspecified older
family members (I11, I12). Similarly, Suopajärvi (2015:117–18) found older ICT users
to be keen on differentiating themselves from people older than themselves (in addition to also
differentiating themselves from younger users) and describes this practice as a form of
“boundary-making.”
347 These will be discussed in section 5.8.2.
348 “einfache Handhabung” (I3)
349 “ältere Leute” (I4, I10), “ältere Herrschaften” (I4)
203
In the study at hand, interviewee 6 succinctly summarizes this sentiment of not wanting
to be part of this group of older users, identified as ‘others’ with regard to the senior cell phone.
She explains: “From the design, it’s not very cool, you know, it is quite a big thing. I think if it
helps some people, okay, but I think I have the feeling I don’t, in design, want to be different to
everybody else. I am not gonna advertise: ‘Look, I need this big thing’”350 (I6). Previous studies
have highlighted seniors’ desire not to use different ICT devices than other age groups.
For example, Sayago and Blat (2010:115) have shown this in the context of seniors’
engagement with computers and their rejection of alternative input devices meant to replace
a traditional mouse. Similarly, Coughlin (2010:64) draws attention to the negative symbolic
connotations (e.g. frailty) ICT devices designed specifically for older adults carry and
challenges designers to think about devices appealing to all age groups instead.
While taking to the senior cell phone was a strong indicator of little relevance of new ICTs,
(aspired) ownership of a smartphone was an indicator of high relevance of new ICTs
more generally. Those interviewees who ranked highest on the general relevance of new ICTs
spectrum (I2, I9, and I12) were either part of the group of interviewees who already
owned a smartphone at the time of the interview (I1, I2, I8, I10, I12) or aspired to acquire one
at the next opportunity (I4, I6, I7, I9, I11). Those who did not already own a smartphone wanted
it for three reasons: to be able to communicate with younger family members through
instant messaging (WhatsApp) (I4, I6, I7, I11), to take photos or otherwise engage with pictures
on the phone (I7, I9), or to look up things online on the go, such as phone numbers or
transportation schedules (I9, I11).
With regard to old ICTs, no such clear differentiator in terms of relevance emerged
from the material. In general, old ICTs’ relevance was more difficult to determine
from interviewees’ statements. For example, while multiple interviewees claimed
little relevance of the TV, particularly compared to other media (I1, I2, I3, I5, I10, I11, I12),
some also talked about specific TV programs with excitement and detail.
For example, in addition to having three TV sets (one for each floor of the house),
I1 mentions multiple programs, which she watches regularly, as well as a game show
which she is fond of (“Wer wird Millionär?”351), and gets notably excited talking about them.
350 ‘Das Design ist nicht besonders cool, wie du weißt, es ist ein ziemlich großes Ding. Ich denke,
wenn es manchen Leuten hilft, okay, aber ich habe das Gefühl, dass ich in Bezug auf das Design nicht anders sein
will als alle anderen. Ich will nicht ausstrahlen: ‘Schaut her, ich brauche dieses Riesending’.’ (I6)
351 ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire?’
204
Similarly, although I5 claims that she does not watch all that much TV, she reports to share
a TV ritual with her husband every day at 4 pm. Together, they watch a talk show,
which she describes as a ‘pensioners’ program’352 (“Die Barbara Karlich Show”) (I5),
and have tea. I10 explains that she could live without a TV. However, at a different point
in the interview, she also states that she would not like to miss it because she likes
to watch certain reports, documentaries, and sports programs. Similarly, I12 claims not to need
the TV, but then again explains that she turns it on first thing in the morning to watch
the morning news and then (after feeding her cat) watches another program on animals.
Also, she has two TV sets in the house and mentions to love watching murder mysteries and
history programs.
The ambivalent negotiation of the TV’s relevance by interviewees can be explained looking at
their general evaluation of it, which is in many instances negative. TV programming is often
framed as primitive and manipulating (I2, I4, I5, I9, I10, I11, I12) and thus it is not surprising
that interviewees discursively negotiate the relevance TV plays in their lives. This will be
elaborated on in more detail in section 5.5.1. However, at this point it is important to note that
the downplaying of the TV’s relevance is most likely also related to social desirability.
Since watching TV generally is not exactly considered a sophisticated leisure activity
(Bosch 2010:379) interviewees might have simply downplayed the extent of their engagement
with the TV during the interviews.353
Unsurprisingly, old ICTs play an important role in the everyday lives of those interviewees for
whom new ICTs are not as important, namely I3 and I5. For I3, the radio is a key medium that
accompanies her through the day. In addition, the landline phone is a relevant
communication tool for her and she is adamant about keeping it. Although I5 negotiates the
relevance of the TV more ambivalently, it evidently is important to her, as is the radio.
However, old ICTs also play a role for some of the interviewees who are more moderate users
of new ICTs (such as I4, I7, I10), or even stronger users of new media (such as I9).
Thus, with regard to old ICTs no clear pattern in terms of differentiating weak, moderate, and
strong users of new ICTs emerged from the analysis of the material. This points to the successful
“domestication” (Silverstone et al. 1994; Silverstone 2006; Haddon 2006a) of the TV for all
interviewees.
352 “Pensionistensendung” (I5)
353 A similar phenomenon has also been observed in previous studies with regard to TV consumption, for
instance in Bosch’s (2010:380) investigation of unemployed individuals’ favorite objects.
205
As outlined (see section 1.4.3.2) media has been “domesticated” successfully when people
are accustomed to it and perceive it as useful and reliable (Berker et al. 2006:3).
Although interviewees are apparently sometimes hesitant to admit its ‘usefulness’ –
particularly in terms of its function as an instrument of leisure – they have fully integrated
the TV into their everyday lives.
5.2 Positive Evaluations of New ICTs
Interestingly, while new ICTs are relevant in the lives of the majority of the interviewees,
this relevance is not echoed in terms of positive evaluations. While some previous studies found
overwhelmingly positive attitudes of older adults towards new ICTs (Yuan et al. 2016;
Mitzner et al. 2010, for digital and electronical technologies more broadly;
Richardson et al. 2005, for the computer), sometimes even among non-users of new ICTs
(Neves and Amaro 2012), this was not the case in the present study. Although interviewees did
share a range of positive notions of new ICTs, the amount and detail of negative attitudes
towards new ICTs shared was considerably larger. The same was true for positive attitudes
towards old ICTs, such as TV or radio, which were also fewer than negative ones.
What are the reasons for the dominance of negative evaluations of both new and old ICTs
in the present study? And how can the dissonance of this finding with results of previous studies
be explained? Possible reasons are three-fold and include the study’s focus, design,
and cultural location. Firstly, the main qualitative strand of this study focused on older women
exclusively. Thus, it is difficult to compare findings from the qualitative strand with other
investigations which included both older men and women, such as the studies just cited.
Secondly, the design of this study differed markedly from many previous studies investigating
older adults’ attitudes towards new ICTs. While multiple studies have also employed qualitative
methods, for example focus groups (e. g. Mitzner et al. 2010; Richardson et al. 2005)
or semi-structured interviews (Yuan et al. 2016:e.g.), their design was still considerably
more structured than the design of the main qualitative strand of the present study.354
354 The study by Neves and Amaro (2012) employed a mixed methods design, including a survey,
as well as semi-structured interviews with older adults.
206
Thus, it is possible that the comparatively more open design of the main qualitative strand of
the present study, including life graphing, qualitative guided interviews, and walking interviews
in small domestic spaces, provided participants with more opportunities to share more
ambivalent attitudes towards new ICTs. Put differently, the participants of the main qualitative
strand of this study simply had a lot of time and repeated opportunities to elaborate on their
complex relationships with ICTs. Thirdly, cultural location most likely plays a role as well.
The study was conducted in the Austrian context and since cultural reference points and
perspectives influence any evaluation, including the one of ICTs, it is difficult to compare
findings from the Austrian context with others, such as the USA (Mitzner et al. 2010;
Yuan et al. 2016), New Zealand (Richardson et al. 2005), or Portugal (Neves and Amaro 2012).
All three factors most likely contributed to producing results that differ from previous studies.
Certainly, this inconsistency invites further research on the topic, particularly research
including cross-country comparisons.355
However, although negative evaluations of both new and old ICTs dominate in the present study
in terms of extent and detail, interviewees did also share a considerable number of
positive evaluations. In the following sections, this subchapter will elaborate on
the positive evaluations of new ICTs, which did emerge from the material. The subsequent
subchapter will then focus on positive evaluations of old ICTs by interviewees,
before summarizing and comparing positive evaluations of both new and old ICTs.
Of all new ICTs, interviewees generally identified the cell phone as the most relevant and
positively connoted new ICT. This finding of positive attitudes towards the cell phone
corresponds to results of previous studies, such as Fernández-Ardèvol and Ivan’s (2016),
Ivan and Fernández-Ardèvol’s (2017), Yuan et al.’s (2016), or Comunello et al.’s (2015).
Notably, even some of those interviewees who generally reported a reduced relevance of
new ICTs in their lives, such as I5, said that they would not like to be without a cell phone.
355 A promising example for the cross-national investigation of older women’s ICT experiences is the project
“Grannies on the Net” led by Loredana Ivan and Shannon Hebblethwaite. For details,
see https://actproject.ca/act/netnography-of-grandmothers/ (ACT Project (Loredana Ivan &
Shannon Hebblethwaite) 2019) and Ivan and Hebblethwaite (2016).
207
Although the cell phone is generally perceived to be the most relevant new ICT by interviewees,
it is not the medium that is most emotionally charged. In the interviews, the new ICT that
evoked the most emotional responses was the Internet – both in negative and in positive terms.
Examples for positive comments on the Internet in the material include statements by I1, I6,
I11, and I12. Out of all the interviewees, I6 most vocally shared her enthusiasm for the Internet:
“I love it, I just I love it. I can't imagine living without it.”356 I1 states that for her the Internet
is indispensable and that it is “Die beste Erfindung seit der Erfindung des Lexikons!”357.
I12 would rather give up her car than the Internet and calls it a ‘positive phenomenon.’358
And I11 even talks about ‘minor addictive behavior’359 with regard to her Internet use.
Similarly, I1 refers to the term ‘addictive behavior,’360 talking about her use of e-mail.
Particularly e-mail has been identified as important in older adults’ Internet use
in previous studies, such as Yuan et al.’s (2016:167). This resonates with findings from
both wave 1 of the Austrian sample of the ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study:
Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment (discussed in subchapter 2.2),
and findings from the main qualitative strand of this study. While used by a majority of
participants, some interviewees particularly highlight the importance of e-mail throughout
the conversation. I6, for example, states that e-mails are the first things she checks when she
goes online and both I7 and I8 share that they wish to learn more about e-mailing, for example
how to add attachments to a message. In addition to identifying the cell phone as participants’
favorite new ICT, establishing interviewees’ emotional relationship with the Internet,
and highlighting the general relevance of e-mails, the analysis of the qualitative material also
showed that interviewees particularly value the utility of new ICTs, their connectivity,
their potential for saving money, as well as the cell phone’s provision of safety.
356 ‘Ich liebe es, ich liebe es einfach. Ich kann es mir ein Leben ohne nicht vorstellen.’ (I6)
357 ‘The best invention since the invention of the lexicon!’ (I1)
358 “positive Erscheinung” (I12)
359 “Minisuchtverhalten” (I11)
360 “Suchtverhalten” (I1)
208
5.2.1 New ICTs as Objects of Utility: “Mein Handy, […], [m]ein Werkzeug” 361 (I10)
It is noteworthy that positive comments on new ICTs predominantly characterize them
as convenient ‘tools.’ Sometimes, the term ‘tool’ is even used explicitly by interviewees talking
about new ICTs, such as I10 using the term “Werkzeug”362 when talking about her cell phone.
This is remarkably well in line with White and Le Cornu’s (2011) conceptualization of
the “Visitor” approach as a mode of engagement with the Internet. According to
White and Le Cornu (2011: n.p.), the three most important metaphors to describe peoples’
understanding of the Internet are “tools, places, and spaces.” In a user typology, which they
developed reflecting on these metaphors, White and Le Cornu (2011) distinguish two types of
Internet users: “Visitors” and “Residents.” While “Residents” perceive the Internet
as place or space, “Visitors” understand the Internet as a “garden tool shed”
(White and Le Cornu 2011: n.p.). As the authors outline, “Visitors” go to the shed,
get a tool for a specific task and then accomplish it with the help of the tool. After the task
has been completed, they return the tool and leave the Internet again. Importantly,
for “Visitors,” (White and Le Cornu 2011) the Internet is just one among multiple tools
to accomplish relevant tasks. As White and Le Cornu (2011: n.p.) note, “it is categorised
alongside the telephone, books, pen and paper and off-line software.”363
The positive evaluations of new ICTs shared by interviewees of the qualitative strand of
this study match White and Le Cornu’s (2011) description of the “Visitor” mode with
surprising accuracy. In terms of positive evaluations, interviewees overwhelmingly describe
new ICTs as ‘convenient,’364 “practical” (I6), and ‘making life easier.’365 The notion of
convenience includes ideas of new ICTs as informative (I1, I4, I5, I6, I7, I8, I9, I10, I12),
efficient (I1, I6, I8, I9, I10, I11, I12), and flexible (I3, I4, I6, I7, I8, I9, I10).
361 ‘My cell phone, […], my tool’ (I10)
362 ‘tool’ (I10)
363 Although “Residents” also occasionally use online tools for everyday life tasks, they primarily perceive
the Internet to be a place where they can meet others, such as friends, and which is home to their online persona
(White and Le Cornu 2011). According to White and Le Cornu (2011), an important difference between
the two modes is that “Visitors” do not cultivate online personas, while for “Residents,” a part of their identity
always remains online.
364 ‘praktisch’ (I3, I4, I8, I10), ‘bequem’ (I11)
365 ‘macht mir das Leben leichter’ (I2)
209
For example, interviewees strongly perceive the Internet to be a handy repository
of information, which again is in line with what White and Le Cornu (2011: n.p.) describe as
a key characteristic of the “Visitor” mode: the “pursuit of specific content.” As stated above,
I1 compares the Internet to a ‘lexicon,’366 a notion that is also shared by I3 and I12,
and I8 compares it to a ‘catalogue.’367 Other early studies, such as Hilt and Lipschultz’
(2004:69), have found older computer users to compare the Internet to repositories
of information, such as a “library.” In the qualitative material, there are numerous examples of
specific information the women interviewed retrieve from the net: recipes (I3, I4, I7, I8, I11),
locations of sites of interest (I11), or facts on specific areas of interest, such as opera (I1),
construction (I8), or plants and animals (I12), to name just a few examples. With regard to
the Internet, other previous studies, such as Gatto and Tak’s (2008:805) have also found utility
to be an important positive factor perceived by older adults. Mitzner et al. (2010:1714–15)
have identified “convenience” to be an important positive evaluation of older adults concerning
electronic and digital technologies more broadly. Similarly, Selwyn (2004:379) describes that
participants of his early study on older adults’ ICT use characterized the computer as
“a useful tool.” Interviewees in Buse’s (2010:1149–1150) investigation of seniors’ engagement
with ICTs also expressed similar attitudes.
With regard to the cell phone, previous studies, such as Conci et al.’s (2009),
have found perceived utility to be particularly relevant for older adults. Similarly to the Internet,
interviewees of this study perceive the cell phone as an ‘object of utility,’368 as I8 puts it,
pragmatically comparing her cell phone to her car: “Es ist Luxus, aber für mich ist es jetzt
eigentlich gar kein Luxus mehr, weil auf das täte ich einfach nicht verzichten.
Das ist wie das Auto. Ein Auto ist auch so ein Gebrauchsgegenstand und das Handy
halt auch schon.”369
366 “Lexikon” (I1), “Lexika” (I3), “Lexikon oder Lexika” (I12)
367 “Katalog” (I8)
368 “Gebrauchsgegenstand” (I8)
369 ‘It is a luxury, but for me it is actually not a luxury anymore because I would not like to be without it.
It is like the car. A car is also an object of utility and so is the cell phone actually.’ (I8)
210
The cell phone as a tool is used by interviewees for coordination, for example to call
family members to ask them to grab something from the store (I1), or to give instructions to
a handyman from a distance (I9). But it is also quite literally used as a tool. It functions as a
camera (I1, I2, I7, I8, I10, I12), alarm (I2, I8, I9, I11, I12), notepad (I6, I12), calculator (I1, I8),
map (I8, I12), calendar (I12), dictaphone (I12), or sometimes also flashlight (I2). Interestingly,
as Neves and Amaro (2012: n.p.) have shown, non-users of the cell phone also explicitly think
of it as convenient and helpful. In the qualitative strand of this study, this was also true for
non-users of the smartphone. For example, although I9 did not own a smartphone
at the time of the interview, she commented on how ‘straightforward’370 it was for one of
her friends to share photos of her grandchild with her and how that made her think of
getting one as well.
While ideas of convenience and efficiency were mostly voiced by participants with regard to
the Internet or the cell phone, it also came up in other contexts. I6, for example,
explains how convenient it is for her to share books on her e-book reader (Kindle)
with her husband. I8 tells the story of her son who is currently building house and uses
a computer program (Excel) for calculations and price comparisons. In the guided interview,
I8 shares her excitement about the efficiency of the computer program:
“[…] [D]as rechnet sich dann eigentlich in Sekundenschnelle alles aus,
ohne Fehler, beim Formatieren kannst du auch einen Fehler machen (lacht).
Und das ist schon ein Wahnsinn jetzt mit den ganzen Kostenvoranschlägen,
also der gibt drei Kostenvoranschläge ein und er kann das so genauer
gegenüberstellen, als wie wenn du es so machst. Ich meine, sicher, rechnen kannst
du so auch, aber es ist halt aufwändiger. Also, da hilft das schon ganz, ‘Excel’,
oder was das ist, heißt das Programm.”371 (I8)
370 “unkompliziert” (I9)
371 ‘[…] [I]t calculates it all within seconds actually, without errors, you can also make mistakes
when formatting (laughs). And it is actually madness now with all the estimates of cost, well he enters three bids
and can compare them more precisely, compared to doing it like that. I think, sure, you can also calculate it
like that but it just is more work. Well, it does help quite a bit, ‘Excel’ or what it is, the program is called.’ (I8)
211
Efficiency is also perceived as a generally positive aspect of new ICTs by multiple
other interviewees. I9, for example, comments on how new ICTs made her career as
an accountant and payroll clerk (that she still pursues part-time in retirement) easier,
while also ambivalently reflecting on how new ICTs led to a reduced need of office personnel:
“[…] [W]enn ich denke, was ich jetzt mache, da hätte man früher halt vier Leute gebraucht
[…].”372 In addition, she remembers typing her husband’s diploma thesis on an
electric typewriter in the 1980s, which she describes as ‘horror’373 (I9). Every time she made
a mistake, she had to start all over again or use whiteout. Today, she describes working on the
computer as ‘great’374 because, instead of starting a page allover again or using whiteout
when making a mistake, you just re-print it. In a similar account, I11 shares her perception of
the computer as convenient. As member of a local organization, she keeps the minutes of
weekly meetings. She states that if she had to type up the minutes on a typewriter and
send them out, it would be ‘tremendously time-intense’375 (I11) and ‘a monetary effort’376 (I11).
Working on the computer, she types up the minutes the next day, has them approved by the
chair of the committee, and then sends them to all members, a process she evidently
finds efficient. I10 experiences the computer as efficient as well. Recalling her early days
at the bank, she remembers how entries into the land charge register were only done by hand,
which she now finds to be ‘unimaginable’:377 “Ja, was heute gar nicht mehr vorstellbar [ist],
man drückt auf das Grundbuchmenü und zack, bumm, gibt die Daten ein und hat die Listen,
ja.”378 Also I12 does not look back favorably to the times when writing by hand was common,
which she describes as ‘not being so much fun.’379 She likes that the computer provides results
in a fast manner. For her, efficiency is part of the reason why she has a positive attitude towards
her computer, which she summarizes by stating: “[…] [J]a, ich habe das Gerät einfach gern,
ja (lacht)”380 (I12).
372 ‘[…] [I]f I think about what I am doing now, in former times you would have needed four people for it […].’
(I9)
373 “Horror” (I9)
374 “super” (I9)
375 “ein Zeitaufwand, ein immenser” (I11)
376 “ein monetärer Aufwand” (I11)
377 “nicht mehr vorstellbar” (I10)
378 ‘Well, it [is] unimaginable today, you press the land charge register menu and whoosh, boom,
enter the data and receive the lists, yes.’ (I10)
379 “macht auch nicht so viel Spaß” (I12)
380 ‘[…] [Y]es, I am just fond of the device, yes (laughs)’ (I12)
212
In addition to the benefits of word processing, participants also discuss efficiency of ICTs
in terms of saving space, for example with regard to needing less space for photo albums when
pictures can be saved digitally (I1) or less space for printed books when they can be stored on
an e-reader (Kindle) (I6).
Another important aspect of the perception of new ICTs as convenient,
besides being informative, handy, and efficient, is their “flexibility” (I6). Interviewees address
new ICTs’ flexibility concerning time and place, but also with regard to an increase in choices
more generally, such as being able to choose from more pictures one has taken digitally (I3).
In terms of flexible timing, multiple participants appreciate the opportunity to be called and
to call others at any time, using Skype on their tablet (I6) or their cell phone (I7, I9).
In addition, participants positively comment on the flexibility new ICTs provide with regard to
place or their ‘non-locality,’381 as I10 puts it. In this context, I4 shares a story on how she
purchased a laptop to be able to take it with her on a rehabilitation stay. Meanwhile, I6 likes to
listen to podcasts on her iPod while in the garden and cherishes her e-book reader’s mobility,
being able to fit into her bag. She states:
“I couldn’t live without my Kindle. What I do when I am out somewhere and
somebody says to me: ‘Can you recommend any book, any good books?,’
it’s likely to carry around with me and I have a section here called ‘history’ –
These are the ones I have read and they’re all there. You know when you read a
book and you remember the cover of it, the color, the picture on the front.
I can’t, so if I have this in my bag, I can just say, ‘You must read this!’ or whatever.
Tata, it’s all there for me.”382 (I6)
I7 and I10 comment positively on the mobility of many new ICT devices. I7, for example,
explains how she likes to pass time at the doctors’ by writing WhatsApp messages.
Participants also positively comment on not having to leave the house anymore for errands
such as going to the bank (I7).
381 “Nichtörtlichkeit” (I10)
382 ‘Ich könnte nicht ohne mein Kindle leben. Was ich mache, wenn ich unterwegs bin und jemand zu mir sagt:
‘Kannst du mir ein Buch empfehlen, irgendwelche guten Bücher?, ist es wahrscheinlich, dass ich es dabei habe
und hier habe ich einen Bereich, der sich ‘Verlauf’ nennt – Das sind die, die ich schon gelesen habe und die sind
alle dort. Kennst du das, wenn du ein Buch liest und du erinnerst dich an den Einband, die Farbe, das Titelbild.
Das kann ich nicht, daher habe ich das in meiner Tasche, ich kann einfach sagen ‘Das musst du lesen!’ oder so.
Tata, es ist alles da für mich.’ (I6)
213
5.2.2 “Kontrollanruf”383 (I12) – The Cell Phone as Safety Net
In addition to being convenient, interviewees also identify the cell phone as an important device
that enhances their safety. As Ivan and Fernández-Ardèvol (2017: n.p.) have pointed out,
for seniors, the cell phone often serves as a “risk management tool,” which is
a crucial motivation for its acquisition in the first place. Remarkably, the idea of the cell phone
as increasing safety already appeared in early empirical studies on cell phone adoption
by older adults, as Haddon (2017:44) highlights, elaborating on research he conducted
in the 1990s with his colleague Silverstone. Since then, numerous studies have confirmed
the relevance of safety concerns for older adults’ engagement with the cell phone
(Fernández-Ardèvol and Ivan 2016:93; Ivan and Fernández-Ardèvol 2017;
Neves and Amaro 2012; Sawchuk and Crow 2010:55.8-55.10; Suopajärvi 2015:116).
Studies which have specifically focused on older women’s cell phone use, such as Kurniawan’s
(2006), confirmed the relevance of safety concerns for their use of the cell phone.
In the study at hand, the majority of the interviewees discussed considerations of safety
talking about their cell phones. The examples from the material are numerous and multifold.
I1 states that the cell phone provides her with a sense of safety when driving. I2 shares the story
of how the cell phone made her feel safe taking care of her very old father-in-law
in an old house in the countryside. I5 likes to take the cell phone with her when she goes
for a walk with the dog, to be able to call help in case she gets hurts or something happens
to the dog. Similarly, I10 also likes to take her cell phone with her for safety on long walks.
I6 always keeps her cell phone in her pocket to be able to call for help, in case she falls down
the stairs in her house. And when she gets lost walking in the woods, she calls her husband and
asks for directions. In addition, I6 explains how she and her husband always text each other
before they come home, so they know who is coming into the house and are not alarmed by
the sound. And I12, together with two friends, developed a practice she calls
“Kontrollanruf.”384 I12 and her friends call each other every morning, and sometimes also in
the evenings, to check in on each other:
383 ‘control call’ (I12)
384 A similar practice was observed by Loe (2010:326) in her study on older women’s enagagement
with technology in the USA.
214
“Das ist ausgemacht, einen Tag [ruft] die [an], einen Tag die.
Weil sie ist alleinstehend, ich bin auch, kannst du sagen, die meiste Zeit allein […].
Und am Abend, wenn mein Partner nicht da ist, ist auch der Kontroll-,
was heißt Kontrollanruf, [so] nenne ich es immer. Im Sommer ist es nicht so,
aber im Winter […] doch, weil wenn man irgendwo hingeht, dass du sagst, also ich
bin im Haus herinnen, also ich kann nicht mehr erfrieren, in dem Sinn.”385 (I12)
While the cell phone is a helpful tool for the mutual assurance of safety among friends for I12,
other interviewees primarily perceive the cell phone to be a relevant tool to for
the safety of others, most importantly their children. I11 recalls giving a cell phone
to her daughter when she started driving a scooter, so she would be able to call in the case of
an accident. And I9 always keeps her cell phone close so her adult sons can call her
if something comes up.
Cell phones enable constant communication, almost independently of location.
Thus, considerations of safety are likely to play a role for many users, regardless of age.
However, it is noteworthy that in the qualitative strand of this study, the majority of
the older women interviewed highlighted safety in relation to their use of the cell phone.
As a working hypothesis, it is reasonable to assume that considerations of safety are particularly
important for older cell phone users. Recent statistical data on Austrians’ use of the smartphone
might be indicative of this hypothesis. The Austrian communications provider A1,
in cooperation with the market research company GfK, recently conducted the 20th edition of
its ‘Social Impact Study’ (“Social Impact Studie”). The results of the study showed that more
than half (52%) of the 1,119 cell phone users who participated in the online survey
(minimum age for participation was 12 years) primarily use their cell phone for written
communication (APA-OTS 2019). This differs markedly from findings exclusively focusing on
older adults’ cell phone use from wave 1 of the ACT online survey (2016) discussed
in subchapter 2.2. For example, 87.1% of the Austrian women aged 60 to 70 who participated
in the ACT online survey stated to have sent/received voice calls on the previous day,
while only 54.5% stated to have sent messages (see table 10, subchapter 2.2).
385 ‘We have an arrangement, one day she [calls], the other day I [do]. Because she is living alone,
so am I, you might say, most of the time alone […]. And in the evening, when my partner is not here, there is also
the control-, what I call control call, [that’s] what I always call it. In summer, it is not like that, but in winter […]
it is because if you go somewhere, to say, well I am inside the house, I cannot freeze to death anymore, like that.’
(I12)
215
Thus, it is reasonable to assume that in some regards older Austrians indeed differ from other
age groups in their use of the cell phone, 386 most importantly that voice calls do play
an important role for them. How does this relate to considerations of safety?
While one interviewee in the qualitative strand of the present study (I6) indeed shared
a safety practice involving messaging, all other interviewees who discussed safety in relation
to the cell phone talked about being able to call others or be called by others – either in the case
of an emergency or as a more general practice of assurance (such as I12’s practice of
the ‘control call’). Thus, for interviewees, the idea of safety seems to mostly relate to calling
and not to written communication. From this, one could infer that (the ability) to make calls
on the cell phone as a safety mechanism might be particularly important for older women. –
It needs to be emphasized, however, that these considerations only represent hypotheses, which
would have to be investigated further in future empirical research on the topic.
5.2.3 New Media as Connecting Tools
In addition to utility and the provision of safety in the case of the cell phone, another important
positive association with new media shared by interviewees was ‘connectivity’387 (I2).
Numerous previous studies have identified a sense of connectedness as an important positive
evaluation of new ICTs by older adults (Feist et al. 2010, for digital technologies more broadly;
Goodwin 2013:71, for the computer and Internet; Hill et al. 2015:419; Larsson et al. 2013:161,
for the Internet; Richardson et al. 2005:233–34, for the computer;
Sawchuk and Crow 2010:55.9, for the cell phone; Sayago and Blat 2010:108,
for the Internet/e-mail; Tsai et al. 2015:702–3, for the tablet). Gatto and Tak (2008:809) even
found connectedness to be the most important positive aspect older adults associated with
regard to the Internet. In the qualitative strand of this study, the notion of new ICTs
as connecting is prominent as well, either in the sense of creating a connection to the world
in general or of enabling immediate contact with friends and family.
386 Also see section 1.4.3.3. and the discussion of findings of Bolin and Westlund (2009:120) and
Bolin (2017a:29, 2017b:50) on the use of different functions on the cell phone by different Swedish cohorts.
387 “Verbundenheit” (I2)
216
Examples for the expression of a general sense of connectedness new ICTs are able to provide
are multifold. I1, for example, explains how the Internet allowed her to keep a sense of
connectedness to the world in general after retirement:“[…][I]ch bin in Pension gegangen wie
ich sechzigeinhalb war und das war überhaupt kein Problem, weil ich weiterhin auch hier […]
am Berg heroben und abseits vom Schuss, von der Stadt, mit der großen Welt verbunden war,
mich gefühlt habe.”388 Similar sentiments are shared by both I2 and I12. I9 and I11
make reference to new ICTs’ connecting potential. They both witnessed how new ICTs helped
others increase their sense of connectivity. I11 shares the story of how her daughter could
stay in touch with her boyfriend during a hike thanks to digital media. And I9 explains that
a friend of hers is able to regularly talk online to her daughter and her grandchild
who live in Canada. The Internet’s potential for connecting people across countries,
and even continents, manifestly impressed I9, contributing to her understanding of new ICTs
as connecting. Although an encompassing sense of connectedness has been identified
as generally important to seniors’ experience with the Internet in previous studies,
such as Larsson et al. (2013:161), it is noteworthy that in the qualitative strand of the study at
hand this seems to be especially true for stronger users of new ICTs, such as I2, I12, and I9.389
In addition, multiple interviewees (I4, I5, I6, I12) identify new ICTs as potential
tools of connection for lonely or impaired people. I5, as a self-declared non-user of the Internet,
thinks the Internet’s most important benefit is the connectivity it can provide for lonely people:
“Ja, das finde ich sicher gut, […] dass […] schon viele ältere Leute das Internet
nutzen und die, die daheim sind oder nicht mehr so mobil sind oder so,
die was das noch können und geistig noch gut sind, finde ich schon gut, ja,
dass die da vielleicht ein bisschen kommunizieren oder die was allein sind oder so,
oft, oder allein in der Wohnung, nicht, oder nur auf die Pflegerin [warten]
oder wenn wer kommt, vorbeikommt, warten oder so, wenn die das nutzen […],
das finde ich schon gut […].”390 (I5)
388 ‘[…] [I] retired at sixty and a half years old that was no problem at all because I continued to be connected
to the world in general, I felt like that, also here […] on the mountain and off the center, outside of the city.’ (I1)
389 In comparison to I2, I12, and I9 (the strongest users of new ICTs in the sample), I11 can be considered
a slightly more moderate user of new ICTs. However, of all moderate users of new ICTs, I11 is closest to a level
of strong use. Thus, also I11 fits this pattern very well.
390 “Yes, I think it is very good […] that […] already many older people use the Internet and those who are
at home or are not that mobile anymore or something like that, those who still can use it and are still good mentally,
I think it is good, yes, that those can maybe communicate a little bit or those who are a alone or such, often,
or alone in the apartment, right, or those who are only [waiting] for their nurse or for somebody to visit or so,
if they use it, […] that I do find good […].” (I5)
217
Others again, such as I6 and I11, think of new media as generally connecting in terms of
enabling intercultural communication, although they discuss this in very different contexts.
While I6 experiences easier access to her native (British) culture because of new ICTs
(e.g. reading English newspapers online or skyping with her daughter who lives in the UK),
I11, as a former mayor of a small town, highlights the benefits that new ICTs provide to refugees
coming to Austria who, thanks to the cell phone, are able to communicate with their families
back home more easily.
In addition to a general sense of connectedness, for interviewees, the idea of new ICTs’
connectivity also includes immediate and ‘fast contact’391 (I2) with friends and most
importantly family. For example, I1 enjoys being able to talk to her granddaughter casually
on WhatsApp. Similarly, I6 likes the fact that she is able to skype with both her daughter
and her son, who live relatively far away from her (her daughter in the UK and her son
in another part of Austria). In I6’s experience, Skype connects her family across a distance –
and notably also within the home.
“For example, although my son lives in [another city in Austria], I always say
if we do a long talk, we have to do it on Skype because, you know, it is cheaper.
Well, it’s free. So although we used to have long chats on the phone,
we don’t anymore […]. Well also, if you are skyping, my husband can sit there too
or anybody else. I don’t have to repeat everything to him and it is not just my phone.
It is shared, that’s what I like. […]”392 (I6)
Besides connecting families for casual chats, other interviewees again highlight safety
when they bring up their appreciation of ‘fast contact’ (I2) with family members enabled by
new ICTs. Several interviewees explain that they appreciate the possibility to connect to
family members fast in case of an emergency. I2, for example, shares a story on how
her daughter called her on the cell phone from abroad because she was in urgent need of
important medical information when she experienced food poisoning while traveling.
Similarly, I7 says that she always wants to be available on the cell phone so that her children
and children-in-law can call her if a problem with her grandchildren comes up.
391 “der schnelle Kontakt” (I2)
392 ‘Zum Beispiel, obwohl mein Son in [einer anderen Stadt in Österreich] lebt, sage ich immer,
wenn wir ein langes Gespräch führen, machen wir es über Skype, weil es billiger ist, wie du weißt.
Also es ist gratis. Also obwohl wir früher lang am Telefon gesprochen haben, machen wir das nicht mehr […].
Naja und wenn du skypest kann auch mein Mann hier sitzen oder sonst jemand. Ich muss nicht alles ihm gegenüber
wiederholen und es ist nicht nur mein Telefon. Es ist geteilt, das ist es was ich mag.’ (I6)
218
In this context, it is noteworthy that the weakest users of new ICTs in the sample (I3 and I5)
do not foreground safety concerns for family members as a reason interesting them in increased
engagement with the cell phone. Although I3 owns a cell phone, she mostly sees it as
a convenient tool for fast communication, but does not bring up emergencies.
I5, on the contrary, does conceptualize the cell phone as a tool for safety, but only relates this
to her own safety, when she goes for a walk with the dog, for example, and not to the safety of
family members. Here, it is important to remember that both I3 and I5 live in intergenerational
households, both with their husbands, sons, daughters-in-law, and a grandchild.
Thus, many of their close family members live with them, probably decreasing the need to
check on them via cell phone. However, I7 also lives in an intergenerational context,
with her husband and many of her children and grandchildren on the same property.
Nevertheless, as just outlined, I7 does emphasize the cell phone’s relevance in guaranteeing
her availability for family members in case of an emergency. Hence, there seem to be additional
relevant factors at play, which should be further explored in future research.
5.2.4 New ICTs as Economical Tools
The three most important positive attributes interviewees shared with regard to new ICTs were
convenience, a feeling of safety (in relation to the cell phone), and a sense of connectivity
(with the world in general and with family members specifically). In addition to these
three crucial positive attributes, another positive connotation emerged from the material:
the potential of saving money using new ICTs. While this sentiment is not emphasized by
interviewees as much as the other three, it is still important to note, as it does come up
repeatedly. Mostly, participants comment on the potential of saving money when
shopping online. I8 finds online shopping ‘tempting’393 and remembers ‘saving 120 euros’394
buying Christmas gifts for her four grandchildren online, instead of in the shop, where she found
the price to be significantly higher. Similarly, I1 mentions that it is sometimes ‘cheaper’395
to buy things online, such as a calendar she got. I9 likes to save when shopping online and states
that she got a piece of clothing ‘for half or less than the half price.’396
393 “reizvoll” (I8)
394 “120 Euro erspart” (I8)
395 ‘billiger’ (I1)
396 “um einen halben bis weniger Preis” (I9)
219
However, the notion of new ICTs as economical also comes up in other contexts than
online shopping. I9, when sharing the story of her friend who talks to her daughter and
grandchild in Canada via the Internet, mentions that they ‘can talk every day for free,’397
while this would have cost ‘a fortune’398 in former times. Following this account,
she also remembers a friend of hers who, in the 1990s, had a boyfriend in the US and
spent 20.000 schillings399 on phone bills, which equaled her monthly paycheck at the time.
Excitedly, she adds: “Und jetzt kannst du mit allen Teilen der Welt praktisch um einen Nulltarif
kommunizieren, nicht”400 (I9). I6 mentions Skype in the context of saving money and highlights
that one can use it for free. In addition, she also enjoys to watch British TV online
at cheap rates. In a similar fashion, addressing the economical advantages of new ITCs,
I3 explains that she rarely used to take photos because it was ‘too expensive’401 to buy film and
then have the photos developed. However, since she got a digital camera, she started taking
lots of pictures because it is inexpensive.
5.3 Positive Evaluations of Old ICTs
As stated above, concerning the relevance of old media, no clear differentiating pattern
with regard to weak, moderate, and strong users of new ICTs emerged from the
qualitative material. Traditional media seem to be relevant to older women more generally,
independent of the degree of their engagement with new ICTs. First, findings from wave 1
of the ACT Longitudinal Study on Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment
(discussed in subchapter 2.2) have shown a persistent relevance of traditional media for
older women who are online and willing to participate in an online survey,
and are thus presumably stronger users of new ICTs. Secondly, from the analysis of
the interview material, a strong relevance of old ICTs could be determined for interviewees
who are moderate or weak users of new ICTs. Thus, it seems that old ICTs are generally
relevant in older Austrian women’s lives. This section discusses what positive attributes
the women interviewed ascribe to the old media that they use in their everyday lives.
397 “kann mit der jeden Tag gratis reden” (I9)
398 “ein Vermögen” (I9)
399 Schilling was the official currency in Austria until the introduction of the euro in 2002. 13.7603 Schillings
equal one euro (OeNB. Oesterreichische Nationalbank 2020). Thus, 20.000 schillings are about 1,453 euros.
400 ‘And these days you can communicate across the globe at zero cost, right.’ (I9)
401 “zu teuer” (I3)
220
5.3.1 Old Media as Controllable Gadgets
The most prominent positive attribute interviewees shared with regard to traditional media is
their controllability. For participants, an important advantage of the radio and TV is
‘that you can just turn them off’402 (I2). The feeling of controllability is particularly strong
with the radio. Seven interviewees talk about the controllability of the radio as a positive factor
(I2, I3, I4, I7, I8, I11, I12). While I3 also comments positively on the fact that she can
move around while listening to the radio, unlike with the TV, she also emphasizes that
being able to just turn off the radio rapidly is an advantage compared to other media:
“Ja und den Fernseher schalte ich nicht kurzfristig ab, aber den Radio schalte ich
kurzfristig ab, auch, wenn mir irgendetwas nicht gefällt. Schalte ich ab und dann
denke ich mir nach ein paar Minuten, na, jetzt könnte das vorbei sein,
jetzt schalte ich wieder ein. Ja, das sind eigentlich die Vorteile des Radios.”403
I3 also emphasizes the controllability of the radio in the walking interview again,
highlighting its importance. As indicated, multiple other interviewees appreciate that they can
turn off their radios easily. I4, for example, explains that she occasionally listens to CDs,
but mostly – ‘99.5% of the time’404 – she listens to the radio because she finds it
more convenient, since you can simply turn it off: “Ja, die CDs haben wir eigentlich nur –,
ich vergesse immer darauf, ja, und das Radio ist einfach praktischer. Da schalte ich ein, weg,
fertig.”405 Similar notions of controllability being the radio’s best asset are shared by I2, I7, I8,
and I12 as well. Overall, it is remarkable how positive comments about the radio as controllable
are consistently and repeatedly voiced across interviews, constituting the strongest pattern
with regard to the positive evaluation of old ICTs.
402 “dass man es abdrehen kann” (I2)
403 ‘Well, and I don’t turn off the TV rapidly, but I do turn off the radio rapidly, also if I don’t like something.
I turn it off and then, after a few minutes, I think, well, now it could be over, now I turn it on again.
Yes, these are actually the advantages of the radio.’ (I3)
404 “zu 99,5%” (I4)
405 ‘Yes, the CDs we only have –, I always forget about them, well, and the radio is simply more convenient.
I turn it on, off, done.’ (I4)
221
In addition to the radio, TV is also perceived as controllable by interviewees,
although to a lesser extent. As I12 puts it, answering the question about what she does like and
about what does not like about the TV: “[…] [W]enn es mir nicht gefällt, schalte ich aus.”406
This approach to the TV is shared by multiple interviewees, among them I11, who shares
her experience of the TV’s controllability with much detail, recounting a memorable story
from a while ago:
“Denn wenn mich etwas stört, dann schalte ich es aus. Ich kann Ihnen eine
kleine Episode erzählen, […] da war ich noch relativ jung in der Firma,
da war gerade der Wolfi Bauer mit ‘Magic Afternoon’ im Fernsehen und ein
Mitarbeiter von mir wollte von mir, dass ich einen Protestbrief an den ORF
schreibe und ich habe gesagt: ‘Du, mir hat das gefallen, warum soll ich für dich
einen Brief schreiben?’ ‘Ja, das war so eine Schweinerei!’ Habe ich gesagt:
‘Wenn du es so schlimm gefunden hast, warum hast du nicht abgedreht?
Warum hast du dich geärgert und ärgerst dich heute noch?’ Es gibt, wenn mich
etwas ärgert, einen Knopf, wo ich draufdrücke. Ja, ich muss mir das ja nicht
gefallen lassen, warum muss ich das anschauen?”407
I2 also likes that she can simply turn off the TV if she does not like a film she is watching.
Similarly, I5 comments positively on the fact that, if she ‘gets too upset’408 about something
on TV, she just turns it off. “Da gibt es einen roten Knopf, da kann man ausschalten”409 (I5).
Across the qualitative material, there is a strong and coherent sense of being in control when it
comes to traditional media, such as radio and TV. While controllability was also occasionally
mentioned by interviewees with regard to new media, it only came up sporadically and
less consistently in this context, when considering the material in its entirety. Unsurprisingly,
the notion of new media as controllable was voiced most strongly by interviewees who are
stronger users of new ICTs. I12, who can certainly be considered one of the strongest users of
new ICTs in the sample, was the only one to repeatedly highlight the controllability of
new ICTs throughout the conversation. While she also perceives the radio and TV as
controllable, she shares the same feeling with regard to the cell phone and the Internet.
406 ‘[…] [I]f I don’t like it, I turn it off.’ (I12)
407 ‘Because when I am annoyed by something, I turn it off. I can share a short episode with you, […]
I was still relatively new at the company when Wolfi Bauer’s ‘Magic Afternoon’ [play by Austrian author
Wolfgang Bauer] was shown on TV and one of my employees wanted me to write a protest letter to ORF
[Austrian broadcasting company] and I said: ‘I liked it, why would I write a letter for you?’ ‘Well, it was such
a scandal!’ I said: ‘If you found it to be so terrible, why did you not turn it off? Why were you annoyed and continue
to be annoyed to this day?’ If something annoys me, there is a button that I can push. Well, I do not have to put up
with it, why do I have to watch it?’ (I11)
408 “wenn es mich ganz aufreibt” (I5)
409 ‘There is a red button, there you can turn it off.’ (I5)
222
This statement of hers illustrates her evaluation of ICTs in general: “Es gibt keine Nachteile.
Weil, wie gesagt, wenn ich etwas nicht nutzen will, dann tue ich es nicht […]”410 (I12).
Similarly, I2, another strong user of new ICTs in the qualitative sample, feels that she is
in charge of her cell phone: “[…] [I]ch wüsste keinen Nachteil. Wenn es mich stört,
dann schalte ich es ab.”411 A sense of controllability of new ICTs is also voiced once by I10,
a moderate user of new ICTs, with regard to the Internet. I6, another moderate user of
new ICTs, states that one of her favorite things about new media, such as podcasts and
streamed videos, is that she is in control of when to watch them. Thus, it can be stated that
a sense of controllability also comes up with regard to new ICTs in the qualitative material,
but less forcefully and only in the case of strong or moderate users of new ICTs.
Quite differently, none of the weak users of new ICTs (I3 and I5) voices a sense of
controllability concerning new ICTs. While this is not very surprising, it is still interesting
to note that neither I3 nor I5 experience pressure from friends or family to engage more with
cell phones, computers, and the Internet. Their lack of a feeling of controllability with regard
to new ICTs therefore does not seem to emanate from external pressure. Rather, it seems to be
related to two other factors: their limited hands-on experience with new ICTs (which seems to
contribute to overestimating their complexity and general potential for danger), but also their
actual expertise with regard to real issues, such as threats to privacy that the Internet poses.
Particularly the latter is important to emphasize because it frequently is not part of academic or
public discourse on older adults,’ especially older women’s, engagement with new ITCs.
5.3.2 Old Media as Informative Sources
A shared positive notion by the interviewees regarding new and old ICTs is their convenience
in terms of receiving information. As outlined above, the most important positive evaluation
interviewees generally attribute to new ICTs is their convenience. This includes three aspects:
new ICTs as being informative, efficient, and flexible. In the case of old media,
only one of these aspects is relevant: traditional media are primarily perceived to be
informative.
410 ‘There are no disadvantages. Because, as I have said, if I don’t want to use something, then I don’t […].’
(I12)
411 ‘[…] [I] can’t think of a disadvantage. When it bothers me, then I turn it off.’ (I2)
223
While I9 is the only one to frame old ICTs, specifically the TV, as ‘convenient’412
in a broader sense, many interviewees appreciate both radio and TV as daily sources
of information. Asked what she likes about the TV, I2 states without hesitation that
she appreciates all ‘the current affairs in all areas,’413 such as ‘sports, culture,
contemporary history, and political events.’414 I3 immediately replies that she likes
getting news and only after a long pause adds that she also likes other programs, such as sports.
I5 answers this question by first stating that one of her favorite things about the TV is that it
virtually provides ‘information on everything,’415 before she adds more details, explaining that
she likes watching ‘an interesting film,’416 ‘informative animals’ programs,’417
‘good stuff on mountains,’418 and ‘cultural stuff,’419 such as operas and classical music
performances. Similarly to I2, I3, and I5, I7 replies: “Na ja, gut ist, dass man Information
übers ganze Geschehen, übers Weltgeschehen [bekommt], […] das ist sehr gut,
dass man da informiert ist […].”420 I8 also states that she likes all the information,
and that especially the daily evening news of the Austrian broadcaster ORF,
called “Zeit im Bild,” are ‘exciting’421 for her.
412 “bequem” (I9)
413 “der aktuelle Dienst auf allen Gebieten” (I2)
414 “Sport, Kultur, Zeitgeschichte, politische Ereignisse” (I2)
415 “Informationen halt über alles” (I5)
416 “einen interessanten Film” (I5)
417 “lehrreiche Tiersendungen” (I5)
418 “gute Sachen […] über Berge” (I5)
419 “kulturelle Sachen” (I5)
420 ‘Well, it is good that you [get] information about everything that happens, about global affairs,
[…] that’s very good, that one is informed […].’ (I7)
421 “spannend” (I8)
224
Although for I9, living alone, TV is primarily an evening ‘entertainment’422 and ‘relaxation,’423
it also is ‘a kind of information’424 for her and even used to be ‘education’425 in former times.
To this statement, she adds some examples of educational TV programs that she likes,
such as ‘good features’426 on economic issues (“Eco”) or interreligious affairs
(“Kreuz und Quer”). Similarly to I9, I12 does not mention news as the first thing she likes most
about the TV, but refers to features and international reports on the living conditions
in different countries, before mentioning news as a positive aspect of the TV.
These positive evaluations of the TV as informative are also echoed by many practices
interviewees describe. Examples from the material are numerous. I4 shares a TV ritual with
her husband every day. In their kitchen, they always watch the regional news
(“Steiermark heute”) and then the evening national news together. In a similar manner,
I7 explains she watches the regional news every evening. I8, as mentioned before,
never misses the national evening national news and some interviewees also report regularly
watching the morning news. I11 likes to watch ‘breakfast TV’427 because of the news
(but also because of the horoscope presented there). Similarly to I11, I9 and I12 also like to
turn on the TV in the morning for news. In this context, I9 explains that she also checks
the weather on TV.
Also, one of the radio’s most important positive features is its informative character.
Asked what they like best about the radio, multiple interviewees point to information.
I2 states that her favorite thing about the radio is to receive information without an image
and that there is a certain rhythm of the news she can rely on (‘every full or half hour,
sometimes even five minutes before every full hour’428). This sentiment is shared by
both I3 and I9, who also comment positively on being mobile when listening to
information on the radio and thus able to do other things on the side.
422 “Unterhaltung” (I9)
423 “Entspannung” (I9)
424 “so Art auch eine Information” (I9)
425 “Bildung” (I9)
426 “gute Reportagen” (I9)
427 “Frühstücksfernsehen” (I11)
428 “zur vollen Stunde oder zur halben Stunde oder manche sogar fünf Minuten vor der vollen Stunde” (I2)
225
I4 replies that in addition to listening to music on the radio as a backdrop, she likes to listen to
the information the midday news provides. I6’s immediate answer to the question of her
favorite thing about the radio is “good news.”429 Similarly, I7 describes news as a very
positive aspect of the radio, in addition to music and other ‘nice programs,’430 such as
radio plays, which she used to listen to in former times.
Other interviewees did not foreground news as their favorite aspect of the radio,
but other informative or educational programs. As I1 succinctly puts it:
“Radio ist Wissensvermittlung. Schon eine tolle Geschichte, was die einem da
an Wissensvermittlung bieten […].”431 Some interviewees like to listen to discussions
on the radio (I5, I6) or to book presentations (I5, I12). Similar to the TV, the positive evaluation
of the radio as source of information is echoed in multiple accounts of everyday life
radio practices. Multiple interviewees listen to the radio in the morning, for example to
the weather forecast (I2) or the morning news (I4, I8, I11) – in the case of I6 even
in two versions (British and Austrian news). I4 and I7 both perceive the radio to be their
companion throughout the day, listening to it for long stretches of time and thus sometimes
catching multiple sets of news. I7 illustrates this by saying:
“[…] [I]ch bin nicht unbedingt [so], dass ich da jetzt den ganzen Tag irgendwas
haben muss, außer meinen Radio, der rennt und […] er gilt als Berieselung,
aber ich höre auch zu, also, ich weiß auch […] bei den Nachrichten und ich weiß
auch bei den Informationen, also da weiß ich dann schon, um was es geht.”432
Concerning the positive evaluation of old media, it is noteworthy that entertainment does not
come up as strongly as controllability or their informative character. Although indeed
mentioned by interviewees as a positive aspect of the radio or TV, it is not a major point
put forward by interviewees in the conversations. This is rather surprising, as particularly TV
often did serve as a ‘kind of treat’ (I10) in interviewees’ childhood and adolescence,
as outlined in section 4.1.3. The meaning participants ascribe to TV seems to have shifted
throughout the life course, from being a ‘kind of treat’ (I10) towards a more utilitarian approach.
429 ‘Gute Nachrichten’ (I6)
430 “nette Sendungen” (I7)
431 ‘Radio is knowledge transfer. It is actually is great what they offer with regard to knowledge transfer […].’
(I1)
432 ‘[…] [I] do not necessarily need something all day long, except for my radio, it is on and […] it is considered
to be a backdrop, but I also do listen, well, with the news I know and I also know with information,
there I know what it is about.’ (I7)
226
5.4 Summary and Comparison of Positive Evaluations of New and Old ICTs
Interviewees’ positive evaluations of new ICTs (1) and of old ICTs (2) share a few remarkable
commonalities. Firstly, both new and old ICTs are perceived positively as convenient.
Although interviewees’ notion of convenience is more nuanced with regard to new ICTs,
including their perception of them as informative, efficient, and flexible, it also matters with
regard to old ICTs. Interviewees’ perception of new ICTs as convenient ‘object[s] of utility’
(I8) is in line with findings from multiple previous studies (Conci et al. 2009, for the cell phone;
Gatto and Tak 2008:805; Hilt and Lipschultz 2004:69, for the Internet;
Mitzner et al. 2010:1714–15, for electronic and digital technologies more broadly).
The main qualitative strand of the present study adds to this knowledge base by highlighting
the diversity in how convenience and utility of new ICTs are understood in practical terms
by older women. While some interviewees highlight the Internet’s role as a handy repository
for all kinds of information, others appreciate the efficiency and speediness of
online communication, the saving of space through digital storage of images and books,
or the mobility of many digital devices and services. With regard to the notion of convenience,
both new and old ICTs have in common their positive evaluation as informative
by interviewees. With regard to old ICTs, many interviewees also appreciate the regularity and
rhythm of morning and evening news on the radio and TV. In this context, it is noteworthy that
no such time-related patterns could be identified with regard to new ICTs. In part, this can
certainly be explained by the different characteristics of old and new media. If one wants to
watch the evening news on TV, one has to turn on the TV set at a particular time. In contrast,
if one wants to watch or read news on the Internet, one can do so at any time of the day.
However, people could still develop their own time-related regularities and rhythms engaging
with new ICTs. While there was occasional evidence that some interviewees preferred
particular times of the day for reading and writing e-mail or for checking on their friends
on the cell phone, no collective time-related patterns of engagement with new ICTs emerged
from the analysis of the qualitative material.
Secondly, and connected to the first point, both new and old ICTs’ potential for entertainment
does – at least discursively – not play a major role in interviewees’ evaluations. Although
mentioned occasionally, particularly in the context of the TV, entertainment is not foregrounded
in interviewees’ narrations. As argued, this is certainly related to social desirability.
However, it also seems to indicate a biographical shift, since in recollections of childhood
memories, TV had repeatedly been described as a ‘kind of treat’ (I10) by interviewees.
227
Thirdly, interviewees identified a sense of connectedness as a positive feature of both old and
new ICTs. Again, this notion was more nuanced in the context of new ICTs, including
a sense of connectedness with the world in general, as well as with family and friends.
The importance of a sense of connectedness for interviewees with regard to new ICTs resonates
with previous research (Hill et al. 2015:419; Feist et al. 2010, for digital technologies
more broadly; Goodwin 2013:71, for the computer and the Internet; Gatto and Tak 2008:809;
Larsson et al. 2013:161, for the Internet; Sayago and Blat 2010:108, for the Internet/ e-mail;
Richardson et al. 2005:23–34, for the computer; Tsai et al. 2015:702–3, for the tablet;
Sawchuk and Crow 2010:55.9, for the cell phone). Again, the qualitative strand of the study
at hands adds to this solid base of knowledge by foregrounding the variety of what connectivity
created through the use of new ICTs means to older women in their everyday lives.
For some, connectivity is most important in terms of immediate and fast contact with friends,
for others it means transcending cultural and geographical borders, and yet for others,
it refers to a more abstract feeling of being connected to the world in general.
Such an encompassing sense of connectedness is also relevant with regard to old ICTs,
particularly in terms of watching the news on TV or listening to them on the radio.
Although there are considerable commonalities in interviewees’ positive evaluations of both
new and old ICTs, there are also differences. Some of these differences can be attributed to
the generally different functions of some ICTs. One can, for example, not call somebody
using a TV set. Thus, it is less surprising that a sense of safety was not discussed in relation to
the TV (or radio), but in relation to the cell phone. However, positive ascriptions could have
certainly mattered for both new and old ICTs sometimes, and yet interviewees choose to
only foreground it in one of the two contexts. They, for example, frequently emphasized
the controllability of old ICTs, but mentioned it considerably less often in the context of
new ICTs. And if controllability was mentioned with regard to new ICTs, it was only
brought up by moderate or strong users of new ICTs. More limited users of new ICTs seem to
overestimate the complexity and abstract dangers of new ICTs on the one hand, but on the other
also exhibit actual expertise with regard to real threats (such as breaches of privacy online).
Also, interviewees often praised new ICTs’ potential for saving money, most importantly
when shopping online, but did not mention any economical features of old ICTs.
This is interesting since one could think of quite a few examples of how old ICTs could also be
perceived as tools for saving money (for example by listening to a concert on the radio instead
of going there or watching a movie on TV instead of going to the cinema).
228
5.5 Negative Evaluations of New ICTs
As stated before, negative evaluations of ICTs were more prominent than the positive ones,
for both new and old ICTs. Particularly, however, negative evaluations of new ICTs were
numerous and multifold. This subchapter will focus on these negative evaluations of new ICTs
by interviewees in detail, including their conceptualization as promoting social and
cultural erosion, as well as being time-consuming, complicated, and a health hazard.
Additionally, interviewees often thought of the Internet as a (potentially) unsafe space.
Generally, of all new ICTs discussed, the Internet was perceived most negatively
by interviewees overall. While the cell phone was often framed as a safety tool,
the Internet in many instances represented a source of concern for the interviewees,
for example with regard to potential surveillance or fraud. In addition, generally,
the interviewees did not attribute high significance to many specific features of the Internet,
other than search engines and e-mail. Nevertheless, although it was mostly perceived as
a safety tool, the cell phone was also evaluated negatively in some regards, for example in terms
of encouraging inconsiderate behavior and excessive use, particularly among youth.
As elaborated previously, the relevance of new ICTs varies among the participants of
the qualitative strand of the study. For I3 and I5 new ICTs are the least relevant
in everyday life. In contrast, I2, I9, and I12 voice the strongest relevance of new ICTs
in general terms. I4, I7, and I8 express a moderate relevance of new ICTs, leaning towards
weak relevance, while I1, I6, I10, and I11 also convey a moderate relevance of new ICTs,
although leaning towards strong relevance.
Unsurprisingly, if interviewees expressed feelings of irrelevance with regard to new ICTs,
this was often connected to multifaceted negative evaluations of new ICTs. However,
although negative evaluations certainly are connected to a reduced relevance of new ICTs,
there are also other factors at play, which contribute to the limited relevance of new ICTs
for some of the interviewees. Sometimes, interviewees are simply not able to identify any
specific need that could only be addressed by using new ICTs. Early studies even found this
to be the main reason for the non-adoption of new ICTs, instead of outright dislike of them
(Haddon 2006b:24–25). Although, in the qualitative strand of the study at hand,
failure to identify specific areas for the use of new ICTs does not seem to be the main reason
for their limited relevance for some interviewees, it does seem to play a role at least.
The qualitative material does indeed include examples of interviewees explaining
that they do just not find new ICTs to be relevant for their everyday lives.
229
One reason why some of the interviewees perceive an ontologically low relevance of new ICTs
is that they do not need them for work any longer (and/or have never needed them for work
in the first place). Other studies, such as Larsson et al.’s (2013:163), have also identified
this sentiment as important with regard to older adults’ Internet engagement.
I5, answering the question of what she thinks are advantages and disadvantages of her
non-use of the Internet, states:
“Na, ich weiß nicht, ob das ein Nachteil ist, wenn du es [das Internet] nicht kennst,
[…] wenn du es nicht hast, weiß ich nicht, aber ich glaube nicht,
dass dir da irgendetwas fehle täte, naja, in der heutigen Zeit, aber,
wenn du es nicht hast, so wie die älteren Leute halt leben […], freilich,
bei den Jungen geht es nicht mehr anders, nicht, aber wenn du in Pension bist,
da geht dir nicht irgendetwas ab, glaube ich, manchen vielleicht, aber uns nicht.”433
I5 does not use the Internet but still does not feel like she is missing out on anything.
While she thinks that ‘the young folks can’t do it differently anymore,’434 as new ICTs
have become indispensable in today’s professional world, she does not see the relevant role
they could potentially play in pensioners’ lives. As she and her husband are retired,
she does not perceive the computer as ‘essential’435 (I5), as she explains repeatedly.
Similarly, I8 believes that computer skills would have been more relevant to her if she
would still need them for work.
Sometimes, older adults also perceive a low relevance of new ICTs, such as the Internet,
if they compare them to old ICTs that they already use, as Doh et al. (2005:60) point out.
In this study, I7 shares this sentiment by explaining:
“[…] [U]nd sonst bin ich internetmäßig nicht sehr am Laufenden, ich meine,
ich habe ein Tablet, ich verschicke E-mails, ich, kann ein paar Sachen machen,
aber nicht so [viel]. Ich habe auch noch ein altes Handy ohne Touchscreen und
ohne Internet, aber mir reicht das und ich tue halt nach wie vor, jetzt tue ich halt
viel mehr fernsehen seit ich in Pension bin – soweit ich Zeit habe – und ja,
Radio sowieso wie gesagt und Internet halt so ein kleines Bisserl.”436
433 ‘Well, I don’t know whether it is a disadvantage if you don’t know it [the Internet],
[…] if you don’t have it, I don’t know, but I don’t think that you would miss anything, well,
nowadays, but if you don’t have it, like the elderly actually live their lives […], certainly, the young can’t do it
differently anymore, right, but if you are retired, you don’t miss anything, I think, some might, but we don’t.’ (I5)
434 “bei den Jungen geht es nicht mehr anders” (I5)
435 “lebensnotwendig” (I5)
436 ‘[…] [A]nd otherwise I am not very much up-to-date with regard to the Internet, I mean, I do have a tablet,
I send e-mails, I can do a few things, but not that [much]. I also still have an old cell phone without touch screen
230
5.5.1 New ICTs as Promoting Cultural and Social Erosion
Although some interviewees generally fail to identify benefits that new ICTs could provide
to them in retirement, as outlined above, concrete negative evaluations seem to be
even more important for the negotiation and practical use of new ICTs. Frequently,
negative perceptions of new ICTs portray them as promoting cultural and social erosion
in a multitude of ways. This includes notions of new ICTs as fostering inconsiderate behavior,
being used excessively, limiting privacy, being overly market-driven, or harmful to kids
and adolescents.
In this context, it is important to note that the evaluation of new ICTs as promoting cultural
and social erosion is not only based on interviewees’ genuine and individual experiences
in everyday life but also relates to broader societal discourses. Discourses can be conceptualized
as ‘arrays of meaning’437 (Keller 2006:131) or “ways of representing the world”
(Fairclough 2005:133) in a collective, such as a society. Much of the current understanding of
discourse as an analytical tool in the Humanties and social sciences builds on the work of
Michel Foucault (1972, 1984, as cited in Fairclough 2005:123) (Fairclough 2005:123).
Foucault conceptualized discourse as a ‘formation of statements’438 which contributes to the
construction of shared meaning (Knoblauch 2006:213). As Knoblauch (2006:217) points out,
discourses are always related to social relevancies. They evolve around topics and problems
which are considered to be particularly relevant in a society (Keller 2006:132;
Knoblauch 2006:209). Importantly, discourses are not necessarily representations of
actual situations, but “they are also projective, imaginaries, representing possible worlds which
are different from the actual world […]” (Fairclough 2005:124). However, even if discourses
do not necessarily represent the ‘real’ world, they do constitute reality (Fairclough 2005:126;
Keller 2006:131). Discourses produce knowledge, which decisively influences
collective ascriptions of meaning and, as a consequence, also social practices (Keller 2006:131).
In doing so, discourses operate at the collective level (Keller 2006:131). Discourses thus differ
from everyday life conversations with regard to their level of abstraction (Keller 2006:132).
An important feature of discourses differentiating them from mundane communication
is their relative stability (Fairclough 2005:124; Keller 2006:131).
and without Internet, but it is sufficient for me and I continue to, now I actually watch much more TV since I have
been retired – time permitting – and well, radio anyways, as said, and Internet actually a little bit.’ (I7)
437 In the German original: “Bedeutunsarrangements” (Keller 2006:131).
438 In the German original: “Formation von Aussagen” (Knoblauch 2006:213).
231
Additionally, discourses are highly structured in terms of repetition (Fairclough 2005:124)
and regularity (Keller 2006:131). This implies that discourses operate at a societal and not
an individual level (Keller 2006:131). As Fairclough (2005:124) emphasizes,
“[d]iscourses transcend […] concrete and local representations […].”
In the present study, the pervasiveness of certain discourses becomes evident when
multiple interviewees mention media representations, such as TV programs or movies,
which have influenced their perception of the Internet as a potentially unsafe space.
In the context of the conceptualization of new ICTs as contributing to cultural and
social erosion, interviewees also – implicitly – make reference to larger societal discourses.
Among them is the discourse of new ICTs as harmful for children and adolescents.
As will be shown in detail in this section, multiple interviewees voice their concerns with regard
to the negative impact that new ICTs have on the young. While some interviewees also relate
these concerns to concrete personal experiences, they also evoke a broader societal discourse
around the dangers of new ITCs for youth.439 The following sections will discuss interviewees’
negative evaluations of new ICTs thus both in terms of (implicit) references to broader
societal discourses, and as individual reflections.
With regard to the conceptualization of new ICTs as contributing to cultural and social erosion,
interviewees foreground inconsiderate behavior and how new ICTs distract people during
interactions with others. I7, for example, identifies the constant use of the cell phone
as something ‘the young folks’440 do, but which has also become increasingly common among
people of her age: “[…] [U]nd dann gibt es andere, die was fast schon so dasitzen
wie die jungen Leute. Jedes Mal, wenn sie wo sitzen, haben sie es schon und streichen da herum
und alles, also, das macht mich oft nervös, wenn ich wo sitze und ein jeder tut da bei seinem
Handy herum […].”441
439 To illustrate the relevance of this discourse: Entering the key words ‘adolescents’ and ‘cell phone’
(“Jugendliche,” “Handy”) in Google (in German) yielded 22,200,000 results on November 30, 2019.
Already on the first pages listed on Google, one finds a remarkable amount of links addressing adolescents’
problematic use of the cell phone, such as too frequent use. Among them, for example, an article of Austria’s
most-read newspaper (Statista Research Department 2019) “Kronen Zeitung” summarizing advice on
‘How Adolescents Do Not Turn into Smart Phone Zombies’ (“So werden Jugendliche nicht zu
Smartphone-Zombies” (Erlinger 2019, Kronen Zeitung). Given the extent of such media coverage,
it is not suprising that interviewees also take up this discourse in the conversations.
440 “die jungen Leute” (I7)
441 ‘[…] [A]nd then there are those who are almost sitting there like the young folks. Every time they sit
somewhere, they already have it and scroll all over the place and everything, well, that often makes me nervous,
when I sit somewhere and everybody is already doing stuff on their cell phones […].’ (I7)
232
Here, it becomes evident how a broader societal discourse (of young people’s problematic
use of the cell phone) and personal experiences of I7 in her everyday life are intertwined.
Similarly, I6 does not approve of people checking their cell phones when they are engaged in
a conversation. And I10 recalls how, when she was still working at the bank, a customer
continuously picked up her phone during a consultation talk, until she finally asked her to
‘put it away for a quarter of an hour.’442 Previous studies have also found older adults to
consider the use of new ICTs in public spaces or social situations inconsiderate or intrusive
(Fernández-Ardèvol and Ivan 2016:90; Hill et al. 2015:419; Suopajärvi 2015:116).
Kurniawan (2006:111) identified this as a negative effect of cell phone use highlighted by
older women. Sometimes, interviewees even perceive new ICTs not only to interfere with
social interaction, but to make it impossible in the first place. I8 explains this in the context of
looking at photo albums together with friends. In her opinion, one would look at an analog
photo album ‘in company,’443 but ‘five or six people wouldn’t sit in front of the computer to
look at photos.’444
In addition to criticizing the interruption of social exchange through new media,
interviewees also dislike being involuntarily exposed to private conversations of others
in public, for example, when they talk loudly on their cell phones.
“Also ich hasse Leute, die quatschen und quaken und so viel unnötigen Schrott
reden und ich muss mir das anhören, da werde ich komplett unrund daneben,
wenn ich nicht aus kann, wenn ich in der Straßenbahn bin, oder so irgendwo
und die, woah, also ich finde, es wird so viel unnötig gequatscht.”445 (I9)
442 “eine Viertelstunde das Telefon weggeben” (I10)
443 “in Gesellschaft” (I8)
444 “Vor den Computer setzen sich fünf, sechs Leute nicht und schauen Fotos an.” (I8)
445 ‘Well, I hate people who chat and rattle on and talk so much unnecessary rubbish and I have to listen to it,
I get completely uncomfortable alongside, if I cannot escape, if I am on the tram, or somewhere alike and they,
ugh, well, I think, there is so much unnecessary chatting.’ (I9)
233
Throughout the conversation, I9 repeatedly voices her disapproval of people having
private conversations on their cell phones in public. This sentiment is shared by I11,
who criticizes elderly people who are hard of hearing and who talk very loudly on their
cell phones in hospitals. For her, this is a ‘source of irritation’446 (I11). Along the same lines,
I11 also thinks that the notification sounds of WhatsApp messages received by strangers
in public spaces, for example on the tram or train, are a ‘nuisance.’447
Although broader discourses on media use keep popping up during the conversations,
such sentiments are indeed often related to concrete experiences of interviewees and perhaps
this explains why they seem to be influential for their own behavior. Because interviewees
have experienced the cell phone habits of others to be inconsiderate and intrusive in their
everyday lives, they also try to self-regulate their own cell phone use. Self-reflexively,
I7 thinks ‘one would have to actually turn it off more often’448 and, at another point,
explains that she always keeps her cell phone in her bag when she is at an event or at the pub.
Because she has been bothered by others’ inconsiderate use of the cell phone at social functions
in the past, she does not like putting it on the table: “[…] [D]a interessiert es mich nicht,
dass das am Tisch liegt […]”449 (I7). I11 explains to be short-spoken on the cell phone in public,
for example on the streets, hoping ‘not to bother anyone.’450
The perception of new ICTs as detrimental to social interactions is connected to the general
preference of face-to face over mediated communication, as well as to the idea of new ICTs
being more important for lonely or impaired people, as discussed earlier. Yuan et al.
(2016:166, 2016:171) have also identified a preference of older people for face-to-face
communication with people who are close, compared to the use of new ICTs. Importantly,
Yuan et al. (2016:167) mention that some of their respondents commented on having
comparatively less time to live and thus wanting to get the most out of the communication
they have. In this study, multiple interviewees (I4, I5, I9, I10, I11, I12) explicitly favor
personal contact and lament on the fact ‘that there is no more personal communication’451 (I10).
I11 summarizes this sentiment by stating:
446 “Störfaktor” (I11)
447 “Belästigung” (I11)
448 “Man müsste es eigentlich eh öfter ausschalten […].” (I7)
449 ‘[…] [T]here, I don’t want to have it on the table […].’ (I7)
450 “dass ich niemanden belästige” (I10)
451 “dass keine persönliche Kommunikation mehr da ist” (I10)
234
“[…] [E]einfach dann die Kommunikation von Gesicht zu Gesicht,
von Auge zu Auge finde ich einfach viel wichtiger und […] es heißt immer
‘keine Zeit’, für eine Stunde hat man immer Zeit. Dann verschiebt es sich halt
nach hinten. Es ist viel zu schnelllebig, denke ich, es ist so schade, […]
man vertut sich so viel, wenn man sich nicht die Zeit nimmt oder wie viele Junge
nur in dieser Computerwelt sich beweg[t].”452
In the case of I11, again a broader societal discourse of young people’s problematic use of
new ICTs is referenced in relation to her more personal experience of people not taking the time
to communicate with her face-to-face.
In addition to evaluating new ICTs as inconsiderate and impersonal, interviewees also
describe them as contributing to cultural and social erosion in a number of other ways.
Another important point of criticism many interviewees (I1, I4, I5, I6, I7, I8, I9, I10, I12)
raise is the excess to which they can lead. Yuan et al. (2016:170–71) have also identified this
to be a concern of older adults. The qualitative strand of the present study contributes to this
knowledge base by highlighting the multiplicity of ways in which older women refer to excess
in relation to new ICTs. Interviewees bring up a considerable variety of contexts in this regard,
ranging from consumerism to changed practices of passing time, and oversharing.
The older women interviewed are highly sensitive to cultural and social changes related to
new ICTs and conceptualize them in complex and diverse manners.
Here are some examples from the interview material to illustrate the multifacetedness of
their considerations. I1 remarks that people take too many digital photos of their kids nowadays.
Similarly to I12, I4 criticizes ‘the many advertisements’453 she encounters every time
she goes online. I5, commenting on a friend who is ill and looks up everything related to
his disease online, describes the Internet as an overflow of information. I7 admits excessive
browsing to be a problem she sometimes even experiences herself. Reflecting on the cultural
and social impact of new ICTs, I6 comments on how the increased use of cell phones limits
more traditional practices of passing time, for example “the way you see people who are having
to check their phones when you sit at an airport and nobody is reading a book.”454
452 ‘[…] [S]imply communication from face to face, from eye to eye, I simply find this much more important
and […] one keeps saying ‘no time,’ there’s always time, for an hour. Then things are just delayed.
It is much too fast paced, I think, it is such a pity […] one gets so much in one’s own way, if one does not
take the time or, as many of the young folks, only move[s] around in this computer world.’ (I11)
453 “[d]ie viele Werbung” (I4)
454 ‘[S]o wie man Leute sieht, die immer auf ihr Handy schauen müssen, wenn man am Flughafen sitzt
und niemand liest ein Buch.’ (I6)
235
I7 also notices excessive cell phone use when traveling: “Ja, gibt es genug, also,
wenn du es so beobachtest, […] ich meine, ich fahre ja mit dem Zug zur Arbeit und
wieder zurück und beim Zurückfahren so von zehn Leuten haben neun ein Handy in der Hand
oder einen Stöpsel im Ohr und das ist echt arg.”455 Long-winded cell phone conversations
are dreaded and considered excessive by multiple interviewees (I9, I11, I12).
While these discussions of new ICTs as leading to excess are related to broader
societal discourses, most importantly the discourse of young people’s problematic use of
new ICTs, interviewees often make it a point to also reference concrete personal experiences.
This points to their high sensitivity to current cultural and social developments, which they also
attentively observe in their everyday lives, as well as their reflexive and critical engagement
with ICTs based on lifetimes of experience with a multitude of different media technologies.
Another negative aspect of new ICTs closely connected to the idea of excess is oversharing.
For example, I6 does not approve of her daughter sharing family Christmas photos on Facebook
because “[i]t’s a very personal thing.”456 Similarly, I8 thinks that sharing photos of children
on Facebook is not a good idea because they are simply too private. This perception of
new ICTs as limiting privacy is in line with findings from previous studies,
such as Yuan et al.’s (2016:169). Ivan and Hebblethwaite (2016:18) have identified
privacy concerns to be important to grandmothers using Facebook as well.
However, although many interviewees do share personal experiences when discussing
excessive engagement with new ICTs, they certainly also resort to referencing broader
social discourses, particularly the discourse of the Internet as a potentially unsafe space.
Logically, this is particularly true for those interviewees who simply have less experience with
the Internet – I3 and I5. I3, who does not use the Internet a lot, believes too much is shared on
social network sites. Answering a follow-up question on why she would not go onto Facebook,
she states:
455 ‘Well, there are plenty, well, when you pay attention, I mean, I do take the train to work and back and going
back, out of ten people, nine have e a cell phone in their hands or an earpiece and this is really terrible.’ (I7)
456 ‘[D]as ist eine sehr persönliche Sache.’ (I6)
236
“Weil […] ich gehört habe, weil gesehen habe ich es ja nicht, weil [ich] ja
nicht hineingehe, aber gehört habe ich, jeder schreibt irgendwas hinein,
also von A bis Z, was mich sowieso nicht interessiert und es braucht nicht halb
Österreich meine Person interessieren und darum schreibe ich nichts hinein.
Ich will es auch gar nicht wissen.”457 (I3)
In a similar way, I5 shares the story of a friend who uses the Internet for ‘hours on end’458 f
or chatting and communicating with friends. Although her friend enjoys the online
communication, I5 thinks it is ‘foolish’459 to ‘put all private things online’460 and remarks
that people, such as her friend, should not complain, if their data is used somewhere else. Thus,
she wonders: “[…] [M]uss ich das hineingeben alles, meine ganzen […]
Familienangelegenheiten und privaten Probleme?”461.
Regarding the general notion of new ICTs as culturally and socially harmful, some interviewees
further note that they are driven by a destructive market logic. Interviewees particularly
comment on three aspects in this context: the generally exploitative character of some
online shops (I4, I9), as well as their negative effects on local businesses (I10), excessive
online advertising (I4, I12), and the loss of jobs due to digitalization (I9, I10). I10 describes
how concerns over the local economy have led to her being more conscious when shopping:
“Ich versuche hier sehr bewusst bei uns im Buchhandel zu kaufen, weil ich mir denke,
wir dürfen uns nicht wundern, wenn unsere Geschäfte zusperren, der kleine Kaufmann
um die Ecke herum, wenn ich die Dinge übers Internet kaufe.”462 As discussed previously,
I4 and I12 are critical of omnipresent online advertising. In this context, I12 explains that,
in her opinion, ads have always been a tool to manipulate people via media and that this
continues to be the case with online ads. In addition to leading to increased control and pressure
in the professional world (I10), interviewees are also aware that digitalization puts people
out of work (I9, I10). Replying to the question of what she thinks are the pros and cons of
the computer, I9 states:
457 ‘Because […] I have heard, I didn’t see it because [I] don’t go there, but I heard that everybody writes
something on there, well, from A to Z, which doesn’t interest me anyways and also not half of Austria has to be
interested in me as a person and this is why I do not write anything there. I don’t even want to know.’ (I3)
458 “stundenlang” (I5)
459 “deppert” (I5)
460 “die ganzen privaten Sachen in das Internet hineinstellst” (I5)
461 ‘Do I have to put everything there, my family affairs and private problems?’ (I5)
462 ‘I do try very consciously to shop here at our bookshop because I think we shouldn’t be surprised
if our businesses close, the small merchant around the corner, if I shop things on the Internet.’ (I10)
237
“Na ja, weniger gut ist sicher dass dadurch […] ganz viel Arbeitsplätze
weggefallen [sind], weil es einfach viele Leute gibt, die halt jetzt nicht alle
weiß Gott was für einen qualifizierten Beruf haben und dadurch keinen Job haben.
Früher hat man einfach für alles viel mehr Leute gebraucht, nicht, also, das [ist] ja
auch zum Beispiel beim Versand, Logistik und so weiter, bei allem [so], nicht.
Aber wenn du denkst, wie das heutzutage alles automatisiert wird und früher haben
das halt Leute gemacht, nicht. Das ist sicher ein großer Nachteil.”463 (I9)
In addition to perceiving new ICTs as fostering inconsiderate behavior, being used excessively,
limiting privacy, and being overly market-driven, participants are also concerned about
the socially damaging effects new ICTs have on future generations. This concern has also been
noted as an issue for older adults in previous studies, in the case of Hill et al. (2015:418)
for example with regard to children’s independence. Kurniawan (2006:111) has highlighted this
to be a worry of older women in the context of the cell phone. Also in this study,
interviewees repeatedly voice concerns that new ICTs are harming children and adolescents.
As mentioned initially, in doing so, interviewees reference a broader social discourse of
new ICTs as harmful for children and adolescents. However, evocations of this discourse are
often linked to personal experiences in interviewees’ narrations. This intertwining of discourse
and personal experience highlights the actual relevance of these concerns for interviewees.
The older women interviewed care about the well-being of future generations and also reflect
on it in their everyday lives.
While I1 thinks that new media lead to a loss in kids’ creativity because they are not confronted
with boredom enough anymore and also reduce their physical activity, I4 is worried that
her granddaughter does not experience nature enough because of her media consumption.
And I9 thinks parents do not pay sufficient attention to their kids and instead entertain them
using new media.
463 ‘Well, it certainly is less good that many jobs […] have [been] lost because of it, because there are simply
many people who do not have such a qualified profession and as a consequence do not have a job. In former times,
many more people were needed for everything, right, well, that [is] also the case in distribution, logistics and
so on, for example, in all areas it was [like that], right. But if you think about how everything is being automated
today and it used to be people doing it, right. This certainly is a huge disadvantage.’ (I9)
238
Particularly I5 is concerned about the negative impact that new ICTs have on the youth.
According to her, ‘the young folks’464 are ‘addicted’465 to their phones and thus ‘not really
taking note of their surroundings’466 when they are in public spaces, such as the bus or tram.
I5 finds this to be ‘crazy.’467 Although she references a broad discourse here, to her, the effect
which new ICTs have on children are also present in her everyday life in very concrete terms:
“[…] [W]enn ich in der Früh mit dem Hund gehe, dann gehen genau immer
die Jugendlichen in die Schule. […] [D]as ist der Schulweg, was ich gehe.
Einjeder […], entweder spielt er Musik laut oder tut beim Gehen Handy spielen,
das ist sagenhaft und ich sage immer ‘Guten Morgen, grüße euch!’.
Dann sind sie ganz verwundert, ah ja, grüßen kann man auch, nicht, aber (lacht)
ein Wahnsinn, ja.”468 (I5)
5.5.2 The Internet as (Potentially) Unsafe Space
Besides statements of new media as generally socially and culturally destructive,
many negative evaluations were made with regard to the Internet. Remarkably,
it was characterized as latent threat or risk by all interviewees at some point.
Negative perceptions of the Internet in terms of risks have also been found in multiple
previous studies on older ICT users (Gatto and Tak 2008:805, 2008:808; Hill et al. 2015:418;
Suopajärvi 2015:119). Some have also identified similar worries with regard to the cell phone
(Ivan and Fernández-Ardèvol 2017). In this context, it is important to note that statements on
new ICTs as unsafe do not necessarily represent insecurity, but can also equal an
accurate understanding of risks. As a study by Zeissig et al. (2017:195) has shown,
privacy concerns of older Internet users are actually comparable to those of younger users.
But older users practically exhibit more self-efficacy in protecting their online privacy
(Zeissig et al. 2017:196).
464 “die Jugend” (I5)
465 “süchtig” (I5)
466 “die registrieren die Umgebung gar nicht” (I5)
467 “irr” (I5)
468 ‘[…] [W]hen I walk the dog in the morning, that’s exactly when the teenagers are going to school. […]
[T]hat’s their way to school where I walk. Everybody […], either he plays music very loudly or does play with his
cell phone while walking, it is incredible and I always say ‘Good morning to you!’. Then they are baffled, oh right,
you can also greet people, right, but (laughs), it’s crazy, yes.’ (I5)
239
Thus, it is important to understand comments on Internet risks by the interviewees also
as potential expressions of actual expertise with regard to Internet security. The ambivalent
interplay of knowledge and fear of the Internet is also poignantly expressed by I1 in stating:
“Also ich denke, ja, wenn man sich viel auskennt, kann man Angst kriegen und wenn man sich
gar nicht auskennt, hat man auch Angst.”469
Statements from the qualitative material about new ICTs as unsafe, risky, and scary
are numerous. Most importantly, interviewees are concerned about surveillance and how data
shared online could be misused. As I7 puts it: “[…] [U]nd in der heutigen Zeit sind wir sowieso
alle überwacht, soweit ich das mitkriege, dass du eh schon fast wie ein gläserner Mensch
dastehst.”470 This sentiment is shared in varying degrees by multiple interviewees
(I1, I2, I6, I7, I10, I11). Asked what she likes about the Internet and what she does not,
I10 replies that she finds the storage and analysis of data collected online, as well as the potential
for manipulation of people this provides, problematic. Thus, she puts a lot of importance on
‘conscious handling’471 (I10) of the Internet, similar to I6, who reports “a general feeling of
caution around sharing certain bits of information.”472 Despite her awareness of potential
dangers and her consequential caution, I10 describes Internet security to be a ‘question mark’473
for her, particularly when she thinks about the hacking of data done by
‘very competent people.’474 Similarly, I11 is concerned about surveillance to the extent that she
does not even want to know all its details.
Remarkably, talking about online surveillance, multiple interviewees make references to
films or TV programs that they have watched on the topic. This points to the relevance
of a broader societal discourse about the Internet as a potentially unsafe space,
also produced and reproduced by media representations. I6 mentions a film
with Edward Snowden on the sharing of information collected online. I10 makes references
to a film by Werner Boote called “Alles unter Kontrolle”475 (2015) on the use of data.
469 ‘Well, I think, well, if you are very knowledgeable, you get afraid and if you don’t know anything at all,
you are afraid as well.’ (I1)
470 ‘Today, we are anyways all under surveillance, as far as I keep up, you are almost a transparent person.’
(I7)
471 “achtsam umgehen” (I10)
472 ‘ein generelles Vorsichtsgefühl in Bezug auf das Teilen von bestimmten Informationsaspekten.’ (I6)
473 “ein Fragezeichen” (I10)
474 “sehr fähige Menschen” (I10)
475 Its English title is ‘Everything’s Under Control’ (Werner Boote 2015).
240
And I11 remembers an Austrian comedian, Michael Niavarani, comparing Facebook to
a voluntary secret police. These examples show that media coverage certainly does play a role
in interviewees’ perception of Internet security. Other studies have also highlighted
the influence which media reports have on older adults’ perception of risks associated with
new ICTs. Ivan and Fernández-Ardèvol (2017) have, for example, identified a correspondence
of media reports on risks associated with the cell phone and older adults’ concerns.
Out of all interviewees, I1 and I2 voice their concerns about surveillance of the Internet
most forcefully. With varying degrees of explicitness, both state their concerns about
how online data could be abused by an authoritarian regime. Replying to the question of
what she identifies as advantages and disadvantages of the computer, I1 cities ‘susceptibility’476
and ‘transparency’477 as her main concerns. She elaborates:
“Und was ich als große Gefahr sehe, also wenn wir einmal ein autoritäres Regime
hätten, da sind wir ja voll geliefert. Das muss man einmal erlebt haben,
also ich habe es nicht erlebt, […] aber ich weiß sehr gut von [den] Eltern,
was das bedeutet […]. Meine Eltern waren immer ängstlich bedacht,
nur ja niemandem zu sagen, was sie wählen und was sie denken, aus der Erfahrung,
dass einem daraus ein furchtbarer Strick gedreht werden kann. Und ich denke, […]
wir sind völlig gläsern! Oder auch mit den ganzen Kreditkarten, nicht.
Alles, was man da hineinsteckt, […] man ist ja voll verfolgbar. […]”478 (I1)
In addition to concerns about surveillance, multiple interviewees also express their worries that
the Internet is used as a platform by terrorists (I2, I6, I9, I11), contemporary political extremists
(I9), or religious sects (I9). I6 sums up this concern about surveillance on the one hand and
the threat on the other by stating: “You don't really know where your life is being shared.
And now with the current thing, terrorists and stuff, robbers can have more access to your
e-mails and phone details. I'm not sure, mixed feelings.”479
476 “Anfälligkeit” (I1)
477 “das Gläserne” (I1)
478 ‘And what I see as a great danger, well, if we ever had an authoritarian regime, we have had it. One has to
have experienced this, well I did not experience it, […] but I know very well from [my] parents what this means
[…]. My parents were always anxious not to tell anybody whom they vote for and what they think, from the
experience that it could be held against you in a terrible way. And I think […] we are absolutely transparent!
Or also with all the credit cards, right. Anything one puts on there, […] one is completely traceable. […]’ (I1)
479 ‘Du weißt nicht wirklich wo dein Leben überall geteilt wird. Und jetzt mit den derzeitigen Sachen,
Terroristen und solchen Dingen, Räuber haben mehr Zugriff auf deine E-mails und Telefondaten. Ich weiß nicht,
gemischte Gefühle.’ (I6)
241
Another important topic with regard to the perception of new ICTs as potentially unsafe
was fraud. The majority of interviewees (all but I5 and I12) perceives this to be a negative
aspect of the Internet. In this context, fraudulent e-mails seem to be the most important concern.
Although interviewees exhibit expertise in identifying fake and phishing e-mails, they are still
a concerning annoyance. I1 recalls receiving fake phone bills and account statements of
an online payment system via e-mail. I2 also regularly receives ‘nasty’480 e-mails and despite
effortlessly recognizing them as fake, she is concerned about ‘what is behind this.’481
No interviewee actually reports to have fallen victim to online scams themselves.
Yet, some of them bring it up as a potential threat. Here, again, implicit allusions to a broader
social discourse, perpetuated by media coverage – as thematized by interviewees themselves
above – seems to come into play. These allusions are, for example, framed by referencing
acquaintances’ experiences. For example, I9 shares the story of her neighbor who became
victim to online fraudsters that promised him a BMW in return for a cash payment to be
made abroad. Thus, as I4 also explains, one has to be vigilant with regard to online
communication. She states:
“Was mir weniger gefällt? Ja, vielleicht, dass man schon aufpassen muss,
mit wem man kommuniziert, also da bin ich sehr vorsichtig, also, da sind wir sehr
vorsichtig. Wenn mir etwas fremd vorkommt, ein E-mail oder was, das interessiert
mich nicht, das lösche ich einfach heraus, weil so neugierig kann ich gar nicht sein,
dass mich das interessiert. […] [D]as ist für mich, würde ich sagen, der Nachteil,
aber man darf halt nicht zu überneugierig sein und überall hineinschauen, glauben,
das muss ich auch noch wissen, was für ein E-mail habe ich da gekriegt.”482 (I4)
480 “schiach[…]” [hässlich] (I2)
481 “was steckt da alles dahinter” (I2)
482 ‘What I like less? Well, maybe that one has to watch out with whom to communicate, well I am very cautious
in this regard, well, we are very cautious. When something seems to be strange, an e-mail or something,
I’m not interested in it, I just delete it, because I can’t be that curious to be interested in that. […] [T]o me,
that is the disadvantage, I would say, but one cannot be too nosy and open everything, believing I also have to
know that, what e-mail did I receive now.’ (I4)
242
Besides fake e-mails, interviewees were also concerned about accidental overspending
on the Internet, making mistakes when shopping online, or abuse of credit card details shared.
I3 is generally cautious when she is online because she does not want to accidentally access
‘platforms’483 that she is not interested in: “Überhaupt also, ich bin im Internet sehr vorsichtig,
dass ich nicht auf Plattformen komme, wo ich gar nicht hinwill, wo man hineinschlittern kann,
also da bin ich eher vorsichtig.” Asked to share more details, she elaborates that she is worried
to accidentally overspend money online. A similarly vague feeling of potential financial pitfalls
which the Internet contains is shared by I8, who is afraid ‘of the financial aspects’484
when shopping online, of ‘making some kind of mistake.’485 I6 also reports a “general sense of
being cautious”486 concerning the Internet. Together with I7 and I8, she feels uncomfortable
about entering credit card details online. “Sharing credit card details […] makes me
feel cautious”487 (I6). I7 recognizes online shopping as a common practice among
younger generations, but she herself is anxious about sharing credit card details on the Internet:
“[…] [I]ch meine, die Jungen heutzutage, die denken da anders darüber, aber mit
dem ganzen Bestellen im Internet und mit de[r] ganzen Kreditkartenpreisgabe und
alles, ja, da habe ich halt schon ein bisschen Angst, dass das nach hinten los geht
beziehungsweise falsch genützt wird dann. Das kommt auch vor, ja, sehr oft,
nicht.”488
Fear of credit card fraud has already been identified as an important concern of older computer
users in Richardson et al.’s (2005:238) early study of seniors’ interactions with computers.
In addition, but with less frequency and consistency across the material, interviewees also
mention a number of other potential threats the Internet poses, such as online harassment
(I9, I10, I11), negative content in terms of bad news (I7) or violent online games (I12),
involuntary exposure to sexual content (I3), distribution of child pornography (I9),
or contamination of the computer through viruses (I1). Many of these concerns certainly
reference a broader societal discourse.
483 “Plattformen” (I3)
484 “vorm Finanziellen” (I8)
485 “dass man da irgendeinen Fehler macht” (I8)
486 ‘ein generelles Gefühl der Vorsicht’ (I6)
487 ‘Kreditkartendetails preiszugeben stimmt mich vorsichtig’ (I6)
488 ‘[…] [I] mean the young folks today, they think very differently about it, but with all the ordering of things
on the Internet and with all the sharing of credit card details and all, well, I actually am a little bit anxious that
it backfires or is being misused then. This also happens, well, very often, right.’ (I7)
243
As noted previously, in contrast to everyday communication, discourse is characterized by
a high level of abstraction (Keller 2006:132). Many of the Internet’s worst aspects – such as the
depiction of violence – are discussed by interviewees’ rather vaguely, thus suggesting an
allusion to discourse in this context.
5.5.3 New ICTs as Time-Consuming Instruments
Another negative perception of new ICTs that interviewees shared frequently is that they are
too time-consuming. While this might sound rather banal and like a standard phrase,
it is relevant. As could be observed during the interviews at home and was also shared
throughout the conversations, the interviewees do substantial amounts of family work.
This includes, for example, cooking for entire intergenerational households or watching
grandchildren, which consumes a lot of their time. Thus, interviewees’ free time is often limited,
although none of them still pursues formal fulltime work. Considering this constraint,
it is not surprising that interviewees consciously choose for what to use their time.
In this context, Haddon (2006b:60–61) points to a seminal study regarding gendered ICT use
in the home, Ann Gray’s “Video Playtime. The Gendering of a Leisure Technology” (1992).
Taking a look at this study almost three decades after its publication is fascinating,
as some of Gray’s (1992) findings on British women’s adoption of the video recorder –
a new technology at the time – correspond surprisingly well to the results of the main qualitative
strand of this study. In her 1992 study, Gray identified actual resistance to be an important
factor in women’s non-use of some functions of the VCR. As Gray convincingly shows,
using quotes from her interview material (Gray 1992:167–70), some women developed
a strategy of what she conclusively terms “calculated ignorance” (1992:248). The women
in her study are already busy doing lots of domestic labor, thus they – either consciously or
subconsciously – prefer not to learn new tasks related to ICTs, in this case the video recorder
(Gray 1992:169). This would only add to their already long list of tasks. As a consequence,
they leave it up to their male partner to perform “this latent servicing element” (Gray 1992:169)
of taking care of the VCR.
244
Looking closely at the interview material of the current study, it becomes evident that
“calculated ignorance” (Gray 1992:248) might also be a strategy that some of the older Austrian
women employ. In this context, the case of I5 is noteworthy. Repeatedly, I5 explains that the
Internet is not relevant to her because she has a dog: “Internet ist gestrichen […] dadurch,
dass wir einen Hund haben nicht […].”489 Surely, I5’s statement can be interpreted as
an equation of the Internet with other leisure interests. However, throughout the conversation
it becomes increasingly evident that, for her, the Internet and the computer are things which
she feels she has to care for. Since she already has many people (her husband, son and
daughter-in-law, and grandchild, who all live in the same house, as well as her other son,
daughter-in-law, and grandchildren who visit regularly) and many things (a big garden, a house,
and a dog) to care for, she literally does not want to care for new ICTs in addition.
To her, the Internet is a ‘waste of time’490:
“[…] [D]a ist mir ja leid um die Zeit, da gehe ich mit dem Hund in den Wald oder
gehen wir hinunter [zum Fluß] oder spazieren […] oder sonst bin ich eh im Garten
[…], weil der große Garten, der braucht auch einen Haufen Zeit, nicht, also,
mir geht es nicht ab, muss ich sagen, wenn du es nicht kennst, geht es mir
nicht ab.”491
This statement could, however, also be interpreted as a simple order of preferences of
leisure interests. Talking about a friend, who does use the Internet, however, it appears
in a different light. Commenting on her friend, who likes to use the Internet for chatting,
I5 explains that her friend is only able to do so because she has ‘a small apartment’492 and
‘no grandkids,’493 while she herself is too busy with family work to use the computer:
489 ‘Internet isn’t applicable […] because we have a dog, right […].’ (I5)
490 “Zeitverschwendung” (I5)
491 “[…] [I] don’t want to waste that time, I prefer to walk with the dog in the woods or walk down to
[the river] or [go] for a walk or otherwise I am actually in the garden […] because that big garden, it actually
takes a ton of time, right, well, I don’t miss it, I have to say, if you don’t know it, I don’t miss it.’ (I5)
492 “eine kleine Wohnung” (I5)
493 “keine Enkelkinder” (I5)
245
“Ich sage immer, schade um die Zeit, was du da versitzt, aber sie [die Freundin]
hat eine kleine Wohnung, keine Enkelkinder, siehst eh, bei uns, Enkelkinder und
wenn da Enkelkinder auch noch da sind, also, da geht es eh immer rund,
also [der] Computer ist eigentlich kein Thema für uns oder ganz wenig, weil,
wenn die alle drei [Enkelkinder] da sind […] oder am Wochenende oder wenn sie
Freitag, Samstag, Sonntag da sind, dann geht es eh um, dass du froh bist,
wenn sie […] wieder fahren und dann lege ich mich hin und schalte eventuell
den Fernseher ein, aber den Computer ganz wenig.”494
Although I5’s statements allude to the strategic ignorance that Gray (1992) identified
in her study, there is an important difference. While in Gray’s (1992) study, the women left it
to their husbands to deal with the VCR, the older Austrian women interviewed in the present
study often tasked their sons (rarely their daughters or daughters-in-law) to help with new ICTs,
as will be discussed in detail in subchapter 6.1. As will be shown, this does not only free them
of yet another domestic task, but also provides them with an opportunity for intergenerational
communication and exchange.
In the study at hand, I7 also discusses her use of new ICTs in the context of domestic labor.
Explaining how her children helped her with learning how to use her new tablet, she states that
due to the many household chores she has taken on for the entire family, she only has limited
time to use it: “Aber es ist auch eine Zeitfrage das Ganze. Und ich meine, du weißt eh,
ich koche für die ganze Familie immer und ich mache alles, ich tue waschen, bügeln und
das Ganze, ich meine, so viel Zeit habe ich dann gar nicht [….]”495 (I7). Although multiple
statements of ICTs to be time-consuming are made in the context of domestic labor,
it is important to note that there are other reference points. I9, for example, explains that
‘time is much too precious’496 to her to only be spent online. Instead, she also likes to do
‘many other things,’497 including going to the gym, a concert, or a theater play.
494 ‘I always say what a waste of time, sitting there, but she [her friend] only has a small apartment,
no grandkids, as you can see, with us, grandkids and when the grandkids are also here, well, there is always
something going on actually, well [the] computer is not relevant to us or very little, because when all three
[grandchildren] are here […] or on the weekends or if they come Friday, Saturday, Sunday, then there is always
something going on, so you are happy when […] they leave again and then I lay down and maybe turn on the TV,
but the computer, very little.’ (I5)
495 ‘But it is also a matter of time, all of it. And I mean, well, you know I always cook for the entire family
and do everything, I do the laundry, ironing and all, I mean I do not have so much time actually […].’ (I7)
496 “da ist mir meine Zeit viel zu kostbar” (I9)
497 “viele andere Sachen” (I9)
246
Most of the other interviewees (I1, I2, I4, I6, I8, I11) agree with I5, I7, and I9 that new ICTs
tend to be time-consuming. This has also been found to be a negative evaluation of new ICTs
by previous studies, such as Richardson et al.’s (2005:236), or Gatto and Tak’s
(2008:805, 2008:809) in the case of the computer and the Internet. Talking about Facebook,
I4 even states that she does not want to have time for the social network site, unless she
‘had a broken leg for four weeks’:498
“[….] [I]ch nehme mir für das keine Zeit, ich will für das keine Zeit haben.
Vielleicht kommt einmal die Zeit, wo ich mir denke, so, jetzt möchte ich das und
das auch machen, aber, also bis jetzt sicher nicht. Nicht, weil ich eine Abneigung
dagegen habe, nein, aber ich nehme mir keine Zeit für so etwas. Mir ist leid um
die Zeit, dass ich da die Zeit verbringe. Das ist meine Einstellung dazu einfach.
Wenn ich einmal einen Gipsfuß habe vier Wochen lang, vielleicht komme ich dann
auf die Idee (lacht) [...].”499
For I1, the Internet is ‘definitely’500 a ‘time consumer,’501 a notion which she highlights
at different points in the conversation. Also I2 identifies the Internet to be too time-consuming,
notably not only in its use but also dealing with hardware, such as her modem, which recently
did not work. Later in the conversation, she even talks about the computer using the term
‘blood-letting’502 with regard to the time it takes. Similarly, I8 talks about ‘time running’503
when she is on the Internet, as the hours just pass by once you are online. The time spent online
she finds ‘to be more exhausting than physical labor’504 (I8).
498 “ [w]enn ich einmal einen Gipsfuß habe vier Wochen lang” (I4)
499 ‘[….] [I] don’t take the time for it, I don’t want to have time. Maybe there will be a time when I will think
to myself, well, now I would like to also do this and that, but up until now definitively not. Not because I dislike it,
no, but I do not take the time for something like that. I think it is a waste of time, the time I spend on it. That simply
is my attitude in this regard. If I had a broken leg for four weeks, maybe I would think about it (laughs) […].’ (I4)
500 “eindeutig” (I1)
501 “Zeiträuber” (I1)
502 “Aderlass” (I2)
503 “rennt die Zeit” (I8)
504 “bist du ausgelaugt mehr als wie wenn du körperlich arbeitest” (I8)
247
5.5.4 New ICTs as Complicated Instruments
Multiple interviewees (I1, I4, I5, I6, I8, I9, I10, I12) also describe new ICTs as fundamentally
complicated. While some participants, such as I12, perceive technology to be interesting
in general, they also think it is difficult to understand. I5 explains technology per se to be her
‘weak point,’505 similarly to I10, who asserts that she is not a ‘tech freak.’506 I6 believes that
with regard to new ICTs “the technical aspects are things that make people fearful
and scare[d].”507 For I8, this lack in understanding was an important reason to avoid using
a computer:
“Und Computer, ja […], da war ich halt immer ein bissel skeptisch, weil ja,
jetzt bist [du] noch nicht so alt irgendwo, [aber] du tust dich nicht mehr so leicht,
du begreifst die Sachen nicht und willst aus dem Grund eigentlich lange das nicht
so ‘zuwi’ [heran] kommen [lassen], also du willst es nicht zulassen,
weil du eigentlich Angst hast, dass du es nicht schaffst.”508
This perception of the computer as hard to master is also the reason why, asked what she would
wish for with regard to new ICTs at the end of the interview, I8 replies that she would like them
to become simpler, although she does not believe this will happen: “Also ich weiß es nicht,
aber ich kann [es] mir vorstellen, es werden immer mehr Programme kommen und es wird alles
komplizierter werden. Also, wünschen täte ich mir, dass es einfacher wird, aber ich glaube
es nicht.”509 In a similar manner, I6 describes the computer as her “biggest challenge.”510
However, it is noteworthy that the complexity of new ICTs is not perceived as a positive
challenge, offering an impetus for curious investigation. Rather, new ICTs are perceived to be
‘bothersome,’511 as I9 puts it. Hill et al. (2015:417) have also identified “perceived complexity”
as a negative factor in older adults’ evaluation of new ICTs.
505 “Schwachstelle” (I5)
506 “Technikfreak” (I10)
507 ‘[D]ie technischen Aspekte sind es, die den Leuten Angst einflößen und sie erschrecken.’ (I6)
508 ‘And computers, well […], I used to be a little skeptical because, well, you are not that old,
[but] it isn’t that easy for you, you do not understand stuff and for that reason don’t want to let it come too close
to you, well, you don’t want to endorse it because you are actually scared not to be able to manage.’ (I8)
509 ‘Well, I don’t know but I can imagine that there will be more and more programs and everything will become
more complicated. Well, I wished it would become simpler, but I don’t think it will.’ (I8)
510 ‘größte Herausforderung’ (I6)
511 “mühsam[…]” (I9)
248
In the qualitative strand of this study, the evaluation of new ICTs as complicated is on the
one hand related to difficulties in remembering various steps of action, an issue of accessibility
and usability that will be discussed with more detail in subchapter 5.9. On the other hand,
interviewees do especially think of new ICTs as overly complicated when comparing them to
old ICTs or earlier versions of new ICTs. I5 complains about digital cameras,
characterizing them as ‘stupid’512 and in a lengthy account explains how her husband has to
laboriously sort digital pictures on the computer for her when she wants to share them with
her ‘group of women.’513 Definitively, she would prefer an analog camera to a digital one.
Similarly, I9 prefers traditional TV on a TV set to online streaming, which she finds to be
‘less comfortable’514 and ‘more bothersome.’515 I1 also uses the term ‘bothersome’516
to describe her initial experience with the smartphone:
“[…] [A]lso das internetfähige [Handy], das war schon ein Hammer, also das war
schon mühsam, […] das war eine große Umstellung, das habe ich verflucht.
Also zeitweise habe ich mir gedacht, was habe ich mir da jetzt angetan, weil das so
viel komplizierter ist als die vorige Version, also als das normale Telefon […].”517
In a similar manner, I5 characterizes the smartphone as more complicated than an ordinary
cell phone. Stating that she only has ‘a regular cell phone,’518 she explains that they are
‘not yet as complicated’519 as smartphones, which she dubs ‘wiping cell phones.’520
512 “blöd[…]” (I5)
513 “Frauenrunde” (I5)
514 “nicht so bequem” (I9)
515 “mühsamer” (I9)
516 “mühsam” (I1)
517 ‘[…] Well, the Internet-enabled [cell phone] that was quite incredible, well that was bothersome,
[…] it was a big adjustment, I cursed it. Well, at times I thought, what did I get myself into here because it was
so much more complicated than the last version, well the regular phone […].’ (I1)
518 “ein normales Handy” (I5)
519 “nicht so kompliziert noch” (I5)
520 “Wischhandys” (I5)
249
5.5.5 New ICTs as a Health Hazard
In addition to perceiving new ICTs as perpetuating cultural and social erosion, being potentially
unsafe, time-consuming, and complicated, interviewees also refer to them as a health hazard.
A study by Ivan and Fernández-Ardèvol (2017) has also identified this as a major concern
among older adults in some other European regions, in their case Catalonia, with regard to
the cell phone. Interestingly, in Ivan and Fernández-Ardèvol’s (2017) study, health concerns
related to the cell phone were particularly prominent among older adults in Catalonia,
contrasting their perceptions with those of a group of older Romanians. However, the Romanian
group of older adults also expressed worries about the cell phone as harmful to health,
but mostly they did so with reference to younger people (Fernández-Ardèvol and Ivan 2016:93;
Ivan and Fernández-Ardèvol 2017). An earlier study by Kurniawan (2006:111) has also found
health hazard to be a concern for older women in the UK using cell phones. In the present study,
interviewees refer to new ICTs as health hazards mostly in two ways. Firstly, too much
engagement with new ICTs is perceived to be bad for your physical fitness.
Secondly, interviewees are concerned about harmful ‘radiation’521 (I1, I10, I3, I8) emitted by
cell phones and computers.
With regard to the first point, I1 states that her husband goes for a walk almost every day or
at least a couple of times a week, while she is too busy to do so because she is on the Internet
and thus neglects her physical health by doing too little exercise. In the same account,
she also notes that cell phones are bad for children’s posture and that too much Internet
consumption in the evening reduces the quality of sleep. “Und was noch ist, wenn ich am Abend
viel hineinschaue, schlafe ich ganz schlecht. Also das spüre ich wirklich!”522 (I1).
I5 and I8 agree that that too much interaction with the computer reduces physical well-being.
In this context, I5 explains how a friend seems to be addicted to her computer, sitting in front
of it all the time, while she herself goes for walks. And I6 critically comments on how sitting
when using the computer is bad. Replying to the question of how she would summarize positive
and negative aspects of the computer, she says:
521 “Strahlung” (I1, I10), “Strahlen” (I3, I8)
522 ‘And something else, if I look at it a lot in the evening, I sleep very badly. I really can feel that!’ (I1)
250
“I think what isn't good is, for example, the physical sitting. I had a back problem
about four years ago, bad, and the physiotherapist said it's one of the worst things
you can do, sit on the computer, ‘cause it shortens all these muscles and the
younger generation, they're gonna be the future clients.”523 (I6)
The negative effects that sitting in front of the computer has on the body has also already
been mentioned as a concern by older adults in Richardson et al.’s (2005:237) early study
on seniors’ computer use.
In addition to adverse affects on physical fitness, multiple interviewees are also concerned about
‘radiation’ (I1, I3, I8, I10) or ‘disruptive particles’524 (I3) emanating from ICT devices.
For example, I1 is worried about the negative impact this might have on animals:
“Naja, die Strahlung, denke ich mir. […] [W]er weiß, ob nicht eines Tages die Vögel vom
Himmel runter fliegen noch, wenn das so weitergeht. Und wie die Insekten darauf reagieren,
auf diese ganze Geschichte, die da im All herumschwirrt, das weiß ich nicht.”525
Later, during the tour through the house, I1 also explains that she prefers her corded landline
telephone to others ‘because there is no radiation.’526 In a similar manner, I3 states that
she prefers the landline phone to the cell phone. Whenever she talks on the phone for a longer
period of time, she uses the landline ‘because of radiation’527 (I3). This is also the reason
why she is adamant about keeping the landline phone: “[…] [A]lso Festnetz würden wir
nicht hergeben, das wollen wir so handhaben, weil es meiner Meinung oder unserer Meinung
nach die unschädlichste Art zu kommunizieren ist“528 (I3). Out of similar health concerns,
I3 keeps her computer in a separate room:
523 ‘Ich denke, was nicht gut ist, ist zum Beispiel das physische sitzen. Ich hatte ein Rückenproblem vor ungefähr
vier Jahren, schlimm, und der Physiotherapeut hat gesagt, dass es eines der schlechtesten Dinge ist,
die du tun kannst, beim Computer sitzen, weil es all diese Muskeln verkürzt und dass die jüngere Generation
die zukünftigen Patienten sein werden.’ (I6)
524 “Störpartikel” (I3)
525 ‘Well, the radiation I think. […] [W]ho knows whether the birds won’t fall from the sky one day,
if this continues. And how the insects will react to all these stuff that is in space, I don’t know.’ (I1)
526 “weil da habe ich keine Strahlung” (I1)
527 “wegen der Strahlen” (I3)
528 ‘[…] [W]ell we wouldn’t give up the landline, this is how we like to handle things, because in my opinion
or in our opinion it is the least harmful way to communicate.’ (I3)
251
“Wir haben einen Raum, der heißt ‘Bibliothek’, weil da zum Großteil Bücher
drinnen sind und da habe ich den Computer stehen. Da setze ich mich dann hin und
auch wenn ich mich hinsetze zum Spielen, also bin ich da in einem eigenen Raum.
Was für mich sehr wichtig ist, ich habe […] diese Steckdosen, wo ich den Strom
komplett wegschalten kann, also das ist für mich wichtig und auch vor allem beim
Computer ist mir das wichtig, dass da nicht sehr viele Störpartikel herumschwirren
in der Luft, weil ich nach wie vor überzeugt bin, dass der Computer nicht
das Gesündeste ist und darum steht er auch nicht im Wohnzimmer oder irgendwo,
sondern in einem eigenen Raum.”529
I8 and I10 are anxious about radiation emitted by cell phones or computers, although they
do not limit their use. I8 thinks one could get hard of hearing using the cell phone a lot,
which she thinks could be caused by ‘radiation.’530 I10 reports to like printouts because
‘the screen does take a toll on the eyes due to radiation.’531 In this context, she remembers how
multiple of her colleagues at the bank, where she used to work, had to get glasses.
She summarizes: “So viel zur Strahlung, strahlungsärm, -arm sein. Es ist immer eine gewisse
Strahlung da, ja, und ja, ich sage, es ist nicht nur negativ, es ist, glaube ich einfach,
mit sehr viel Bewusstheit zu nutzen”532 (I10).
5.6 Negative Evaluations of Old ICTs
Although negative evaluations of old ICTs are more numerous than their positive assessments,
they are still relatively limited in comparison to negative perceptions of new ICTs.
Thus, in contrast to new ICTs, old ICTs – unsurprisingly – have been largely domesticated and
incorporated, in Silverstone et al.’s (1994) terms, into the everyday lives of the interviewees.
Feist et al. (2010:74), in their comparative study, also established that older adults are much
more familiar with traditional than new ICTs. Because the devices as such are perceived as
regular mundane objects, whose usefulness has already been determined, negative comments
about old media refer more often to their contents than their functions.
529 ‘We have a room we call ‘library’ because there are mostly books and there I have my computer.
I sit down there and also when I sit down for gaming, well, I am in a separate room. Which is very important
to me, I have […] these sockets where I can completely turn off electricity, well, this is important to me and
most of all with the computer this is important to me, so there aren’t too many disruptive particles in the air
because I am still convinced that the computer isn’t the healthiest thing and this is why I don’t keep it in the
living room or somewhere but in a separate room.’ (I3)
530 “Strahlen” (I8)
531 “der Bildschirm doch ein bissel aufgrund der Strahlung die Augen doch sehr beansprucht” (I10)
532 ‘So much for radiation, having less, little radiation. There is always a certain radiation, well, and well,
I think it is not just negative, I believe one just has to use it very consciously.’ (I10)
252
5.6.1 ‘Primitive’533 (I2) TV Programming
As initially noted in subchapter 5.1, interviewees often frame TV programming as ‘primitive’
(I2) and ‘manipulating’ (I2, I5, I7).534 For this reason, it is not surprising that they ambivalently
negotiate the general relevance TV has for them. Although TV does seem to be relevant for
a number of interviewees, many of them do not approve of its contents. This ambivalence
towards generally valued ICTs has also been noted previously by Haddon (2006b:23).
In the case of this study, interviewees find a great variety of negative words to describe contents
shown on TV. Out of all participants, I2, I4 and I9 voice their disapproval of simplistic
TV programs most forcefully. Talking about an afternoon talk show, which her father-in-law
used to watch at the retirement home, I2 criticizes the ‘poor level’535 of some afternoon
programs targeting seniors. At a later point, she also complains about the ‘worthlessness’536 (I2)
of TV programs more generally and expresses her disapproval of all the ‘garbage’537
being aired. Similarly, I9 thinks of Saturday night TV programs as ‘garbage.’538 Regularly,
she is bothered by weekend TV: “[…] [W]enn im Fernsehen nix Gescheites ist, weil für mich
ist Samstagabend fernsehen schrecklich, weil da gibt es nur Shows und Schrott in meinen Augen
halt […].”539 At other points in the interview, she also characterizes some particular popular
Austrian TV programs as ‘garbage’540 and ‘junk,’541 in addition to referring to them
as ‘dreadful’542 (I9). Moreover, I9 thinks that TV is a kind of ‘national dulling.’543
533 “primitiv[…]” (I2)
534 “Manipulation,” “manipulieren” (I2), “manipuliert” (I5, I7)
535 “unterschwelliges Niveau” (I2)
536 “Wertlosigkeit” (I2)
537 “Schrott” (I2)
538 “Schrott” (I9)
539 ‘[…] [W]hen there is nothing smart on TV, because for me watching TV on a Saturday night is horrible
because there are only shows and garbage in my opinion […].’ (I9)
540 “Schrott” (I9)
541 “Glumpert” (I9)
542 “grauslig” (I9)
543 “Volksverdummung” (I9)
253
In a similar manner, I4 disapproves of many TV programs, particularly American soap operas,
targeting younger people. In a lengthy account, she explains to find it ‘horrible’544 that
young people are being ‘besmoked with soap operas’545 and ‘only being fed junk.’546
In her opinion, this is also related to manipulation: “Ich glaube, […] die wollen die Leute
bewusst verblöden, das habe ich mir schon oft gedacht.”547 Other interviewees share this dislike
of bad TV entertainment. I11, for example, explains to ‘not watch the biggest nonsense’548
and at a later point again shares her disapproval of ‘this abundance of truly idiotic stuff’549
shown on TV. I12 criticizes TV entertainment less harshly, but nonetheless notes that there is
‘always the same’550 on TV.
In addition to criticizing the poor intellectual quality of many entertainment programs,
multiple interviewees also share their negative evaluation of TV news. Often, they characterize
them as either manipulative or “distressing”551 (I6). With regard to the latter, I6 states:
“I also think the things that are being shown on TV in terms of this terrorist stuff
are very distressing to people, including myself. Sometimes, I don’t want to be
shown things and I am. So, it’s much, much more open and explicit and distressing
[compared to former times]. I think the nature of TV has changed in the sense that,
a little bit like newspapers, it feeds on peoples’ anxieties. They give you news when
there is no news. I think the news is the thing that are not a good thing.”552
544 “fürchterlich” (I4)
545 “mit ihren Soaps da einräuchern” (I4)
546 “nur mit ‘Tschantsch’ gefüttert” (I4)
547 ‘I think […] they consciously want to dumb people down, I have been thinking that a lot.’ (I4)
548 “ich schaue schon nicht den größten Blödsinn” (I11)
549 “diese Fülle von wirklich idiotischen Sachen” (I11)
550 “immer das Gleiche” (I12)
551 ‘ängstigend’ (I6)
552 ‘Ich denke auch, dass die Dinge, die im Fernsehen in Bezug auf diese Terroristen-Sachen gezeigt werden,
die Leute sehr ängstigen, mich inklusive. Manchmal will ich Dinge nicht gezeigt bekommen und es passiert aber.
Also es ist viel, viel offener, explizit und mehr ängstigend [im Vergleich zu früher]. Ich denke die Art
des Fernsehens hat sich in dem Sinn geändert, dass, ein bisschen wie bei den Zeitungen, es auf den Ängste
der Leute aufbaut. Sie bringen Nachrichten wenn es keine gibt. Ich denke die Nachrichten sind die Sache,
die nicht so gut ist.’ (I6)
254
Similar negative evaluations of TV programming by older adults in terms of violent content
have also been identified as important in previous studies, such as Mitzner et al.’s (2010:1719).
In a similar manner, I7 remarks that she does not like that media reports ‘now and then also
create fear,’553 although she does not differentiate between old and new media in this regard.
I2 repeatedly shares her concern of TV ‘fueling fears,’554 but not exclusively in the context
of news.
With respect to the idea of TV news as manipulating or manipulated, I10 wonders ‘how much
of it is actually true’555 and thus is ‘very critical’556 towards them and other evening programs.
I5 also questions the quality of news on TV: “[…] [J]a, auch die österreichischen Nachrichten
finde ich nicht so gut, weil […] die sind so manipuliert oder wie, [ich] weiß ich nicht
[…].”557I12 mentions occasionally being ‘disappointed’558 by news hosts because they
‘also slip in their own influences or sentiments.’559 In this context, it is interesting to note that
interviewees’ frequent characterization of TV news as fear-inducing and/or manipulative is
in rather stark contrast to their simultaneous positive evaluation of the TV as informative.
Thus, TV seems to be a particularly ambivalent medium for interviewees. On the one hand,
this points to social desirability – and a hesitancy to admit the TVs actual relevance.
On the other hand, it highlights the actual complexity of older women’s relationship with ICTs.
As noted previously, concerning old ICTs, no clear pattern differentiating weak, moderate,
and strong users of new ICTs emerged. However, it is noteworthy that stronger users
of new ICTs (such as I2 and I9) tend to criticize the quality of TV programming
more strongly than interviewees to whom new ICTs are only of limited relevance (I3, I5).
553 “ab und zu auch Angst bereiten” (I7)
554 “Ängste schüren” (I2)
555 “wie viel ist davon wirklich wahr” (I10)
556 “sehr kritisch” (I10)
557 ‘[…] [W]ell, also the Austrian news I don’t find to be very good because […] they are so manipulated
or such, [I] don’t know […].’ (I5)
558 “enttäuscht” (I12)
559 “und auch ihre eigenen Einflüsse oder eigenen Empfindungen einfließen lassen” (I12)
255
Although wondering about the trustworthiness of TV news, I5 does not mention many further
negative aspects with regard to the TV. Replying to the question of what she does and does not
like about the TV, she first states to be bothered by advertisements during a program and only
adds her concerns about manipulated news after a lengthy pause. Answering the same question,
I3 only refers to inconvenient timing, explaining that ‘good programs’560are usually shown
very late in the evening.
5.6.2 ‘Hubbub’561 (I11) on the Radio
Also, in the case of the radio, interviewees – if criticizing anything at all – negatively evaluate
programming. Similar to the TV, multiple interviewees (I1, I4, I5, I9, I11, I12)
comment negatively on the low intellectual quality of some radio shows or station.
However, unlike the TV, radio is not perceived as potentially fear-inducing, but sometimes
as shallow entertainment. I1 believes that the radio ‘gets you dazed’562 or ‘lulls you in.’563
I4 dislikes ‘all the blablabla’564 on the radio. She explains: “Wenn über etwas geredet wird,
was ich mir halt einbilde, dass das so unnötig ist, dass unnötiger nimmer geht, […] wenn sie
nur irgendeinen Schmarren erzählen, weniger als Alltägliches, also nix, von, was weiß ich,
nur von dem Event und dem Event und da ist ein Event […].”565Also I9 does not particularly
like light entertainment on the radio:
“Also wenn ich höre, wenn sie schon wieder irgendwas […] Schwachsinniges
bringen, da muss ich sofort abschalten, also wenn ich im Auto fahre und ich höre
[…] diese Moderatoren, […] wenn sie so zwanghaft lustig sind, also […]
das mag ich halt überhaupt nicht, also da schalte ich sofort aus.”566
560 “gute Sendungen” (I3)
561 “Klamauk” (I11)
562 “wird ja auch beduselt” (I1)
563 “wird man ja auch bedudelt” (I1)
564 “lauter so Blablabla” (I4)
565 ‘When they talk about something of which I think it is so unnecessary that it couldn’t be more unnecessary,
[…] if they’re only talking about rubbish, less than mundane, so nothing, about, whatever, only about this event
and that event and there is an event […].’ (I4)
566 ‘Well when I listen to, when they put on something […] nonsensical, I have to turn off [the radio]
immediately, well when I am in the car driving and I hear […] these hosts […], when they are trying too hard to
be funny, well, I don’t like that at all, then I turn [it] off immediately’ (I9)
256
Similarly, I5 disapproves of ‘a very talkative host’567 on a morning show. I11 generally dislikes
‘hubbub’568 on the radio and prefers ‘well-informed’569 news. She explains: “Ich mag diesen
Klamauk nicht mehr, das lehne ich ab, ja, es frustriert mich oft, dass ich mir denke, in der Welt
passiert so viel Schreckliches und [da] kannst [du] nicht nur lustig sein”570 (I11). I12 feels
similarly about the radio. Similar to the TV, there is a tendency of limited users of new ICTs
not to share many negative notions. I3 is unable to identify any disadvantages of the radio and
I5 only offers very limited criticism of the radio (with regard to a particular host, as well as
some music played on a station that she listens to). Thus, criticism of the radio is much more
prominent with stronger and average users of new ICTs.
5.7 Summary and Comparison of Negative Evaluations of New and Old ICTs
In the context of new ICTs’ negative evaluations (1) by interviewees, a complex entanglement
of broader societal discourses with concrete personal experiences could be observed.
Understood as “ways of representing the world” (Fairclough 2005:133), operating on
a collective level (Keller 2006:131), discourses play a considerable role in interviewees’
negative evaluations of new ICTs. This observation invites further investigation and future
research on the respective influence of societal discourses vs. more personal experiences on
the evaluation of new ICTs by older adults, and older women in particular.
As has been illustrated in detail in the sections above, interviewees’ negative evaluations of
new ICTs are numerous and multifold. In discussing negative aspects of new ICTs,
interviewees repeatedly referenced two broader societal discourses of new ICTs’
negative impacts: the discourse of new ICTs as harmful for children and adolescents and the
discourse of the Internet as a potentially unsafe space. Often combining references to these two
discourses with accounts of concrete personal experiences from their everyday lives,
interviewees frequently characterized new ICTs as contributing to cultural and social erosion
(1a) in a multitude of ways.
567 “eine Quatschtanten” (I5)
568 “Klamauk” (I11)
569 “fundiertesten” (I11)
570 ‘I don’t like this hubbub anymore, I disapprove of it, well, it often frustrates me, I think there is so much
horrible stuff going on in the world and you cannot be funny all the time.’ (I11)
257
Many aspects of the evaluation of new ICTs as contribution to cultural and social erosion
have already been identified in previous studies on older adults’ engagement with ICTs.
Similar to the present study, Fernández-Ardèvol and Ivan (2016:90), Hill et al. (2015:419),
Suopajärvi (2015:116), and Kurniawan (2006:111, focusing on older women) have found
older adults to consider the use of new ICTs in public spaces or social situations to be intrusive
or inconsiderate. Also the findings of the qualitative strand of this study on older women’s
perception of new ICTs as impersonal is in line with previous studies. Yuan et al.
(2016:166, 2016:171), for example, have highlighted in detail older adults’ preference of
face-to-face communication over communication mediated by ICTs. Another finding of
Yuan et al.’s (2016:170–71) investigation resonates with results of the qualitative strand of the
present study: older adults’ perception of new ICTs as leading to excess. In this study,
the general evaluation of new ICTs as leading to excess, among others, includes criticism of
oversharing private details online. Again, this notion corresponds with findings discussed
previously in the literature (Yuan et al. 2016:169; Ivan and Hebblethwaite 2016:18,
focusing on older women). Interviewees’ concerns that new ICTs could have damaging effects
on children and adolescents have also already been noted in previous studies
(Hill et al. 2015:418, with regard to children’s independence; Kurniawan 2006:111,
regarding more general concerns about new ICTs’ negative effects on youth,
while focusing on older women).
Given this solid base of empirical evidence, one might ask what the study at hand adds to this
previous knowledge. Two points can be highlighted in this context. Firstly, in addition to the
aforementioned aspects, interviewees’ conceptualization of new ICTs as contributing to cultural
and social erosion also entails an understanding of new ICTs as driven by a destructive
market logic. Most importantly, this includes interviewees’ critical comments on exploitative
practices of online shops and their negative effects on local businesses, as well as the loss of
jobs due to digitalization. This aspect of older women’s understanding of new ICTs’ socially
destructive effects seems to be less prominent in the literature so far and thus deserves emphasis.
In particular, this it noteworthy because it draws attention to older women’s actual expertise
with regard to new ICTs. The older women interviewed are acutely aware of cultural and social
changes related to ICTs and conceptualize them in a complex and differentiated manner.
Highlighting older women’s nuanced understanding of consequences of media technology
change thus represents another contribution of the present study.
258
In addition to new ICTs’ portrayal as contributing to cultural and social erosion,
another prominent theme in interviewees’ negative evaluations of new ICTs was the Internet’s
characterization as a potentially unsafe space (1b). Again, this corresponds with findings of
previous studies demonstrating older adults’ negative perception of the Internet in terms of risks
(Gatto and Tak 2008:805, 2008:808; Hill et al. 2015:418; Suopajärvi 2015:119).
Particular aspects addressed by interviewees in this regard, such as fear of credit card fraud,
have also been identified in previous research (Richardson et al. 2005:238). Here, it is important
to note that statements on new ICTs as unsafe do not necessarily represent the participants’
insecurity, but sometimes also an accurate understanding of risks. As mentioned before,
Zeissig et al. (2017:196) have demonstrated that older users exhibit more self-efficacy
in protecting their privacy online than younger users. It is also noteworthy that, talking about
surveillance on the Internet, interviewees repeatedly referenced films or TV programs they
have watched on this topic. While the interrelation of media coverage and risks
associated with new ICTs by older adults has been highlighted in previous studies,
such as Ivan and Fernández-Ardèvols’ (2017) with regard to the mobile phone, the present study
highlights that a similar dynamic seems to be at play with regard to the Internet.
Older adults’ perception of new ICTs as time-consuming (1c) has already been documented
in the literature as well (Gatto and Tak 2008:805, 2008:809, for the Internet;
Richardson et al. 2005:236, for the computer). Here, the study’s contribution lies in drawing
attention to the relevance of gender in the context of older women’s engagement with new ICTs.
As noted in the previous sections and as will be discussed in more detail in subchapter 6.1,
the older women interviewed are important service providers for their families in terms of
domestic labor. Thus, the interviewees’ free time is often limited, which is why they
consciously choose for what to use their time and sometimes also employ a strategy of
“calculated ignorance” (Gray 1992:248) with regard to new ICTs. Most importantly,
this strategy implies delegating ICT-related issues to their sons (less often daughters or
daughters-in-law).
259
Moreover, the interviewees’ negative evaluation of new ICTs includes two further points.
Frequently, participants characterized new ICTs as complicated and difficult to master (1d).
Similar to most other aspects discussed above, this corresponds with findings of prior
investigations (Hill et al. 2015:417). In addition, new ICTs were repeatedly depicted as
potential health hazards (1e). Also this finding is supported by existing empirical evidence
(Ivan and Fernández-Ardèvol 2017, for the cell phone; Kurniawan 2006:111, for the cell phone,
while focusing on older women; Richardson et al. 2005:237, for the computer).
Here, the qualitative strand of present study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by
drawing attention to the variety of concrete contexts in which older women bring up
health concerns in relation to new ICTs – ranging from worries about their own health,
their grandchildren’s health, to animals’ well-being.
As noted with regard to interviewees’ negative evaluation of old ICTs (2), it is worth mentioning
that their criticism is very limited and predominantly concerns their contents, not consequences
or contexts of their use. For example, interviewees criticize ‘primitive’ (I2) TV programming
(2a) or ‘hubbub’ (I11) on the radio (2b). Because TV and radio have been successfully
domesticated and incorporated into everyday life, in Silverstone et al.’s (1994) terms,
they are perceived as considerably less problematic than new ICTs by interviewees.
Comparing negative evaluations of old ICTs to those of new ICTs thus shows that they
differ greatly. While negative evaluations of old ICTs focus on contents, negative evaluations
of new ICTs are more differentiated, addressing contents as well, but primarily their effects on
social practices, their insufficient safety provisions, as well as health concerns.
5.8 Sense of Familiarity with New ICTs
As argued earlier, perceived relevance and actual use of ICTs can but do not necessarily
have to be congruent. The same is true for the relation between relevance/use with familiarity
with a technology. People who perceive a technology as relevant and regularly use it,
might still not fully be at ease with it. The following sections will thus explore the interviewees’
sense of familiarity with media technologies.
260
5.8.1 Discrete Devices
In the course of the research, it became evident that some interviewees seem to exhibit a certain
sense of distance towards a number of new ICTs. In particular, this sense of distance was
represented by their location within the home. For example, interviewees put media devices –
mostly computers – in a separate room, hid them in a closet, or covered them with
a tea towel.571, 572 While some interviewees chose to keep the computer in a separate room
because they just happened to have an extra room which could function as a study,573
other cases indeed seemed to involve conscious distancing from a device. I2, a strong user of
new ICTs, keeps her laptop and printer in a closet with an integrated pull-out-desk that her son
custom-built for her. Since, years ago, I2 did not want to put her first PC on her delicate desk,
her son offered to adapt a closet, so it could fit her PC. Today, she continues to use it for her
laptop and printer. During the interview, she explains in much detail how this arrangement for
her computer came to be:
“Da war ich 56 und […] da war ja noch dieser große Rechner, nicht, und wo stelle
ich den hin, auf meinen Biedermeierschreibtisch? Das mag ich nicht.
Und er [der Sohn] war da ganz herzig und sehr konsequent auch:
‘Mutti, das braucht du.’ Na, ich habe gesagt, nein, ich will das nicht, […] das große
‘Trum’, das steht dann ‘rum und was mache ich damit […]. Ja und er hat gesagt,
weißt du, wenn du weg bist [im Ferienhaus], dann baue ich es dir ein
in den Kinderzimmerkasten, da kannst du die Tür zumachen, man sieht das ‘Graffel’
nicht und habe ich gesagt ‘Okay’ […].”574 (I2)
571 Discusisng the research of Ling and Thrane (2001, as cited in Haddon 2006b:143), Haddon (2006b:143)
highlights that previous research on ICTs has identified similar practices with regard to placing the PC in the home
in a discrete manner.
572 Similarly, also Morley (2006:31–32) notes that, during research he conducted with Silverstone and Hirsch
(1992, as cited in Morley 2006:31), they found that “[…] people went to a great deal of trouble to disguise
the presence of communication technologies in their homes, often hiding TV sets, computers and wiring in wooden
cabinets or behind soft furnishings.”
573 Interestingly, Buse (2010:1155), in her study on older adults’ ICT use, also reports that participants
frequently put up their computers “in a separate workpace and that no one kept their computer in the living room.”
574 ‘I was 56 at the time and […] there still was this big computer, right and where would I put that,
on my Biedermeier desk? I don’t want that. And he [her son] was very cute and also very persistent:
‘Mom, you need that.’ Well, I said, I don’t want it […], the big ‘thing,’ then I have it and what do I do with it […].
Well, and he said, you know, when you are gone […] [to her holiday home], then I will put it into the closet
that used to be in the children’s room, then you can close the closet’s door, one does not see the ‘stuff’ and
I said ‘Okay’ […].’ (I2)
261
I7, a moderate user of new ICTs, does not keep her computer in a closet, but in a similarly
unexpected place, a small room that otherwise functions as a ‘fridge during winter.’575
This rather uncomfortable arrangement eventually led to her children buying her a tablet,
which she can also use in the heated areas of the house:
“Ich habe meinen PC in einem kleinen Zimmer stehen, das ich nicht beheize, […]
weil das ist so quasi mein Kühlschrank im Winter für gewisse Sachen und […]
da drehe ich normalerweise keine Heizung auf, es ist sehr kalt. Jetzt, jedes Mal,
wenn ich mich wohin setzen habe wollen am PC, habe ich müssen [eine] Weste
anziehen und was oder vorher einheizen oder sonst was und das war eigentlich
auch ein großer Grund, da[ss] sie [die Kinder] mir ein Tablet geschenkt haben,
weil das kann ich im warmen Wohnzimmer nützen (lacht).”576
As described earlier, I3 keeps her computer in a separate room, which she and her husband call
the ‘library,’ out of health concerns. Since she is worried about ‘disruptive particles’ (I3)
emanating from the computer, she prefers to ‘not have it in the living room or somewhere else
but in a separate room.’577 Although not citing health concerns, I1 also keeps her computer
in a separate room and deliberately not in the living room. In the interview, she emphasizes that
her husband ‘would not have liked to have the device on the desk.’578 And I5, a very limited
user of the computer, explains she keeps it in the former children’s room, which has now been
transformed into the ‘clutter room.’579 I4 conveys a certain sense of distance towards her laptop.
Because she is concerned about dust, she covers her laptop with a tea towel folded in half.
These examples resonate with the idea of new ICTs as a ‘tool’580 (I10) or ‘object of utility,’581
(I8) which is simply stored away when not in use. Thus, it is again evident that interviewees are
rather ‘Visitors’ than ‘Residents’ of the digital world, to again refer to White and Le Cornu’s
(2011) terminology.
575 “Kühlschrank im Winter” (I7)
576 ‘I keep my PC in a small room that I don’t heat, […] because this is kind of my fridge during winter
for certain things and […] there I do usually not turn on the heating, it is very cold. Now, every time when I wanted
to sit down at the PC, I had to put on [a] cardigan or something and that actually was a major reason for them
[her kids] to give me a tablet as a present because I can also use it in the warm living room (laughs).’ (I7)
577 “nicht im Wohnzimmer oder irgendwo, sondern in einem eigenen Raum” (I3)
578 “hätte das nie mögen, dass das da, das Gerät da am Schreibtisch stünde” (I1)
579 “Kramsamperlzimmer” (I5)
580 “Werkzeug” (I10)
581 “Gebrauchsgegenstand” (I8)
262
Occasionally, interviewees also expressed a certain sense of distance towards ICTs through
rendering actually mobile devices immobile. For example, I5 explains to have a particular
‘cell phone spot’582 in the house. Instead of constantly carrying the device with her,
she prefers to keep it in the same place in order to easily locate it. Similarly, I4 states that her
cell phone has a ‘fixed spot’583 in her house. During the tour through her home, she explains:
“Das Handy hat einen fixen Platz bei mir, [es] liegt immer da oben, […] sonst suchst du [es]
immer, wo liegt es herum. Irgendwo läutet es und du findest es nicht. Dafür haben wir einen
fixen Platz. Meinem Mann seines liegt immer dort drüben und meines liegt da” (I4).584
Although I3 does not have a particular spot in the house where she keeps her phone, she does
not like to use it on the go. Thus, she thinks of herself as a ‘very sloppy cell phone user’585 (I3).
For example, when she is out, she often leaves her cell phone in the car and then finds
missed calls on it when she returns. In addition, some interviewees (I4, I10) do not only keep
their cell phones in a particular place, but also their laptops. And I7 reports to only use her tablet
at home, rendering it less mobile than the device could be. With regard to the laptop,
choosing a fixed spot for it has also been identified as a relevant strategy by older adults
by Suopajärvi (2015:119). These practices which interviewees report are noteworthy since they
resist some of the potential uses mobile technologies enable, such as permanent connectivity
and availability. Again, interviewees seem to perceive new ICTs rather as tools which are to be
used discreetly for specific purposes than a digital extension of their environment.
5.8.2 Downplaying ICT Skills
A second important point to be made with regard to interviewees’ familiarity with new ICTs is
the repeated downplaying of actual skills. This has also been reported in previous studies
on older adult’s ICT engagement (Suopajärvi 2015:117, 2015:122). Similar to Suopajärvi
(2015:117), Neves and Amaro (2012:9) point to ageism as a negative factor that can influence
older adults’ confidence and interest in new ICTs.
582 “Handy-Platz” (I5)
583 “fixen Platz” (I4)
584 ‘I put the cell phone in a fixed spot, [it] is always over there, […] otherwise you keep looking for […] it,
where is it. Somewhere it rings and you don’t find it. That is why we have a fixed spot. The one of my husband
is always over there and mine is here.’ (I4)
585 “ein sehr schlampiger Handybenutzer” (I3)
263
However, gender seems to be another relevant factor. Particularly older women perceive
themselves to be less competent with regard to new ICTs, as early studies have already shown.
As Richardson et al. (2005:227–28) have demonstrated in their extensive qualitative study on
older New Zealander’s engagement with the computer, older women state more often to be less
confident using the computer. Similarly, Comunello et al. (2015:447–48) have observed
older women who use new ICTs to be less confident, compared to older men. As already
illustrated elsewhere (Ratzenböck 2016b:59), the case of interviewee 3 is revealing in
this context. During most of the guided interview, she continuously downplayed her computer
skills and emphasized that she frequently relies on the help of her son. However, engaging with
the computer hands-on during the tour through her house, she then exhibited expertise in
specific areas of use. This, for example, included using shortcut commands on her laptop.
In addition, I3 is the only interviewee who reported playing digital games on her laptop.
Also generally strong users of the computer and the Internet in the sample (I2, I9, I12)
downplayed their ICT skills repeatedly in the interviews. I9 discursively minimized the range
of her Internet use, portraying herself as a more limited user than she actually is. Similarly,
I12 did not foreground her computer knowledge discursively. It only surfaced in its full extent
when she shared concrete examples of her computer use, such as of the program Excel.
In this context, she shared her desire to know more about formulas and some very specific
functions of the program that she apparently had used before. I7 experienced extensive
technological change working in a grocery store where she witnessed the introduction of
different kinds of complex cashier systems, yet she shared her insecurities about whether
she really is able to use a computer properly.
In addition to downplaying their ICT skills, multiple interviewees also explicitly referred to
their own technological competencies in a self-depreciative manner. I5, for example,
describes her general understanding of technology as low. Remembering the interaction with
her first cell phone, she states:
“Na […] da habe ich es mir erklären lassen, weil ich habe ja noch nie ein Handy
gehabt, nicht, weil technisch bin ich sowieso ein ‘Nackerpatzel’, nicht,
und dann habe ich mir das halt einmal müssen erklären lassen […] bis du [es] halt
selber dann bedienen kannst, nicht, und ich glaube, da haben wir eh auch,
habe ich eh auch den [Sohn] müssen zur Hilfe nehmen. Ich glaube, er war da,
bis ich das halt alles überrissen habe […].”586 (I5)
586 ‘Well […] I had it explained to me because I have never had a cell phone, right, because with regard to
technology I am completely ignorant, right, and well, then I had to have it explained to me […] until you can
264
I6 and I2 both explain to generally lack technical skills. As I6 puts it: “I'm not a very technically
capable person.”587 And I2 states: “[…] [I]ich bin technisch nicht gut.”588
Particularly I2’s declaration is rather surprising, as she turned out to be the strongest user of
new ICTs within the qualitative sample. In addition to using a very broad range of
new ICT devices, such as a laptop, a smartphone, and a tablet, she is a resourceful
trouble shooter. For example, on the morning of the interview, she reset her malfunctioning
modem using a bent up paper clip and got it to work again. I9 succinctly summarizes this
self-depreciative tendency that multiple of the women interviewed exhibit with regard to their
technological competence and compares it to men’s self-perception that she characterizes to be
different. Asked whether she believes that there are any differences between men and women
concerning the use of media, she says:
“[…] [Ich] glaube […], dass sie [Männer] zum Beispiel im Umgang mit Computern
ganz anders sind, dass sie nie sich selber in Frage stellen, dass sie sich sofort als
Experten aufspielen, viele, auch nicht alle, alle Männer sind ja nicht gleich,
aber die meisten […] und Frauen eher vorsichtig herangehen und wenn was nicht
klappt am Computer, die suchen zuerst die Schuld bei sich und denken sich
‘Um Gottes Willen, was habe ich falsch gemacht’ und die Männer sind so eher
der Meinung, ‘Ja, der ‘Krempel’ geht nicht’, also die gehen da viel selbstbewusster
heran offenbar […].”589 (I9)
These findings of the main qualitative strand of the study raise the question of whether
statistically lower percentages of older Austrian women’s Internet use compared to older men
(Statistik Austria 2019) (as discussed in the introduction and chapter 2) might also be based on
issues of self-reporting. It can be hypothesized that in the case of surveys, older women might
also tend to underreport their ICT use, for example not considering occasional or only
specific use of the Internet (such as, for example, e-mail) to qualify as Internet use per se.
operate it yourself, right, and I think, we, I had to also ask [my son] for help. I think he was there until I got the
idea of it all […].’ (I5)
587 ‘Ich bin technisch keine sehr fähige Person.’ (I6)
588 ‘[…] [I] am not good with technology.’ (I2)
589 ‘[…] I believe […] that they [men] are completely different in their use of the computer, for example,
that they don’t ever question themselves, that they show off as experts right away, many, not all men, all men aren’t
the same actually, but most […] and women are approaching it more carefully and if something does not work on
the computer, they first blame themselves and think ‘Oh lord, what did I do wrong’ and men are more like,
‘Well, this ‘junk’ does not work, so they are much more confident apparently […].’ (I9)
265
5.9 Accessibility and Usability of New ICTs
While negative evaluations are an important factor in keeping interviewees form engaging with
new ICTs more extensively, accessibility and usability have to be taken into account as well.
The use of new ICTs is not only a matter of motivation, but also of basic prerequisites.
5.9.1 Accessibility: New ICTs as ‘a question of cost’590 (I4)
As Coughlin (2010:66) notes, importantly, the introduction of new technologies always entails
“a problem of societal equity.” Access to new ICTs is not independent of resources.
Thus, it is not surprising that in terms of access barriers, interviewees most often referred to
economic issues. While interviewees also acknowledge the potential of new ICTs to
save money, as elaborated before, they are also acutely aware of the financial resources their
use requires. Financial expenses have also been cited as a negative factor in older adults’
perception of new ICTs in previous studies. In Neves and Amaro’s (2012) investigation,
older adults perceived cell phones to generally be too expensive. Fernández-Ardèvol and Ivan
(2016:88) note that pricing systems have an influence on older people’s cell phone use.
And Sawchuk and Crow (2010) have pointed to the importance of financial concerns for
seniors’ engagement with the cell phone. Similarly, Mitzner et al. (2010:1717) identified
expensiveness to be a negative factor in older adults’ perception of electronic and digital
technology more broadly.
In the context of the present study, it is noteworthy that in the interviews, economic issues are
more often referred to in passing than in vocal statements, pointing to the sensitivity of
the topic. Particularly for I9 money seems to be an issue that she tries to downplay. For example,
she emphasizes that her considerations about whether to acquire a smartphone or not are
‘not an issue of money’591 (I9), although at other points in the interview it becomes evident that
economic concerns are indeed relevant. Similarly, pondering the question of whether she should
get a smartphone or not, I4 notes that this is also ‘a question of cost’592 and that a smartphone
probably ‘is quite pricy.’593
590 “eine Kostenfrage” (I4)
591 “es ist keine Sache vom Geld [her]” (I9)
592 “eine Kostenfrage” (I4)
593 “ziemlich etwas kostet” (I4)
266
Discussions of the cost of cell phone calls were even more prominent than debates of prices
of devices. I1 explains to only call back cell phone numbers from her cell phone, and not her
landline, because otherwise it would be ‘really very expensive.’594 Similarly, I7 considers
carefully whether to make calls from the landline or cell phone. For example, she does only call
her sister-in-law from the cell phone these days because it is ‘more cost-efficient’595 (I7).
For I8, the move of her daughter was the decisive reason to get a fixed cell phone contract.
While she wanted to be within reach for her daughter at any time, she also emphasizes that she
wanted a fixed contract in order to not have to think too much about the costs of their
cell phone conversations. To I8, it was important to free herself of anxious thoughts,
such as ‘it gets too expensive’596 or ‘the meter is running,’597 when chatting with her daughter
on the cell phone. I5 also considers costs of phone conversations. Asked whether she also has
longer conversations on the cell phone, she replies:
“[…] [N]ein, länger ist bei mir selten, weil das ja auf mein Geld geht, nicht,
länger reden, da lasse ich mich immer anrufen, meistens, weil die haben immer das,
was nix kostet, das A1 oder was, was [der Ehemann] hat. Ich rufe halt an, wenn,
ja, wenn gerade irgendetwas ist oder wann wir zusammenkommen oder wann wir
uns treffen oder gehen wir einen Kaffee trinken, mehr kürzer halt, nicht,
oder wenn ich die Schwägerin anrufe […], dann sage ich immer, ruf mich an, nicht,
[…] weil da kostet es ja, nicht, das kostet und was kostet es? Das weiß ich jetzt
gar nicht, 9 Cent die Minute oder so und mit der Schwägerin, da dauert es
halt immer […].”598 (I5)
594 “wirklich sehr teuer” (I1)
595 “kostengünstiger” (I7)
596 “das kommt zu teuer” (I8)
597 “der Zähler läuft” (I8)
598 ‘[…] [N]o, longer [conversations] are less common with me because this would use up my money, right,
talking longer, I always have people call me, most of the time because they always have this thing which doesn’t
cost anything, A1 or something, what [my husband] has. I actually call, when, well, when something comes up or
if we meet up or when we meet up or let’s go for a coffee, mostly shorter, right, or when I call my sister-in-law
[…], then I always say, call me, right […], because it costs, well it costs and what does it cost? I don’t know
actually, 9 cents a minute or so and with my sister-in-law it always takes longer […].’ (I5)
267
As noted earlier, I6 reports preferring Internet-based telephony to calls on the cell phone when
talking to her son who lives in another city because “it is cheaper.”599 At another point,
she also addresses the issue of affordability of new ICTs for older people more generally:
“And we are having change, change, change! And it is quite difficult for older people to adapt
to. It moves too fast. I think that could be a big factor. Money, these things cost money.
They’ve less money and therefore you tend to be behind”600 (I6).
With regard to the computer and the Internet, interviewees talk about costs as well.
Answering the question of what would the advantages be of not having Internet access,
I3 emphasizes that she cannot identify any actual advantages of not having Internet,
but at the same time adds that it would be ‘cost-saving.’601 I2 mentions that hiring somebody
for computer support would be expensive, so she is grateful that her son assists her with
these matters. And at another point, she stresses that financial barriers are particularly relevant
to older women’s (non-)adoption of new ICTs more generally:
“[Dass] vielfach die Frauen nicht die Kraft haben, da noch einzusteigen und auch
[den] finanzielle[n] Spielraum. Bitte, das kostet ja alles auch eine ganze Menge
Geld, muss man auch sagen. Über Geld spricht man nicht, das hat man,
aber manche, ich denke da [an] jemanden ganz speziellen, die kann sich das auch
nicht leisten. Also ein sozialer Aspekt auch. Auch, aber überhaupt
eine Lebenseinstellung, weil sie selber auch nie sehr initiativ war, selber nicht,
nach den Kin-, na, sie hat eh nur ein Kind, aber wiedereinsteigen
in den Arbeitsprozess und dann auch eine entsprechende Pension haben, nicht. […]
[D]as war eben die Falle unserer Generation, dass man nicht berufstätig war,
weil man die Kinder erzogen hat, aber die Entwicklung, die Sozialleistungen
basieren auf Doppelverdiener, sind wir ehrlich.”602
599 ‘es ist billiger’ (I6)
600 ‘Und es ist Veränderung, Veränderung, Veränderung! Und es ist ziemlich schwierig für ältere Leute sich
da anzupassen. Es geht zu schnell. Ich denke das könnte ein großer Faktor sein. Geld, diese Dinge kosten Geld.
Sie haben weniger Geld und deswegen hinkst du hinterher.’ (I6)
601 “kostensparend” (I3)
602 ‘[That] often women do not have the energy to still get involved and also the financial scope.
Well all of this also costs quite some money, one has to say. One does not talk about money, one only has money
but some, I am thinking of somebody very specific, she can also not afford it. So it is also a social aspect.
Also, but generally a lifestyle because she herself has never shown very much initiative, she herself,
after the child-, well she actually only has one child, but returning to the labor market and then having
an appropriate pension, right. […] That was the trap of our generation, that one wasn’t employed in the
labor market because one raised the children but the development, the social benefits are based on two incomes,
if we are honest.’ (I2)
268
As noted earlier in subchapter 2.1, there are substantial differences in income of older men and
women in Austria. While retired men had a median yearly gross income of EUR 26,280
in 2016, the median yearly gross income of retired women only amounted to EUR 15,741
(Statistik Austria 2017b). Thus, it is not surprising that financial considerations do play a role
in older women’s ICT engagement.
5.9.2 Usability of New Media
In terms of usability of new media, the most important factor addressed by interviewees is the
size of devices and their components. In the context of the cell phone, this has also been
identified as a relevant aspect by Sawchuk and Crow (2010:55.9). In the present study,
numerous interviewees (I1, I3, I5, I6, I7, I10, I12) commented on their preference of large
devices and components. As discussed earlier, I3 would like a cell phone especially designed
for seniors to be her next phone because of its ‘big buttons.’ I5, the only other participant who
indicated to be interested in a senior cell phone, cited big numbers and buttons to be its
most attractive features.
“Weil [mein Sohn] schreit eh schon immer, weil ich nimmer sehe oft wer anruft,
weil das so klein ist bei mir geschrieben, weil ich so ein kleines Ding nur habe,
so eines [Seniorenhandy] hätte ich einmal gern, das kriege ich sicher bald einmal,
das, was größer geschrieben ist und wo die Zahlen größer oben sind und auch die
‘Drucker’ [Tasten] größer [sind], ja, das ist für ältere Leute sicher gut, ja,
finde ich gut.”603 (I5)
Although I1 is not interested in a senior cell phone, size is also important for her. She explains
only to have chosen her current smartphone ‘because it has such a beautiful, large display’604
(I1). When I1 retired, she wanted to continue using a computer at home but was unsure whether
to get a laptop or a tower PC. Finally, she decided to purchase a tower PC and still is very
content with her decision, also because of the device’s size: “Und ich bin sehr froh über den
großen Bildschirm, über die Maus, also ganz traditionell, ganz. Also ich mag diese
Herumscrollerei nicht und ich mag ein großes Gerät haben, das war gut”605 (I1).
603 ‘Because [my son] always calls on me because I often don’t see who is calling because everything is written
in such a small size, because I only have such a small thing, I would quite like to have such a phone
[a senior cell phone] sometime, I am sure I will get such a thing where everything is bigger and where the numbers
are bigger and also the buttons are bigger, yes, this surely is quite good for older people, yes, I think it’s good.’
(I5)
604 “weil es so ein schönes, großes Display hat” (I1)
605 ‘And I am very happy with the big screen, with the mouse, so very traditional, very. Well, I don’t like to
scroll and I want to have a big device, that was good.’ (I1)
269
In a similar fashion, I6 declares: “I like having a big screen,”606 talking about her tower PC
during the walking interview through her home. Throughout the tour of her home, I6 repeatedly
emphasizes her appreciation of the big screen, which comes in handy looking at photos or
skyping with her children. I10 opted for a ‘relatively substantial screen’607 to go with her PC
because she wanted to be able to read from it properly and not have to decipher ‘small fonts.’608
Comparing her tablet to her tower PC, I7 explains she prefers writing e-mails on the PC because
she favors ‘the big keyboard’609 on which she ‘feels more secure’610 typing. And I12,
replying to the question of whether she also uses the Internet on her cell phone, explains that
she that she does not like to do so ‘because the font is smaller.’611 Thus, she has to increase its
size, which in turn results in only being able to see a few words at a time.
5.9.3 The Challenge of Remembering Steps
Another problem that interviewees describe repeatedly with regard to accessibility and usability
of new ICTs is remembering certain steps, passwords, or movements. Remembering steps to
accomplish tasks on the computer has also been identified as a major obstacle for many seniors
in Sayago and Blat’s (2010:106; 115–17) massive ethnographic study with almost
400 participants. As the authors point out, difficulties to remember steps and the need for
repeated instructions are frustrating for older adults because they are used to be self-sufficient
adults (Sayago and Blat 2010:115). Other studies, such as Richardson et al.’s (2005:230),
have also found memory problems to be a proclaimed barrier for older peoples’ computer use.
Similarly to Sayago and Blat (2010:115), Richardson et al. (2005:232) argue that older adults
are especially annoyed by gaps in their computer knowledge because they are used to feeling
knowledgeable in other areas of life.
In this study, interviewees do also refer to the problem of remembering in different ICT-related
contexts. However, most accounts indeed concern difficulties of remembering steps on the
computer. I8, for example, shares her insecurities about using the Internet. She purposefully
tries to go online regularly in order to remember how to do things on the Internet.
606 ‘Ich habe gerne einen großen Bildschirm.’ (I6)
607 “relativ ordentlichen Bildschirm” (I10)
608 “Fuzelschrift” (I10)
609 “die große Tastatur” ( I7)
610 “fühle mich da sicherer” (I7)
611 “weil die Schrift kleiner ist” (I12)
270
She explains: “Aber wenn ich 14 Tage inzwischen […] oder drei Wochen gar nix tue,
dann muss ich schon wieder nachdenken. Also ich bin schon bemüht, dass ich wenigstens
alle zweiten Tage [es nutze], irgendwas fällt einem schon ein”612 (I8). Quite similarly,
I4 shares her difficulties of remembering certain steps on the computer. Talking about scanning
and forwarding scans via e-mail, she explains: “Ja, und alles, was man halt lange nicht macht,
ist weg oder [was man] nur ein-, zweimal macht. Alles, was man oft macht, bleibt eh drinnen.
Das merke ich immer wieder. Denke ich mir, ‘das muss ich mir merken’, aber es bleibt
nicht hängen”613 (I4). I6 perceives remembering steps on the computer as difficult:
“I think I have found various aspects of the computer quite challenging.
They say that people use about one per cent, I think I use about a quarter per cent.
Mainly because, I don't remember things, you know. How you do a tabella and all
that sort of [thing], I forget and then I have to be shown again. There's a lot of
online stuff with banking and stuff [where] I forget how to do it. It sounds stupid
but it does happen […]. The steps, and I'm absolutely helpless when something
goes wrong.”614
I7 at some point even participated in a computer class that her municipality organized
for seniors, where they were taught ‘essentials,’615 such as how to use Google or share pictures.
However, the knowledge she gained there has not proven to be very sustainable. She reveals:
“[…] [I]ch muss ehrlich sagen, ich müsste jetzt von vorn wieder anfangen, dass ich weiß,
wie das wieder geht”616 (I7). In addition, interviewees also report other areas
challenging their memory. I1 finds it difficult to remember her e-mail password at times.
612 ‘But if I sometimes do not use it at all for 14 days or three weeks, then I have to think again. So I am actually
trying to at least [use it] every other day, you can always think of something.’ (I8)
613 ‘Well and anything that you don’t do for a long time is gone, or [anything] you only do once or twice.
Anything you do often actually does stick. I notice that time and again. I think ‘I have to remember this,’
but it doesn’t stick.’ (I4)
614 ‘Ich denke ich habe verschiedene Aspekte des Computers als ziemliche Herausforderung empfunden.
Man sagt ja die Leute nutzen ungefähr ein Prozent, ich denke ich nutze ein Viertelprozent. Hauptsächlich weil ich
mich nicht an Dinge erinnere, weißt du. Wie macht man eine Tabelle und all diese [Dinge], Ich vergesse [das]
und muss es wieder gezeigt bekommen. Es gibt viele Onlinesachen, Banking und [solche] Dinge, [wo] ich vergesse
wie es geht. Es klingt blöd, aber es passiert […]. Die Schritte, und ich bin komplett hilflos wenn etwas schiefgeht.’
(I6)
615 “das Wichtigste” (I7)
616 ‘[…] [H]onestly, I have to say, I would have to start all over again in order to know again how that works.’
(I7)
271
Similarly, I10 exhibits difficulties remembering various passwords for webinars that
she likes to watch. Difficulties of remembering do not only concern steps on the computer
or passwords, but sometimes also specific movements. I8, for example, found it quite
challenging to learn how to work the screen of her smartphone to quit calls.
5.9.4 Fear of Failure
In terms of access barriers to new ICTs, (anticipated) costs, inadequate size of devices and
their components, as well as challenges in remembering task-related steps have all been voiced
most strongly by interviewees. However, they also repeatedly mentioned a feeling of loss of
control or fear thereof as a reason inhibiting their use of new ICTs. As argued previously,
fears of breaking media devices, which interviewees already experienced in their childhood,
have long-lasting effects. As illustrated before, this rather abstract feeling is described most
poignantly by I2: “Weil wir [als] ältere Generation haben das Handicap, dass wir glauben,
wir machen was kaputt. Das ist ganz tief in uns drinnen, also nicht nur in mir […].
‘Um Gottes Willen, wenn ich das jetzt mache, dann ist alles weg.’ So ungefähr.”617
However, I2 is not the only one to worry about making a mistake when using new ICTs.
I10 also explains she is afraid of ‘pressing wrong buttons’618 (I10) and worries about
‘destroying something’619 when using a device such as her smartphone.
“[Ich] [h]abe gerne jemanden dabei, der sich auskennt, weil im Fall des Falles,
bevor ich mir da vielleicht die Programme herunter lösche vor lauter falsche Tasten
drücken, also ich bin keiner, der probiert und […] was tut er da […]?
Das ist nicht meines. Da habe ich irgendwo unbewusst zu sehr die Angst, etwas zu
zerstören, ja zu löschen.”620 (I10)
617 ‘Because we, [as] an older generation, have the handicap of thinking we will break something.
This is very deep inside of us, so not only in me […]. ‘Good heavens, if I do that, then everything is gone.’
Something like that.’ (I2)
618 “falsche Tasten drücke” (I10)
619 “etwas zu zerstören” (I10)
620 ‘[…] [I] like to have somebody on my side who is familiar with it, just in case, so I do not delete the programs
perhaps because I am pressing wrong buttons, so I am not one to try and […] what is he doing there […]?
I don’t like that. Unconsciously, I am somehow too afraid of destroying something, well, to delete something.’
(I10)
272
I1, similarly to I3, is afraid of ‘unintentionally adjusting something in the wrong way’621
on the computer. And I6 explains to be “pretty helpless”622 “when something goes wrong.”623
Thus, I6 emphasizes that she would not be able to use the Internet without her family’s help:
“I don’t think I could do this if I was on my own entirely, without kids and without
a partner. Because of the experience of when it goes wrong. I don’t know what
to do. You know, if you gonna have to pay somebody and explain a basic thing
to you, you are not gonna do it. So I think a lot of people wouldn’t have the technical
knowledge to do that.”624
Expressing a similar sentiment, I7 anticipates the moment when she will have to replace her
traditional cell phone with a smartphone with some anxiety. This fear towards new ICTs also
extends to other devices, such as the computer. In this context she explains:
“Ja, […] irgendwie möchte ich schon, aber irgendwie, (seufzt) vielleicht bin ich
auch noch nicht so weit, weil ich habe immer Angst, wenn ich irgendwas mache
am PC oder was, ich lösche irgendwas oder ich verliere irgendwas oder ich verliere
dann die Sachen und dann geht gar nix mehr. […] [U]nd jeder sagt ich brauche
aber vor dem nicht Angst haben, das ist nicht so. Nur ich glaube, da müsste ich
wirklich noch einmal wirklich eine Schulung machen, dass ich mir da das Ganze
von Grund auf noch einmal zeigen lasse […].”625 (I7)
At another point, I7 describes ‘this anxiety, this barrier’626 to be a hindrance in doing
certain things online, as for example interacting with the pensions’ insurance agency.
As illustrated before, multiple interviewees (I6, I7, I8) are also concerned about sharing credit
card details online.
621 “dass ich etwas verstelle” (I1)
622 “ziemlich hilflos” (I6)
623 “wenn etwas schiefgeht” (I6)
624 ‘Ich denke nicht, dass ich es könnte wenn ich komplett alleine wäre, ohne Kinder und Partner.
Aufgrund der Erfahrung wenn es schiefgeht. Ich weiß nicht was ich machen soll. Weißt du, wenn du jemanden
bezahlen musst und jemand dir die simpleste Sache erklären muss, dann wirst du es nicht machen. Also denke ich
viele Leute haben nicht das technische Wissen um das zu machen.’ (I6)
625 ‘Well, […] somehow I would like to but somehow (sighs), maybe I am also not ready yet because I am
always afraid, if I do something on the PC or something, [that] I delete something or I loose something or I then
loose stuff and then nothing works anymore at all. […] [A]nd everybody says I do not have to be afraid of that,
it isn’t like that. But I think I would really have to do a course again, so I can be shown all of these things again
from the start […].’ (I7)
626 “diese Angst, diese Schwelle” (I7)
273
I8 refrains from online shopping because she would have to use a credit card and is worried
about making a mistake in doing so: “Da hätte ich schon Angst, dass ich einen Fehler mache
und [da] musst du ja, glaube ich, […] also voraus zahlen.”627 As can be seen from these
examples, there is a general fear of failure when interacting with new ICTs. Findings of
the present study resonate with results from Sayago and Blat’s (2010:114) investigation
in which they concluded that compared to efficiency, prevention of mistakes is considerably
more relevant to older computer users. Also the women participating in the qualitative strand
of the present study seem to prioritize prevention of mistakes in their interaction with new ICTs,
which is most likely related to their fear of making mistakes. However, as argued before,
interviewees also tend to downplay their own ICT skills, which might also explain some of the
insecurities they voiced.
5.10 Summary of Evaluations of ICTs in Everyday Life
Both new and old ICTs are predominately evaluated negatively by interviewees.
Although it is important to emphasize that interviewees did share a range of positive evaluations
of both new and old ICTs, the amount of negative assessments was considerably larger and
more detailed. As noted, this finding differs from results obtained in other previous studies
(Yuan et al. 2016; Mitzner et al. 2010, for digital and electronic technologies more broadly,
Richardson et al. 2005:235-36, for the computer). Although this dissonance might be caused
by factors such as differences in focus, design, and location of this and previous studies on
the matter, it certainly invites further investigation and future research on the topic of
older adults’ evaluations of ICTs.
The most important result of the analysis of interviewees’ evaluations of new and old ICTs
in retirement is that they often conceptualize them as some kind of ‘tool’ (I10) or
‘object of utility’ (I8). Thus, for the most part, interviewees characterize their relationship with
ICTs as rather functional. This finding matches with surprising accuracy White and Le Cornu’s
(2011) description of the “Visitor” mode as a type of engagement with the Internet.
As noted, according to White and Le Cornu (2011:n.p.), ‘Visitors’ think of the Internet as a
“garden tool shed,” where they can retrieve tools for specific tasks. After they have complete
the task, “Visitors” return the tool to the shed and leave it again (White and Le Cornu 2011).
627 ‘I would be afraid of making a mistake and you have to, well, I think […] to pay in advance.’ (I8)
274
In the present study, interviewees not only think of the Internet as a “garden tool shed”
(White and Le Cornu 2011:n.p.), but the cell phone and the computer as well are often
understood in similar terms. Even the radio and the TV are repeatedly framed as functional
tools (for example with regard to providing information). The idea of ICTs as ‘tool[s]’ (I10)
represents a biographical continuation from adulthood onwards. While in childhood and
adolescence media were overwhelmingly portrayed as entertaining and pleasurably,
this changes considerably in adulthood (even with regard to devices such as the TV).
From adulthood onwards, both new and old ICTs are perceived primarily as functional, and this
continues to be the case in retirement, as detailed in this chapter.
Because both radio and TV have been successfully domesticated and integrated in interviewees’
everyday lives, in Silverstone et al.’s (1994) terms, they are considered to be relatively
unproblematic and well-functioning tools in adulthood and retirement. This becomes evident
when interviewees describe them as easy to control and informative. Among the most valued
functions of old ICTs in retirement is their provision of information. Thus, it is not surprising
that interviewees’ criticism of old ICTs primarily revolves around programming.
Both radio and TV are seen as tools of accessing information. If they fail to fulfill this function
– because ‘primitive’ (I2) TV programs are shown or there happens to only be ‘hubbub’ (I11)
on the radio – interviewees are dissatisfied with old ICTs. Although social desirability most
likely also contributes to interviewees’ downplaying of old ICT’s relevance, particularly of their
function as entertainment, the great correspondence of old ICTs’ portrayal as functional tools
for accessing information across the qualitative material is noteworthy.
New ICTs, such as the cell phone, the computer, and the Internet, are mostly characterized as
tools by the interviewees. However, in contrast to old ICTs, they are considered to be
problematic and sometimes even dangerous tools. This becomes evident when interviewees
describe new ICTs as promoting cultural and social erosion, unsafe (in the case of the Internet),
time-consuming, complicated, and hazardous to health. Although interviewees do value
new ICTs as ‘object[s] of utility’ (I8), to increase their own and others’ safety, to maintain
a sense of connectedness to the world and to significant others, or to save money through online
shopping and Internet-based telephony, they simultaneously perceive them as problematic.
In the context of the evaluation of new ICTs, it is also important to note that interviewees often
combine references to broader societal discourses with concrete accounts of personal
experiences. Particularly, the discourse of new ICTs as harmful for children and adolescents
and the discourse of the Internet as a potentially unsafe space are relevant in this regard.
275
When interviewees address their familiarity with new ICTs (3), they characterize them as
‘object[s] of utility’ (I8). Because interviewees perceive new ICTs as functional tools,
some even keep them in places where one might also store other household appliances (3a),
such as a closet or a cold-storage room. In addition, new ICTs are also framed as complicated
tools in terms of their usability and accessibility (4). For example, interviewees frequently
report difficulties in remembering particular steps and procedures related to new ICTs (4c).
As a consequence of perceiving new ICTs as overly complicated tools, many interviewees also
report a fear of failure with regard to using them correctly (4d) and prefer big buttons, screens,
and fonts (4b) becasuse they are perceived to be easier to handle. However, in addition to
perceiving them as problematic tools, interviewees also identify two other important factors
which limit the accessibility of new ICTs: older women’s tendency to downplay their actual
ICT skills (3b), and last but not least, the financial resources that the purchase and maintenance
of new ICTs requires (4a).
276
6 Patterns of ICT Use in Everyday Life
After having illustrated important biographical influences on engagement with ICTs
in chapter 4 and current attitudes towards ICTs in retirement in chapter 5, this chapter focuses
on actual patterns of ICT use in retirement. As noted previously (Ratzenböck 2017a),
the analysis of the qualitative material shows that the older women interviewed use ICTs
creatively to shape their social roles, most importantly as senior members of a family network,
but also their more individual and personal identities. Through the repeated analysis of
the qualitative material, three types of ICT use could be established: family-centered ICT use
(Type 1), professional and community-oriented ICT use in retirement (Type 2),
and self-oriented and individually fulfilling ICT use (Type 3). These three types of use will be
described in detail in the following sections.
In this context, two points are important to note. Firstly, Type 2 of ICT use, professional and
community-oriented ICT use in retirement, and Type 3, self-oriented and individually fulfilling
ICT use, share some commonalities and theoretically could have been integrated into one type.
Both types address ICT use in retirement that does not revolve around the roles of a mother
and/or grandmother. Additionally, multiple of the activities that are characteristic for Type 2
and Type 3 could be understood in terms of leisure. For example, volunteering, which plays an
important role for Type 2, could also be characterized as individually fulfilling,
similar to watching an entertaining program on TV. The decision to differentiate between
Type 2 and Type 3 is based on the interviewees’ differentiation between the two.
In their narrations, interviewees distinguish between ICT use related to their roles as a mother
and/or grandmother, ICT use related to their integration into a broader social context
(the working world as well as local communities), and ICT use that is more self-oriented.
Since this project was inspired by a Grounded Theory perspective
(Glaser and Strauss 2009 [1967]; Corbin and Strauss 2015), the analysis of the qualitative
material closely followed interviewees’ genuine interpretations and thus the decision was made
to differentiate between Type 2 and Type 3 in the reporting of results. Secondly, it is important
to note that one individual can incorporate multiple types of use at the same time.
The types discussed represent patterns of use that can vary in their intensity and can
be combined; they are not mutually exclusive.
277
6.1 Family-Centered ICT Use628
Of all three types of ICT use in retirement identified, family-centered use is the most
important one. As previous analyses of the qualitative material have also shown,
for interviewees, talking about ICTs in retirement often means talking about relationships
(Ratzenböck 2017a:30). Many accounts of everyday use of ICTs revolve around interactions
with their grown-up children, grandchildren, and other family members. This is not surprising,
given that the grandmother role is one of the very few positive and highly socially legitimated
roles available to older women (see, for example, Calasanti and Slevin 2001:198;
Chivers 2003:xlvi). Thus, it can be argued that interviewees in many instances are keen to
consolidate their social role as a grandmother with using ICTs in retirement.
In addition, the relevance family-centered ICT use plays for interviewees in retirement connects
to the importance they already attached to collectivity in their media biography narrations.
As outlined before, media biography narrations are full of accounts on consuming traditional
media collectively in childhood and adolescence (see section 4.1.3), acquiring new ICT skills
collectively (see section 4.2.3), or perceiving new ICTs in the home as a “family thing” (I6)
(see section 4.3.2). Also in the context of current evaluations of ICTs, interviewees established
collectivity as an important frame of reference, for example highlighting the increased
connectivity new ICTs offer (see section 5.2.3) and simultaneously pointing to their socially
destructive effects (see section 5.5.1).
Looking into current patterns of engagement shows that collectivity is also highly relevant for
the use of ICTs in retirement. It is indeed the most important point of reference in this regard.
As Haddon (2006:175) has noted, engagement with ICTs is social, it is not just an end in itself,
but people often rather use them to interact with others. And, as he correctly argues,
this social aspect “influences the very interest that people take in some technologies
in the first place” (Haddon 2006b:175).
628 Partly, this subchapter builds on and develops further ideas the author developed in the paper
“Everyday Life Interactions of Women 60+ with ICTs: Creations of Meaning and Negotiations of ldentity”
(Ratzenböck 2017a).
278
6.1.1 Family Care Work with ICTs
For many interviewees, ICT use in retirement is not only connected to leisure but also to
family care work, as already noted in previous analyses of the qualitative material
(Ratzenböck 2017a:32). Often, they use ICTs to care for their families, most importantly
grown-up children and grandchildren, in a multiplicity of ways. As mentioned before,
already very early studies on ICT use in the home have established the gendered nature of
media use more generally, such as Gray’s (1992) investigation of the gendered use of the VCR
or Livingstone’s (1994:122) findings on the significance of the telephone for women’s
networking within the family.
Also in the context of older adults’ ICT use specifically, previous studies have highlighted
the importance of gender. While some studies, such as Sayago and Blat’s (2010:109)
investigation of seniors’ engagement with e-mail have found communication with children and
grandchildren to be important to older adults more generally and while they do not highlight
specific gender differences, other authors do so in this regard. As, for example,
Sawchuk and Crow (2012) have shown in their extensive interview study on cell phone use
with almost 240 seniors in Canada, gender also matters in the context of older ICT users.
In their study, numerous older women made references to their children and grandchildren when
talking about their cell phone use (Sawchuk and Crow 2012:497). Particularly grandchildren
seemed to be important to the women in Sawchuk and Crow’s (2012) study. However,
they were not able to find accounts on digital communication with grandchildren in any
of the interviews conducted with older men (Sawchuk and Crow 2012:503).
With regard to the gendered dimension of older adults’ ICT use, Ivan and Hebblewaithe (2016)
point to an early key study in this context: Quadrello et al.’s (2005) investigation of
grandparents’ communication with their grandchildren. Although at the time only
few grandparents in Quadrello et al.’s (2005) study reported to use new communication
technologies, if they did, grandmothers used e-mail more frequently than grandfathers to talk
to their grandchildren (2005:205;206). In their own, more current study on grandmothers’
use of Facebook, Ivan and Hebblethwaithe (2016:20) show that communication with family,
particularly grandchildren, is an important factor encouraging older women’s interest in
social media.
279
In the study at hand, interviewees use both new and traditional ICTs in the context of
caring for their grown-up children, grandchildren, and family in general. In addition,
new and old ICTs are also used to sustain extended social networks and to support
the performance of household chores. The qualitative material includes numerous accounts on
the use of ICTs in this regard. Of all interviewees, family care work supported by ICTs seems
to be most important for I3, I5, I7, and I9. Thus – with the exception of I9 – there is a tendency
of more limited users of new ICTs to use ICTs in the context of family care work at
an increased rate. In short, with regard to new ICTs, this means that if they use them,
they predominantly do so to care for their families.
During the interview with I3, it became evident that, despite having retired from her former job
as a secretary, she continues to be a busy family manager. She regularly cooks meals for her
entire intergenerational household, including herself and her husband, her son and her
daughter-in-law, as well as a grandson, and is also responsible for many other household chores.
At multiple instances, the interview is interrupted by various family members and she is
concerned about preparing lunch for the family and thus attempts to cut the interview short.
This is why parts of the interview were ultimately conducted in the kitchen, where I3 was busy
cooking lunch. When cooking, the radio is an important companion for I3 and the TV is also
connected to her responsibilities as a family manager. In addition to news and sports programs,
she likes to watch cooking shows. The identity of I3 as someone who cooks for the family is
also reinforced by I3’s husband who, repeatedly commenting on the interview, underscores her
interest in a particular cooking show. In addition, she explains that one older TV set
in the house, which features an integrated DVD player, is used for entertaining her
grandchildren when the adults are having a conversation.
With regard to her use of new ICTs, I3 states to ‘mainly’629 use the Internet for looking up
recipes, which she prefers to get online instead of from a printed cookbook. She also uses the
Internet to entertain her grandchildren who like to watch “Der [kleine] Rote Traktor” 630 online.
When talking about her cell phone, family is an important reference point for I3.
629 “hauptsächlich” (I3)
630 “Little Red Tractor”
280
She, for example, offers a story of her grandson messing with her previous cell phone on one
of their joint outings, which ultimately led to her having to get a new, more complicated device.
Not being happy with having had to get a new phone, she then tasked her grandson with
explaining the new device to her. Such intergenerational help in learning about new ICTs
is quite common among interviewees, as will be elaborated on in detail later on.
For interviewee 5, a seamstress and life-long homemaker and caregiver, particularly the
non-use of the Internet is an expression of her family care work, as already detailed
in section 5.5.3. Because she is busy taking care of her grandchildren, her family house, garden,
and dog, she does not have time to go online. Or, put differently: Because I5 already cares
so much for her significant others, she does not want to care for too many media technologies
in addition. As argued previously, this logic becomes evident when I5 compares herself to
a friend, whom she describes as an avid user of the Internet, but who only has
‘a small apartment’631 and ‘no grandkids.’632
Remarkably, early studies on Internet adoption among the general population described
a similar pattern. In her study, Bakardjieva (2005:142) states that some wives of Internet
adopters she studied experienced what she termed “a kind of identity conflict” with regard to
the Internet. Because they were busy homemakers, they expressed limited interest in the
Internet. As Bakardjieva (2005:142) explains with regard to the wives: “Their sense of who
they were and of their role in the home was incompatible with the idea of passively sitting in a
chair in front of a machine, especially during the day. Their specialty was the immediate
physical dealing with domestic objects, people, animals and plants.” Bakardjieva’s (2005) notes
on the generally gendered dimension of the perception of the Internet resonate with findings of
this study. Some of the women interviewed for this project, such as I5, also discursively
juxtapose family care work and the use of new media and do not find them to be compatible.
This resonance between the findings of Bakardijeva’s (2005) investigation and of the main
qualitative strand of the present study is noteworthy because Bakardijava’s study did not
exclusively focus on older Internet users, while the qualitative strand of this study does solely
consider older women. However, despite this difference in focus, a similar pattern emerged
in both studies, pointing to the pervasiveness of gendered patterns of media use – sometimes
also independent of age.
631 “eine kleine Wohnung” (I5)
632 “keine Enkelkinder” (I5)
281
This is important to note. It highlights the fact that research on older media users that does not
consider gender as an important factor is at risk of missing crucial elements of users’
sense-making processes. As Maierhofer (2003, 2004b, 2004a, 2007, 2012) has argued within
her approach of ‘anocriticism,’ it is key to consider the intersections of aging and gender.
The lives of older women differ from the ones of older men in terms of identity construction
and, consequently, gender and aging have to be considered as a single category of analysis
(see sections 1.2.2. and 1.2.3). This also proves to be the case in the context of engagement
with ICTs. While some elements of older women’s sense-making with regard to ICTs are
based on “generation location” (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]), and some on being advanced
in the life course (being retired), others are strongly connected to gender roles. To fully grasp
older women’s ICT experiences, we thus have to consider gender and aging in conjunction.
As noted, particularly the non-use of the Internet is related to I5’s role as a family care taker.
Similar to the Internet, I5 also reports not using the computer herself. One context in which
the computer is relevant to her, however, are digital photos of her grandchildren, which she
likes to share with her ‘group of women’ (I5) that she meets regularly. When she wants to share
photos of her grandchildren with her female friends, she tasks her husband with sorting
digital photos of the grandkids on the computer before they meet. This seems to be one of the
few proxy uses of the computer that I5 identifies as relevant, in her life as a busy grandmother
with lots of family care responsibilities. Similarly, the cell phone is important for being in touch
with her ‘group of women’ (I5), as well as with extended family, such as her sister-in-law.
In addition, she also mentions talking to her grandson on the cell phone. Thus, I5 uses her
cell phone as a tool for communication with her immediate ‘radius,’633 as she puts it.
If she wants to make calls to other people, she resorts to her husband’s cell phone. She explains:
“[…] [I]ch bin nicht einmal im Telefonbuch drinnen, nicht. Also nur was so die
Nummern von unserem eigenen ‘Ding’ sind, […] mehr brauche ich nicht und
die Nummern, was ich halt so in unserem Umkreis telefoniere und in der Familie
und mit Verwandten, die habe ich alle drinnen [im Handy] und wenn etwas anderes,
was außerhalb von dem ist, dann, der [Ehemann] hat das [Handy] angemeldet […]
und dann tun wir halt mit dem [telefonieren].”634 (I5)
633 “Umkreis” (I5)
634 “[…] [I] am not even in the phone book, right. So only, numbers that are from our own ‘thing,’ […] I don’t
need any others and the numbers that I use to talk to our circle and within the family and with relatives,
they are all in [the cell phone] and if there’s something else, beyond that, then, he [her husband] has registered it
[his phone] […] and then we use this one [for calling].” (I5)
282
Remarkably, I5 has also already used the radio – which usually is only a one-way medium –
to communicate with family members. In the interview, she shares the story of how she
extended birthday wishes to ‘grandma’635 on her 80th birthday (it remains unclear whether this
is her mother or her husband’s mother) on a morning radio show. To share her birthday wishes
with ‘grandma,’ I5 called the radio station by telephone and they then broadcasted her birthday
wishes. While some might use e-mail or cell phone messaging to convey birthday wishes,
I5 exemplifies that traditional media can also be used for (one-way) communication
with family.
Interviewee 7, a former owner of a grocery store who continues to work part-time
as a shop assistant, frames her ICT use predominantly in terms of family care work.
Comparably to I5, I7 also conveys the notion that family care responsibilities,
such as looking after her grandchildren, have prevented her from using new ICTs
more intensely. While she has participated in a seniors’ computer class before,
she currently finds herself too busy performing family care work to do so again. I7 states:
“[…] [I]ch wollte jetzt schon immer irgendwann einmal mitmachen
[bei einem Computerkurs], weil es machen ja Schüler Kurse für Senioren.
Und nur das ist [sich] jetzt zeitmäßig mit den Kindern [meint Enkelkinder] jetzt
eigentlich nie ausgegangen, weil am Anfang habe ich den [Enkelsohn] gehabt zum
Schauen und es ist immer irgendwas gewesen, sodass ich zeitmäßig einfach nicht
zusammengekommen bin […].”636
While I7’s claim could also be read as a socially desirable statement in an interview situation,
a justification for her limited engagement with the Internet, generically pointing to
a lack of time, other parts of the conversation support her claim to be a
very busy family manager. As already detailed in section 5.5.3, she also explains
not to have enough time for the use of her tablet because of the family care work that she
performs: “Aber es ist auch eine Zeitfrage das Ganze. Und ich meine, du weißt eh,
ich koche für die ganze Familie immer und ich mache alles, ich tue waschen, bügeln und
das Ganze, ich meine, so viel Zeit habe ich dann gar nicht [….]”637 (I7).
635 “Oma” (I5)
636 "[...] [I] I have always wanted to participate [in a computer class] at some point [...] because there are
students offering courses for seniors. But I never managed time-wise with the kids [referring to grandchildren]
because at the beginning I had to watch [my grandson] and there was always something, so [...] I never managed
time-wise [...]." (I7)
637 ‘But it is also a matter of time, all of it. And I mean, well, you know I always cook for the entire family
and do everything, I do the laundry, ironing and all, I mean I do not have so much time actually […].’ (I7)
283
Observations during the interview confirm her commitment to family caretaking.
Similarly to substantial parts of the interview with I3, the conversation with I7 also took place
in her kitchen, in order for her to be able to simultaneously bake something. At another point,
the interview was interrupted because she had to do the laundry, which she does for her entire
big intergenerational household. Interestingly, I7 reports to have imagined retirement as
an opportunity for intensified engagement with new ICTs, but that having and caring for
grandchildren made this impossible.
“[...] [I]ch habe immer gedacht, wenn ich in Pension bin, dann werde ich mich
mit dem mehr auseinandersetzen, aber (lacht) dann sind die vier kleinen Kinder
[meint Enkelkinder] gekommen und jetzt habe ich für das noch weniger Zeit wie
vorher (lacht). Vielleicht wenn sie jetzt größer werden und dann in die Schule
kommen und alles, vielleicht kann ich dann wieder mehr internetmäßig nützen.”638
(I7)
This sentiment comes up repeatedly during the interview. I7, for example, also explains that
she used to exchange e-mails with a friend whom she met at a health resort, but nowadays is
too busy watching her grandkids to sustain this exchange on a regular basis.
However, for I7, not only the non-use of new ICTs, but also their actual use is often connected
to her grandkids. For example, she likes to use her tablet for entertaining her grandchildren,
when they come over to her part of the property, while she is doing household chores.
She states: “Die [Enkelkinder], wenn sie halt da bei mir sind, [sagen]: ‘Oma, [lass uns] Tablet
schauen, bitte!’ Naja, und wenn ich halt kochen tue oder irgend[was] putzen oder
zusammenräumen oder irgendwas mache, dann dürfen sie halt eine halbe Stunde schauen
oder was. Und sonst tun wir spielen”639 (I7). This kind of entertainment of her grandchildren
using her tablet comes up repeatedly in the interview. In addition to entertainment,
I7 also uses new ICTs for other kinds of care work that she performs for her grandchildren.
638 “[...] [I] have always thought that once I am retired I will engage with it much more, but (laughs) then there
were four small children [refers to grandkids] and now I have even less time for this than before (laughs).
Maybe when they grow up and eventually go to school and everything, maybe then I can use the Internet more
again.” (I7)
639 ‘The [grandkids], when they are over at my place, [say]: ‘Grandma, [can we] watch the tablet, please!’
And well, when I am cooking or cleaning some[thing] or tidying up or doing something, then they are allowed to
watch for half an hour or so. Otherwise we play together.’ (I7)
284
Among others, she explains that she keeps her cell phone close to be available to pick
the grandkids up anytime if necessary. Answering the question of how often she uses
her cell phone, I7 states:
“[...] [N]achdem ich die Kinder [meint Enkelkinder], die kleinen, und alles habe,
es war schon zwei Mal so, die [Schwiegertochter] arbeitet und die Schule ruft an
[...] [um mitzuteilen], dem [Enkelsohn] geht es nicht gut, er ist zum Abholen.
Ich meine, zum guten Glück war ich immer erreichbar sofort und habe ihn holen
können und das sind dann auch Sachen im Hinterkopf, wo ich mir denke,
na, wenn ich das Handy mithabe, bin ich erreichbar und dann kann nix sein
in dem Sinn. Also [...], irgendwo bin ich schon ein bisschen abhängig.”640
I7 also uses the cell phone to talk to her adult children, primarily her grown-up daughter,
and other family members, such as her sister. However, talking about new ICTs, her
grandchildren are I7’s most important point of reference. In addition to entertaining them with
her tablet and tending to their needs through using her cell phone, she also reports looking up
information on her grandson’s chronic illness using a search engine.
In addition, in the context of traditional media, her narration often revolves around her
grandchildren and adult children. For example, similar to the tablet, she uses the TV to entertain
her grandchildren. She also likes listening to the radio with her grown-up daughter,
despite her different preferences of radio stations, and mainly uses the landline phone to call
family members living on the same property.
As mentioned before, of all interviewees, I3 and I5 can be considered the weakest users of
new ICTs, and I7 is a moderate user of new ICTs. Thus, interviewee 9, a former accountant
who continues to work part-time in retirement, is the only stronger user of new ICTs for whom
family care work is particularly relevant with regard to everyday media interactions.
In this context, the cell phone is most important for I9, which she utilizes to care for her
grown-up sons. In the interview, she uses a wealth of words and images to describe how
the cell phone serves as a vital link between herself and her sons.
640 ‘[...] [B]ecause I look after the kids [refers to grandkids], the small ones, and everything,
it already happened two times that while [my daughter-in-law] was at work and the school calls [...]
[to inform us] that [my grandson] is unwell, he has to be picked up. And I mean, fortunately, I have always been
available right away and able to pick him up and these are the things in the back of my mind, where I think, well,
if have the cell phone with me, I am available and then nothing can happen in that sense. Well [...] in some way
I am a bit dependent.’ (I7)
285
“Ja also das Handy ist wie eine Nabelschnur. So ohne das Handy, das muss ich
echt sagen, das klingt jetzt echt blöd, aber [...] da fehlt etwas, da bin ich nicht
verbunden mit der Welt. Also das siehst [du], sogar im Schlafzimmer ist es drinnen.
In der Nacht [ist es] auf leise gestellt, aber da habe ich immer Angst, [um] die zwei
Söhne und ich weiß nicht warum, aber ich habe immer Angst, wenn die mich
anrufen und ich bin nicht erreichbar da. Ich muss für die [Söhne] immer
erreichbar sein.”641 (I9)
Referring to it as an ‘umbilical cord,’642 I9 indicates that the cell phone is the most important
tool to care for her sons. However, she also uses e-mail and Skype to be in touch with them,
for example to invite them for lunch on Sundays. The transcript includes numerous detailed
accounts on how I9 uses new ICTs to communicate with her grown-up sons. In addition,
she also explains that she does the taxes for one of her sons online because he has never done
this himself.
As stated at the beginning of the chapter, the identified types of ICT use in retirement represent
patterns of use that are not mutually exclusive. Thus, the three main types of use identified are
relevant to many participants in one way or another. Although I3’s, I5’s, I7’s, and I9’s use of
ICTs in retirement can be characterized best in terms of family care work, they, for example,
sometimes also use ICTs professionally or for individual fulfillment. Vice versa,
also other interviewees than I3, I5, I7, and I9 use ICTs in the context of family care work.
The qualitative material includes an abundance of examples of family care work done
with the help of both new and old ICTs. For example, multiple other interviewees also use
the computer to entertain and teach their grandkids. I1 shares the story of how
her granddaughter learned to typewrite on her PC and also states that both her grandson
and her granddaughter like to play games on it. I4 has her grandkids watch photos
on the computer or look up instructions for crafts and information on animals
in order to entertain them. Similar to the computer, the cell phone is another important tool for
interviewees to care for their grandchildren. I8, for example, likes to entertain her four
grandchildren with the cell phone by allowing them to look at pictures on the phone.
641 ‘Well the cell phone is like an umbilical cord. Without the cell phone I have to say, that might sound strange,
but then [without the cell phone] I feel [that] something is missing, then I am not connected with the world.
You see, it is even in the bedroom. At night, I put it on silent mode but I am always worried [about] the two sons,
and I don’t know why, but I am always worried if they would call and I am not available. I always have to be
available for them.’ (I9)
642 “Nabelschnur” (I9)
286
Beyond entertaining and teaching, the cell phone is relevant for interviewees’ caring for
their grandchildren. For example, I4 coordinates appointments for her grandchildren,
such as doctor’s visits, using her cell phone. Lastly, similarly to I3, I5, and I7, other interviewees
also use traditional media to entertain their grandkids. I8 reports that she puts on TV series
to entertain her grandkids and I4 also uses the TV to comfort them. Some, such as I1,
also talk about the radio as a source of entertainment for their grandkids.
In addition, interviewees also use the Internet to communicate with their grown-up children
via Skype (I1, I6, I8) or to follow family events, such as birthdays (I8) or vacations (I11)
on Facebook or to check on the family on Facebook more generally (I6). I11 likes to organize
annual trips with her grown-up children over the Internet and to send them pictures of
homemade pastries or seasonal decorations from her tablet. I6 reports buying gifts for her
grown-up children online and, similarly to I9, explains to always have her cell phone turned on,
“24 hours a day,”643 so she can always “be informed if anything happened to [her] kids.”644
In a similar effort to support their grown-up children, also other interviewees than I3, I5, I7,
and I9, use the cell phone to be in touch with them or assist them with current matters
in their lives. I8, for example, helps her son who is building house by coordinating activities
on the construction site. She answers calls from contractors or makes calls on behalf of her son,
for example arranging appointments for him at regional agencies. However, interviewees also
check in on their grown-up children more generally using their cell phones (I8, I11, I12).
For some, WhatsApp (I8, I10) or text messaging (I11) are relevant in this context.
Additionally, caring for other relatives sometimes involves the cell phone and the Internet.
I12, for example, regularly checks on her old mother at home using her cell phone whenever
she is traveling. Others again use the Internet to be in touch with relatives. I1, for example,
uses e-mail to communicate with relatives living abroad.
In addition to caring for their grandchildren, grown-up children, and other relatives,
interviewees also use new ICTs to sustain their larger social networks. While this kind of use
is not family care work in the strict sense, it nonetheless aims at fostering social bonds and
is an expression of caring for others. Sometimes, participants even use this very expression
to describe this kind of ICT use.
643 ‘24 Stunden am Tag’ (I6)
644 ‘informiert werden, wenn [ihren] Kindern etwas passiert’ (I6)
287
For example, I9 explains how she cares for her acquaintances by checking in on them via SMS
if she has not heard from them in a while:
“[...] [D]ie paar Bekannten, die ich habe, [um die] kümmere ich mich dann schon
[...] und wenn ich von der jetzt einmal länger nix gehört habe, dann schicke ich ein
SMS und frage: ‘Hallo, [wie] geht es dir, ist alles in Ordnung?’. Aber das mache
ich lieber per SMS und dann rufen sie mich eh oft zurück, weil dann liegt es an der
Person, ob sie will Kontakt haben oder nicht, [...] also mir geht es halt oft so, dass
ich mir sage, nein, ich mag heute eigentlich gar nicht mit wem reden und dann [...]
finde ich das SMS-Schicken auch eine Alternative.”645
Moreover, I9 also reports helping many of her friends with their online worker’s tax assessment.
Similarly, I12, another strong user of new ICTs, helps some of her friends filling out forms
on the Internet. As mentioned in section 5.2.2, I12 also performs a practice that she terms
‘control call.’ Particularly in winter, she and two of her friends call each other regularly,
to check in on each other and to make sure that the other one is okay.
Besides immediate help and caretaking, most interviewees also maintain friendships more
generally using new ICTs. For example, I3 explains that she sometimes writes long e-mails
to an acquaintance, which she perceives to be a substitute for writing letters. E-mails are also
considered a useful channel of communication with acquaintances and friends by others,
such as I6, I7, I9, I11, and I12. I4 explains that she calls her friends to arrange meetings,
while I11 reports that she prefers text messages for organizing gatherings with her friends.
As mentioned, I5 regularly talks to her circle of friends on the cell phone, and I10 also likes to
keep in touch with her friends this way. I10 also reports sometimes having lengthy
conversations on the cell phone, but she also enjoys talking on Facebook or WhatsApp.
I12 even explains to be part of a large group of about 30 acquaintances who regularly send
messages to each other on WhatsApp.
645 ‘[...] [I] actually do care for the few acquaintances that I have [...] and if I haven’t heard from her
for a while, then I send a SMS and ask: ‘Hi, [how] are you, is everything alright?’. But I like to use SMS for this
and then they actually do call me back quite often, because then it is up to the person whether she wants to be
in touch or not, [...] well I often feel like no, I don’t feel like talking to somebody today and then [...] sending
a SMS is also an alternative, I think.’ (I9)
288
In this context, it is key to note that participants can attribute different meanings to apparently
similar interactions with friends. While some interactions with friends can be interpreted as acts
of caretaking, checking in with them and asking how they are, other interactions might serve
the purpose of entertainment or leisurely exchange. The latter will be elaborated on in more
detail in section 6.3.3.
Besides entertaining grandchildren and checking on grown-up children and friends
(among others), participants also use old and new ICTs in the context of caring for their
household by performing domestic labor.646 As noted before, as Gray (1992) has argued
investigating women’s engagement with the VCR, the home is a gendered space also with
regard to media use. She, for example, showed that women tend to be more “distracted viewers”
of television because they also perceive the home as a place of labor (Gray 1992:125).
In the study at hand, interviewees often use old ICTs, such as the TV (I1, I2, I7, I8) or radio
(I4, I5, I12) as entertainment in the background while ironing. Only I11 reports liking to watch
things on her iPad while ironing. I2, I3, I5, I7, I8, and I9 like to listen to the radio while cooking.
I6 instead prefers listening to podcasts on her iPod, and I11 again likes using her iPad
when cooking. While I2 decisively argues against having a TV set in her kitchen because she
is ‘no American,’647 as already noted in a previous analysis (Ratzenböck 2017b:259–60),
I8 instead explains that she does enjoy watching TV when preparing meals.
“Ich habe da gekocht [heute am Vormittag] und es ist ganz eine blöde
Angewohnheit, aber der Fernseher rennt, ich schaue eigentlich gar nie hin,
[...] oder beim Bügeln, irgendwas schaue ich dann halt oft. [...] Das ist wirklich
eine Angewohnheit [...], eine dumme halt, dass man einen Fernseher einschaltet
während dem Kochen [...]. Ich habe früher den Fernseher nie eingeschaltet
bei einer Arbeit, außer beim Bügeln, das habe ich immer schon gemacht.”648 (I8)
646 As noted, in her study, Buse (2009:1153) also found that multiple of the older women she interviewed
as part of her investigation on older adults’ ICT engagement used old ICTs as a backdrop while completing
domestic chores.
647 “nicht eine Amerikanerin” (I2)
648 ‘I have been cooking [this morning] and it is a very bad habit, but the TV is on, I actually never look at it
[...] or during ironing, I often watch something. [...] It is a [...] habit [...], a bad one, to have the TV on
while cooking [...]. [...] I never used to turn the TV on while doing work [referring to household chores],
except for ironing, I have always done that.’ (I8)
289
As argued elsewhere (Ratzenböck 2017a:32), it is key to note that I8 refers to household chores
using the term ‘work.’649 It is important to also investigate older women’s ICT use in terms of
labor and not only leisure. In addition to TV and radio, some participants also use new ICTs f
or the management of their household. E-banking, that most of the women report to use
(I1, I2, I3, I7, I8, I9, I10, I12), can be considered part of their household management.
Some also use new ICTs for household accounting. I4, for example, keeps lists of all her
expenses on the computer. Similarly, I12 keeps an Excel list in which she notes down monthly
household costs (e.g. for electricity). I9 prints all her bank account details at the end of
every month to monitor account movements. And, as mentioned in section 5.2.1,
multiple interviewees (I3, I4, I7, I8, I11) also like to look for recipes online. I7 reports also
writing down and printing recipes using Word on her PC.
6.1.2 Family History Writing with ICTs
In addition to care work, family-centered use of ICTs also includes documentation of
family life. While previous investigations have mentioned research on their own family history
(genealogy) to be a particularly popular Internet activity among older adults (Buse 2009:1149;
Quan-Haase et al. 2016:698–99), interviewees of this study are interested in family history
in a different regard. For multiple interviewees, ICTs are relevant tools to make and preserve
family memories. This kind of media use has also been described as interesting for older adults
by Neves and Amaro (2012:n.p.), who mention the relevance of family photos on the computer
and state that the mobile phone can be interpreted as a “family ‘memory box’” containing
family memories. And Ivan and Hebblethwaite (2016) identified photos of children and
grandchildren as decisive motivational factors for grandmothers to use the Internet.
However, these studies did not look into the practice of family history writing in its full detail
as a creative activity.
649 “Arbeit” (I8)
290
In this study, interviewees use ICTs in various ways to make and preserve family history. Out
of all the interviewees, this kind of media use has proven to be especially important for I1, I2,
and I4. Answering a follow-up question on what she does with digital photos saved on
her computer, interviewee 2, a former secretary and homemaker, explains to ‘archive’650
them in order to make a photo book to ‘record history.’651
“Ja, die werden archiviert, da mache ich dann ein Fotobuch, bin ich dabei,
‘2014 – the best of’ zu machen, das ist viel Arbeit, nicht. Das ist natürlich auch schön,
weil das ist ja auch Geschichte festhalten, weil ich kann mich gerade erinnern,
wie die Kinder beide ihre Lebenspartner kennengelernt haben, sind sie gekommen und
haben bei mir Babyfotos hergezeigt, den zukünftigen Ehegesponsen. Und da habe ich
mir gedacht: ‘Ja, schau, das ist auch Geschichte! Das ist dein Erbe, deine Familie,
das ist ja ganz, sowie, na, das ist auch digital.’ (lacht) [...] Ja, also das ist schon
was Tolles, das unterscheidet uns ja auch von anderen Lebewesen,
dass wir Geschichte haben, wir Menschen. Und da ist Fotografieren ein ganz
ein tolles Ding, nicht.”652
In addition to the digital photo book, I2 also states working on a ‘family chronicle.’653
For this enterprise, she has been scanning family photos, for example old photos of her husband
growing up in the countryside. The fact that she lives alone and might move to a retirement
home one day has encouraged this project. She likes the prospect of being able to look at
family photos in the retirement home some day in the future. However, besides preserving
family memories, I2 is also keen on producing new ones. She, for example, likes to take pictures
of her grandchildren with her iPad to capture ‘the atmosphere’654 of the moment. I2’s interest
in documenting family life can be traced back to earlier moments in her biography,
when she talks about how she loved to capture family life on super 8 film or used her camera
as a younger woman.
650 “werden archiviert” (I2)
651 “Geschichte festhalten” (I2)
652 ‘Well, they are being archived, then I make a photobook, I am about to make ‘2014 – the best of,’ t
hat is a lot of work, right. It is of course also wonderful because it means to record history because I remember
right now when the kids met their partners, they came and showed their future spouses [their] baby photos.
And at that point I thought: ‘Well, look, also this is history! This is your legacy, your family, this is absolutely,
like, well also this is digital.’ (laughs) [...] Well, it actually is a great thing, that distinguishes us from other beings,
that we have history, us humans. And in this regard photography is a great thing, right.’ (I2)
653 “Familienchronik” (I2)
654 “die Atmosphäre” (I2)
291
Interviewee 1, a former secretary, enjoys designig photo books digitally using family photos,
as well as doing photo calendars digitally. She designs multiple photo calendars during the year
and gives individualized versions of them to different family members, such as her
grandchildren, grown-up children, and her husband, on special occasions such as birthdays
or Christmas. For her son’s 40th birthday she also made a photo book containing old
scanned photos, as well as scans of drawings her children made when they were small.
Talking about the production of the photo book, I1 shares her concerns about the quality of
digitally designed photo books compared to traditional photo albums. While she positively
comments on the efficiency of digitally designed photo books in using less space and
being lighter, she is worried about their durability and whether people will still be able to look
at them decades from now.
“Das ist also schon was Tolles, diese Fotobücher. Vor allem, sie brauchen viel
weniger Platz, das ist der Vorteil gegenüber einem Fotoalbum. Viel leichter,
viel besser! Werden wir sehen wie die Qualität bleibt. Ich meine die hundert Jahre
oder achtzig Jahre alten Fotos sind heute noch gut, wobei man nicht weiß,
wie das sich weiterentwickelt. Aber gut, das braucht mich eigentlich auch nicht zu
bekümmern (lacht).”655 (I1)
This statement indicates that I1 considers issues of archiving to be relevant in the context of
family photos. They are not only for her own memory but also meant for others to look at
in the future. On the one hand, it seems important to I1 to value and remember her own past
family work and to pass on her own memories to her children. One of the photos
in the photo book, for example, shows her as a young pregnant woman. On the other hand,
she wants to create sustainable archives for her children’s own memorabilia,
such as their childhood paintings, by scanning them and including them in the digitally
designed photo books. In addition to archiving photos and paintings, I1 reports keeping a
‘family diary’656 to remember moments that ‘particularly moved’657 her, using Word on her PC.
655 ‘They are great, these photo books. Especially because they need much less space, that is the advantage
over a photo album. Much lighter, much better! We will see if the quality remains the same. I mean, photos which
are a hundred or eighty years old are still good today, although one does not know how this will develop. But well,
I actually do not have to be concerned about that. (laughs)’ (I1)
656 “Familientagebuch” (I1)
657 “besonders bewegt” (I1)
292
Similarly to I2, I1 also started documenting family life early on. For this, she also liked to use
super 8 film in previous times. Other traditional media also played a role in her archiving of
family life. For example, she used cassettes to record choir performances she and her daughter
participated in and had an old traditional photo album containing childhood images of
her husband restored at some point.
While interviewee 4, a former accountant, likes to keep family photos on the computer
(similar to I1 and I2), Word documents play an even more prominent role in her family history
writing than photos. Among other documents, she keeps a kind of family chronicle or
family logbook in order to maintain an overview of her extensive and continuously extending
kinship network. She explains:
“[...] [E]s klingt komisch, aber [...] wir haben eine große Verwandtschaft,
die habe ich einmal alle notiert mit ihren Geschwistern und deren Kinder und deren
Kinder und da schreibe ich mir halt gewisse Dinge nieder [...] weil das kannst dir
nicht alles merken [...] (lacht). [...] [D]a [bei den Verwandten] waren wir schon
so lang nicht mehr, schaue ich hinein [in die Datei], wie hat der geheißen,
wie heißt das Kind, wie alt ist das Kind, das hilft viel weiter und erspart
Peinlichkeiten (lacht) beim Besuch.” 658 (I4)
Apparently, I4’s husband has many siblings and she is afraid of losing the overview of
the family network if she would not keep her file. Whenever somebody in the family has
another child, she updates the document to keep track of all the nieces and nephews and more
distant relatives. The family chronicle is her way of ensuring that she maintains a ‘rough’659
idea of the system of relatives.
Besides using a Word file to create a family chronicle, I4 also uses the program for
note-taking more generally. She reports occasionally noting down ‘a funny saying or
a great saying,’660 as well as speeches from family birthday celebrations. Interestingly,
I4 explains that ‘one actually does not need’661 these notes, but that she likes to keep
them nevertheless: “Kein Mensch braucht das, aber man macht, weil man hat.”662
658 ‘[...] [S]ounds weird, but [...] we have a big family and at some point I have noted down everybody with
their siblings and their kids and there I note down certain things [...] because you cannot remember all of this [...]
(laughs). [If] we did not get there [to her relatives' place] for a long time, I take a look [at the file],
what was his name, what was the kid's name, how old is the kid, that helps a lot and prevents embarrassments
(laughs) when visiting.’ (I4)
659 “ungefähr” (I4)
660 “lustiger Spruch oder ein toller Spruch” (I4)
661 “eigentlich braucht man das nicht” (I4)
662 ‘Nobody needs this, but one does it because you have it.’ (I4)
293
In this context, the idea of archiving seems to be important again. Even if there is no set purpose
for some notes at a certain moment, she likes to keep them – perhaps because their relevance
cannot be determined yet. Although Word documents are most important in I4’s narration,
she also mentions photos in the context of documenting family life. She, for example,
keeps photos of family vacations on the computer.
As stated at the beginning of this section, in the context of family history writing supported by
(almost exclusively new) ICTs, I1, I2, and I4 demonstrate the most extensive use.
However, as it is also the case with all other patterns of use, to a lesser degree it is also relevant
for other interviewees. Unsurprisingly, most accounts on documenting family life revolve
around taking, keeping, and looking at digital photos. For example, I3 reports that she got
a digital camera when her grandson was born and ‘started to take many photos.’663
She saves these digital family pictures on her computer, describing them as
‘a quite beautiful collection’664 which she would like to pass on to the next generation.
Similarly, although reporting not to use the PC herself, I5 attaches a lot of importance to photos
of her grandchildren on the computer and, as noted, has her husband sort them for her.
I7 also repeatedly highlights the relevance of family photos on her computer,
which she organizes with great attention to detail. For example, she keeps separate folders on
her computer containing digital photos of each of her grandchildren. Occasionally,
she also likes to look at these digital photos for stretches of time that can extend to an hour.
While taking, saving, and reviewing digital family photos are the most prominent activities with
regard to family history writing, it is also relevant in other contexts, as illustrated by the example
of the family chronicle or family logbook that I4 keeps. Additional examples from the material
include the following. I6 offers a story on an incident where she disagreed with their daughter
uploading photos of a family Christmas celebration on Facebook. While she was also concerned
about privacy, the incident can also be read as a struggle over the proper management of
family memories. Apparently, I6’s daughter would have liked to share them more broadly,
while I6 herself considers these photos to belong to her family only. And I9, as well as I2,
seem to have taken archiving to a different level, not only keeping files but also media devices.
663 “begonnen, sehr viel zu fotografieren” (I3)
664 “eine ganz eine schöne Sammlung” (I3)
294
As illustrated before (Ratzenböck 2017b:258), I2 describes an old sound recording device t
hat belonged to her deceased husband and which she still keeps without using as a
‘museum piece.’665 While I2 apparently keeps the device stored in a closet in her living room
because it once cost ‘heaps of money’666 and can thus not easily be discarded,
I9 foregrounds different reasons for archiving old media devices. I9 reports to have stored
an old video game console of her sons in the cellar, as well as an old radio from the 1960s that
originally belonged to her deceased husband. Asked why she keeps the radio, she explains that
it serves as a memory of her husband and that one day it will be her sons’ decision whether
to keep the radio or not, once they have inherited it. While the radio does still work properly,
as I9 eagerly demonstrates during the media tour through her home, the gaming console and
its accessories have not been in use in for quite some time. Actually, I9 accidentally discarded
some parts of it at one point. However, after her sons inquired about it at some occasion,
she purchased the same model online again to have it stored in case the sons ask about it again.
– One could say that it has been archived until further notice.
6.1.3 Intergenerational Learning about New ICTs
In addition to caretaking and documenting family life, a third important aspect of
family-centered ICT use in retirement is intergenerational learning. As illustrated in
a previous analysis of the material (Ratzenböck 2017a:32), intergenerational consultation
represents participants’ most prominent learning strategy regarding the use of new ICTs.
Although they also report employing trial and error strategies (I1, I2, I3, I6, I9, I11, I12),
to consult professionals, such as shop assistants, technicians, and call centers
(I1, I9, I10, I11, I12), or to ask friends, neighbors, colleagues667 or former employees
(I1, I0, I11) for assistance, interviewees most often ask family members for help when
they encounter difficulties with their cell phones or computers. Mostly, they consult
younger family members – their grown-up children, children-in-law, or grandchildren.
665 “Museumsstück” (I2)
666 “ein Schweinegeld” (I2)
667 Although retired, I9 continues to work part-time as an accountant.
295
Previous studies have also identified intergenerational relations as important,
either in the context of taking up new ICTs in the first place (Gatto and Tak 2008:804),
for assistance once devices have been acquired (Quan-Haase et al. 2016:701), or for both
(Hardill and Olphert 2012:1311; Neves and Amaro 2012:n.p.; Suopajärvi 2015:117;
Selwyn 2004:373–374, 2004:380).
Intergenerational help with new ICTs can take on three main forms: (a) assistance in acquisition
of the device, (b) showing and explaining the use of specific functions, or (c) proxy use –
outsourcing certain tasks to others altogether. Assistance in acquisition can include handing
down devices, as well as newly purchased gifts, or consultation on purchase options.
Particularly in the case of the cell phone, it seems to be common for adult children
to hand down their used devices to their older parents in some countries,
as Fernández-Ardèvol and Ivan (2016:91) have shown. In the study at hand, however,
only two interviewees (I2, I10) had received their smartphones from their children
as hand-down devices. I5 had obtained her and her husband’s computer from their
grown-up son when he upgraded to a new one. Multiple interviewees had also received ICTs
as newly purchased gifts from their children. I3 reports to have been given a DVD player by her
son as a gift for Christmas and both I7 and I11 had gotten tablets from their grown-up children
as presents. Other studies, such as Suopajärvi’s (2015:115–16) report the relevance of
adult children and other relatives in providing older adults with cell phones, not detailing,
however, whether as hand-down devices or gifts.
In the qualitative strand of the study at hand, neither hand-down devices nor gifts were the
most relevant in the context of the acquisition of new ICTs, but consultations were.
Often, interviewees asked their children for advice on which computer or cell phone to buy
for themselves. One reason why interviewees of this study prefer to buy new devices themselves
might be economic circumstances. Fernández-Ardèvol and Ivan’s (2016) study included
older adults from Romania and Spain – both countries with a GDP per capita considerably
lower than that of Austria (Eurostat 2019). A country’s standard of living might be a relevant
factor in the prevalence of different forms of assistance in acquisition of new ICTs.
However, this can only be one of several potential factors. Suopajärvi’s (2015) study,
for example, was conducted in Finland, where GDP per capita is comparable to that of Austria
(Eurostat 2019). Thus, there also seem to be other, perhaps cultural, factors influencing the
prevalence of hand-down devices and ICT gifts by family members. This matter should be
investigated further in future research.
296
As stated, in the study at hand, interviewees prefer to buy new ICT devices themselves and only
seek their children’s input. Interviewees asked their daughters, sons-in-law, and – most often –
sons for advice when they thought of buying a new device. Of all interviewees, I3 describes
the importance of her son’s advice in ICT matters most succinctly. Answering the question of
how she acquired her first computer, she states:
“[...] [U]nser Sohn [...], der kennt sich da aus, [...] der arbeitet auch
mit Computern, mit Programmen und der hat gesagt, den kaufen wir,
hat ihn uns eingerichtet und wir waren dann nur mehr die Anwender.
Und wenn wir ein Problem haben, rufen wir in den ersten Stock: ‘Bitte kommen.’
Das ist es.”668 (I3)
For I3, her son seems to be what Bakaradjieva (2005:99) termed a “warm expert.”
A “warm expert” has two important characteristics: He or she is a formal or informal
computer/Internet expert, but at the same time also an ordinary “fellow-man/woman” of the one
in need of help (Bakardjieva 2005:99). In her early study on Internet adoption
among Canadians, Bakardjieva (2005) found the “warm expert” to be a key figure influencing
the uptake of the Internet by ordinary citizens. According to her, these experts exhibit
an “empathic understanding” of the needs of the Internet adopter (Bakardjieva 2005:101) and
are in a “close personal relationship” (Bakardjieva 2005:99) with him or her. This could,
for example, be a friend or family member. Because “warm expert[s]” (Bakardjieva 2005:99)
know the Internet adopter and their circumstances of living well, their help is particularly
efficient. Importantly, as Fernández-Ardèvol (2013:294–95) notes, discussing Bakardjieva’s
(2005) concept, the support of the “warm expert” contributes to normalizing new ICT devices
in everyday life and to rendering their use into an established practice.
Generally, seeking advice from their grown-up children is a popular practice
among interviewees looking for new devices. Replying to the question of how she
would proceed if she were to buy a new cell phone, I7 explains that she would
‘rely on [her] young,’669 namely either her adult daughter or one of her adult sons,
to accompany her to the shop or to tell her beforehand what would be a good choice for her.
668 ‘[...] [O]ur son [...], he is very knowledgeable, [...] he also works with computers, with programs,
and he told us which computer to buy, he set everything up for us and we then were only the users. And if there is
a problem, we call up to the first floor: ‘Please come.’ That’s it.’ (I3)
669 “auf meine Jungen verlassen” (I7)
297
In her opinion, this represents a useful approach ‘because they also know [her] and they know
[…] what [she] use[s] to which extent.’670 Quite similarly, I4 highlights the fact that her
adult son ‘does know his parents’671 when it comes to their ICT needs. Thus, he is an important
advisor for new acquisitions. Telling the story of how he chose her and her husband’s
first computer, and later also her laptop, she elaborates on the central role of her son as
an ICT consultant:
“Ich habe gesagt: ‘Du, besorg mir den bitte.’ Das war auch so beim Laptop.
Da frage ich immer meinen Sohn: ‘Du, was glaubst ist ein relativ gutes Gerät,
wo Preis-Leistung stimmt?’ [...]. Eigentlich [...] um das habe ich mich gar nie
gekümmert, [da] habe ich gesagt: ‘Besorg bitte für uns da einen ‘halbwegsen’,
wo du glaubst, dass das passt.’ So sind wir eigentlich zum ersten Computer
gekommen. Weil ich da zu wenig verstehe davon. Sonst musst du dich von wem
beraten lassen, ja, und der muss dich auch erst fragen: ‘Was hast du
für Bedürfnisse? Was willst du für einen haben? Was tust du, was machst du,
tust [du] skypen oder willst [du] was weiß ich was alles?’ Ich habe niemanden zum
Skypen und ich will das auch gar nicht, dann ist das für mich einmal hinfällig,
dass ich das Zeug alles nicht dazu brauche und das brauchen wir dem Sohn nicht
erzählen, weil das weiß er eh sowieso (lacht) [...].”672 (I4)
I6 also emphasizes the importance of involving a “young person”673 when considering the
acquisition of a new device. Her adult daughter, whom she actually calls “my little advisor,”674
is her most important source of information regarding new ICTs. Similarly to I3 and I4,
I6 appreciates the fact that her daughter knows her personal needs and can thus offer
customized advice.
670 “weil die kennen mich auch und die wissen, […] wie weit ich was nütze.” (I7)
671 “der kennt ja seine Eltern” (I4)
672 ‘I said: ‘Please get that for me.’ It was the same for the laptop. In these cases I always ask my son:
‘What do you think is a relatively good device, with a good price-performance ratio?’ [...]. Actually [...] I never
had to deal with that, I said: ‘Please get us something that is ‘alright,’ of which you think it is appropriate.’
This is how we actually got our first computer. Because I know too little about it. Otherwise you have to consult
with somebody and well, that person also has to ask first: ‘What are your needs? Which one do you want?
What do you usually do with it, do you use Skype or God knows what?’ I don’t have anybody to skype with and
I don’t even want it, then this is irrelevant for me, that I don’t need all that stuff and we don’t have to tell our son,
he knows this anyways (laughs) [...].’ (I4)
673 ‘junger Mensch’ (I6)
674 ‘mein kleiner Berater’ (I6)
298
“She told me which iPod to buy, which tablet, and last year I wanted to buy
a new Kindle, ‘cause I have got one of the early ones, she said: ‘No, you don’t need
a new one. It is just the same. Nothing has changed.’ So she advised me against
buying a new one. Yeah, (laughs) I got my little advisor. (laughs) Yeah. I should think
an older person would be overwhelmed going in a shop. I would think he or she can
sell me anything. With her I know, she has researched my needs.”675 (I6)
Bakardjieva’s (2005:99) figure of the “warm expert” or the character of the “little advisor,”676
to quote I6, is also relevant for I2 and I8. Talking about the purchase of her and her husband’s
latest computer, I8 explains that they had been ‘advised’677 by their son-in-law who happens
to be a programmer. I2 reports to have been ‘advised’678 by her son on which computer to buy.
For example, when she considered switching to an Apple device at some point, he listed
all the advantages and disadvantages of the brand’s set-up and recommended her to buy her
current laptop.
Beyond the initial acquisition of new ICTs, grown-up children, and in some instances
also grandchildren, provide “technical support”679 (I2) for participants.680 Asking their
grown-up children to show and explain specific functions of a media device is a common
strategy among interviewees. As I8 explains, this represents a preferred strategy because one
can ask family members the same thing repeatedly without ‘feeling embarrassed.’681
675 ‘Sie hat mir gesagt welchen iPod ich kaufen soll, welches Tablet und letztes Jahr wollte ich ein neues Kindle
kaufen, weil ich habe eines der ersten, da hat sie gemeint: ‘Nein, du brauchst kein neues. Es ist genau gleich.
Nichts hat sich geändert.’ Also hat sie mir davon abgeraten ein Neues zu kaufen. Ja, (lacht), ich habe
meinen kleinen Berater. (lacht) Ja. Ich könnte mir vorstellen, dass eine ältere Person damit überfordert ist,
in ein Geschäft zu gehen. Ich würde mir denken, er oder sie kann mir alles verkaufen. Bei ihr weiß ich,
dass sie sich mit meinen Bedürfnissen auseinandergesetzt hat.’ (I6)
676 ‘kleiner Berater’ (I6)
677 “beraten” (I8)
678 “beraten” (I2)
679 I2 uses this English term in the interview conducted in German.
680 Haddon (2006b:73) also hightlights the relevance of ICT support through social networks beyond
initial acquistion more generally, discussing his own and other scholars’ empirical research.
681 “genierst du dich” (I8)
299
Discussing her DVD player, she elaborates: “Ja, ich weiß nicht, wenn man keine Kinder hätte,
die […] in der Nähe sind und so, täte man sich sicher schwieriger, weil einen Fremden fragst
du nicht immer oder du fragst nur einmal, das zweite Mal genierst du dich schon (lacht)”682
(I8). Interviewees also prefer asking their children to consulting manuals. As I7 explains,
it is much easier to remember certain steps if she pushes the buttons herself while
being instructed.
Also, other participants than I8 ask their grown-up children to show and explain functions of
new ICTs to them. Replying to the question of how she gains knowledge about new ICTs,
I3 states that if she is interested in something specific, she resorts to asking her son who is
‘familiar’683 with ‘such things.’684 In addition, she mentions that her son recommended an
alternative search engine (“Ecosia”) to her that she prefers to Google because the program has
an environmental policy, planting trees for search requests. Similarly to I3, I5 asks her son
to ‘do something’685 or ‘show’686 her things if she does not know how to use a device because
‘he knows it all anyways.’687 When her flash drive providing her with Internet access did not
work the other day, I9 first called a hotline but they were unable to provide a solution.
Thus, I9 went to see one of her sons and together they were able to solve the problem.
In addition, pondering the question whether she should get a smartphone or not, I9 notes that
in case she had to ‘relearn’688 how to use a new cell phone, she could ask one of her sons
to help her. In a similar manner, I10 reports asking her daughter for advice on
how to use the smartphone she received from her as a hand-down device. For I10,
learning how to use her new cell phone is an issue. Thus, she asks for her
daughter’s advice regarding procedures that used to work differently on her previous phone.
682 ‘Well, I don’t know, if one didn’t have kids […] who live close by and such, it would be much more difficult
because you don’t always ask a stranger or you only ask once, the second time you already feel embarrassed
(laughs).’ (I8)
683 “firm mit” (I3)
684 “solchen Geschichten” (I3)
685 “etwas tun” (I5)
686 “zeigen” (I5)
687 “der kennt sich eh überall aus” (I5)
688 “umlernen” (I9)
300
In addition, I10 shares the story of how her daughter wrote a ‘cheat sheet’689 for her containing
instructions on how to burn CDs herself on the computer. She explains: “Na, meine Tochter
hat das gemacht. Die hat gesagt, ‘Du pass auf, CD-Brennen geht so: Da gehst du dort rein
und da rein’, und aufgeschrieben die Schrittfolge und dann machst du das, dann machst du das
und dann machst du das und es funktioniert.”690
While most accounts refer to grown-up children helping with new ICTs, some interviewees also
mention their grandchildren in this context. Towards the end of the interview with I4,
her granddaughter joins the conversation and I4 insists that if she is to get a smartphone
for herself, the granddaughter has to teach her how to use it. I7 reflects on the future
development of ICTs in a more general manner. She predicts the Internet to become even more
ubiquitous and, as her grandchildren will grow up and increasingly make use of it, she expects
to also ‘continue to grow with’691 them and their Internet use. While I7’s account does not
describe a concrete learning situation involving her grandchildren, it implies the possibility of
joint intergenerational learning.
Although asking their children to show and explain functions on a device is an important
strategy for interviewees, another approach in dealing with new ICTs is even more relevant.
The interviewees’ most popular strategy of dealing with problems and lack of knowledge
concerning new ICTs is proxy use and outsourcing problem-solving and/or maintenance
altogether. As I6 explains, this course of action is perceived as convenient because it is efficient
time-wise and sometimes also preferred by the children themselves. She elaborates:
“My method is my daughter, [she] is very good technically and my son isn't. He doesn't like
modern stuff. So when she comes home I have a long list: ‘Can you fix this, can you do this,’
and she just does it quickly. And sometimes it's quicker for her to just do it, and not explain
everything.”692 (I6). Similarly, I7 explains that she does ask her daughter and her son-in-law
for help in using new ICTs, but that they do not always have time to explain things to her.
689 “Schummelzettel” (I10)
690 ‘Well, my daughter did that for me. She told me, ‘Listen, this is how burning CDs works: You go there
and there’, and wrote all the steps down and then you do this, then you do that and then you do that and it works.’
(I10)
691 “weiterwachsen” (I7)
692 ‘Meine Tochter ist meine Methode, [sie] ist sehr gut technisch und mein Sohn ist es nicht. Er mag keine
modernen Sachen. Also wenn sie heimkommt habe ich eine lange Liste: ‘Kannst du das reparieren, kannst du das
machen’ und sie macht es einfach schnell. Und manchmal ist es schneller für sie, es einfach zu machen und nicht
alles zu erklären.’ (I6)
301
In addition, I7 describes her children as ‘actually not having a lot of patience’693 with showing
her things on the computer. This sentiment is echoed by I8, who also portrays her children as
not always having time or being patient enough to explain ICT matters. According to I8,
‘the young do not understand’694 that it takes time to understand explanations properly.
Proxy use or “access by proxy” (Haddon 2006b:15) describes engagement with ICTs that is
mediated through others. For example, multiple interviewees of this study (I4, I7, I8) ask
their grown-up children to buy things for them online, instead of doing so themselves.
Previous studies have also found proxy use to be relevant for older adults’ approach to ICTs.
Larsson et al. (2013:163), for example, report that the senior participants of their study
sometimes did not engage with the Internet when someone in their personal circle could
complete tasks for them. Following a similar line of thought, Neves and Amaro (2012:n.p.)
introduce the idea of “faux users,” people who self-identify as non-users of the Internet,
but ultimately do engage with it enabled through others’ assistance.
In the study at hand, I5 can be characterized as a “faux user,” referencing Neves and Amaro
(2012:n.p.). As outlined previously, I5 tasks her husband with sorting digital photos of their
grandchildren on their computer. While she does not engage with the files herself, she likes
to look at them. In addition, I5 perceives search engines as a useful tool for retrieving
information. However, instead of using Google herself, she asks her son to conduct
online research on her and her husband’s behalf. During the conversation, I5 emphasizes
the importance of her son in providing proxy access to the Internet repeatedly. In this context,
she describes him as being ‘faster and more competent’695 (I5).
“Ja, und da geht das ganz schnell, [das] googelt er heraus und [es ist]
nachgeschaut, wissen wir schon. Das geht bei uns, weil wir ja in einem Haus sind,
nicht, da ist das einfacher, nicht. Ja, bis da unserer [unser Computer] anspringt
[...]. Das hat uns der [Sohn] schon herausgesucht, nicht.”696 (I5)
693 “die große Geduld haben sie halt nicht” (I7)
694 “die Jugend versteht das aber auch nicht” (I8)
695 “schneller und kompetenter” (I5)
696 ‘Well, and this is very fast, [he] googles it and [it has been] looked up, we already know. This works for us
because we are under one roof, right, this way it is easier, right. Well, until our [computer] has booted […].
Our [son] has already looked it up, right.’ (I5)
302
As mentioned above, another important area of proxy use of the Internet is online shopping.
While interviewees are hesitant placing orders online themselves out of security concerns,
as elaborated in section 5.5.2, they like to ask their grown-up children to buy things for them.
I8 explains: “Wenn, dann sage ich es der Tochter oder dem Sohn, weil […] vor dem habe ich
eigentlich schon Angst, vorm Finanziellen, dass man da irgendeinen Fehler macht, würde ich
sagen und so. Das traue ich mich, ehrlich gesagt, nicht und ich muss es nicht machen.”697
I7 feels uncomfortable sharing her credit card details online and thus reports to ‘not place orders
[herself],’698 but instead asks her daughter for assistance when shopping online. Similarly,
I4 likes to ask her daughter-in-law to order things for her online.
In addition to proxy use, outsourcing problem-solving and/or maintenance of ICTs altogether
is a prominent strategy of the interviewees. Examples from the qualitative material are
numerous in this regard. In technical terms, the ICT support I2 receives from her son seems to
be the most advanced. He actually installed a remote maintenance program on her computer,
as she explains in detail:
“Ja, mein Sohn, […] der macht den technischen Support und da haben wir jetzt
den, wie heißt er, ‘team viewer’ installiert und unlängst habe ich etwas gebraucht,
[…] irgendwas war weg, ah ja, mit dem Livestream von den Fotos, nicht, das habe
ich dann am PC […] nicht gefunden, das war irgendwo anders,
habe ich wahrscheinlich verschoben, ich weiß es nicht, irgendwas war da und das
[…] kann er […] am Abend oder in der Nacht machen, da fährt er da herum […],
das ist super, […] dass ich das so fein finde, dass mein Sohn da nicht kommen muss,
weil der hat ja was anderes auch zu tun, als die alte Mutter zu unterstützen.
Aber das sind die Sachen, die kann ich nicht. Auch diese ah installieren könnte
ich nicht, neu aufsetzen, das könnte ich nicht.”699 (I2)
697 ‘If, then I ask my daughter or the son because […] I am afraid of it, of the financial aspect, that one makes
a mistake, I would say and such. To be honest, I don’t dare to and I don’t have to do it.’ (I8)
698 “ich selber mache keine Bestellung” (I7)
699 ‘Well, my son […] is doing the technical support and now we have this, how is it called, ‘team viewer,’
installed and recently, I needed something, […] something was gone, oh yes, the livestream of the photos, right,
I did not […] find it on the PC, it was somewhere else, I probably moved it, I don’t know, something happened
and in the evening or at night […] he can […] do this, then he is moving around […], that’s great, […] I think it
is so great that my son does not have to come over because he also has other things to do than support his
old mother. But these are the things I can’t do. Also installing things I couldn’t do, setting it up, I couldn’t do that.’
(I2)
303
Throughout the interview and the walking tour, I2 repeatedly highlights the importance of
her son’s assistance in ICT matters. He recommended her to buy her current laptop, set it up,
and customized her cupboard which now doubles as a desk for her laptop. As I2 puts it, her son
‘can do anything’700 when it comes to new ICTs.
Although I2 relies on her son for help with new ICTs, it is important to remember that she is
one of the strongest users of new ICTs in the qualitative sample and has also reported fixing
computer hick-ups herself. Thus, as mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, it is crucial to
note that patterns of ICT engagement are not mutually exclusive and different patterns of use
can co-exist within a case. In addition to interviewees’ general tendency to downplay their own
ICT skills (see section 5.8.2), there is another potential reason why they foreground their
children’s support. It seems reasonable to assume that they simply enjoy interacting with their
grown-up children and talking about new ICTs might represent a convenient entry point for
intergenerational exchange.
As expected, with the exception of I2, it is, however, mostly average or limited users of
new ICTs who outsource problem-solving and/or maintenance of new ICTs to their grown-up
children. I5, for example, describes how she tasked her son with entering new numbers and
changing the time on her cell phone, instead of doing so herself. As elaborated before, I3 claims
that she and her husband became ‘mere users’701 of their computer after her son had initially
set it up for them. Similarly, I4 relies on the help of her son, who also optimized settings on
her and her husband’s PC. I7 shares multiple examples of how her son has been assisting with
new ICTs. He installed programs on her PC, uploaded photos for her, connected her PC to
his printer, which is located in a different part of the building, and even set up passwords. I
7 summarizes her son’s multifaceted assistance by concluding: “Ich brauche mich mur
hinsetzen, einschalten und kann schon arbeiten.”702 As mentioned, for I8, it is particularly
her son-in-law who is responsible for intergenerational ICT support. In addition to setting up
her and her husband’s PC, he also installed programs and apparently somehow made particular
websites more accessible by customizing settings for them on their PC.
700 “der kann alles” (I2)
701 “nur mehr die Anwender” (I3)
702 ‘I only have to sit down, turn it on and can already start working.’ (I7)
304
In addition to assistance in device acquisition, explanation of functions, proxy use and
outsourcing of tasks, there are three further, more general points that are critical to note in the
context of intergenerational learning and help with ICTs. First, intergenerational help is not
limited to new ICTs exclusively. Although reported more commonly with regard to new ICTs,
there are also accounts of intergenerational assistance with the set-up of the TV to be found in
the qualitative material. This help provided by children or children-in-law includes assistance
with purchasing a new TV set (I7), handing down a used device (I8), as well as its initial
set-up (I4, I7), or help with changing settings more generally (I9, I11). However, although help
with traditional ICTs is mentioned by the interviewees, these accounts are less frequent and
detailed in comparison to the discussions about assistance with new ICTs.
The second key point is that household composition and intergenerational living situations
potentially play a role in older women’s motivation to learn about new ICTs.
Out of the qualitative sample, four participants lived in the same house as (some of)
their children and grand-children at the time of the interview: I3, I4, I5, and I7. Remarkably,
these interviewees have one thing in common: They can all be characterized as limited users of
new ICTs (I3, I5) or as average users, leaning towards limited use of new ICTs (I4, I7).
Thus, there are two prudent hypotheses to be put forward in this context.
Firstly, intergenerational living conditions might negatively influence intensified engagement
with new ICTs. Instead of dealing with new ICTs and particularly their hick-ups themselves,
participants who share a house with (some of) their children and grandchildren resolve to simply
asking for their help, since they perceive ‘the young’703 to be more tech-savvy than themselves.
The second prudent hypothesis is that intergenerational living situations might foster
intergenerational assistance in both directions, which also affects assistance with new ICTs.
While grandmothers living in the same house support their children and grandchildren through
even larger amounts of care work than grandmothers living elsewhere, they also receive
(or request?) increased amounts of assistance with new ICTs in return. This interpretation is,
for example, supported by I5’s insistent claims not to have time to use the Internet because she
is already busy caring for her grandchildren, her family’s big house, garden, and dog.
As argued previously, because she cares for them in many ways, I5 does not want to care for
too many media devices in addition and thus outsources this work to her adult son.
703 “die Jugend” (I5, I8)
305
These are lines of thought that need to be explored further in future research. It is important
to stress that these are prudent hypotheses because the qualitative material at hand also provides
evidence that does not fit into this picture. For example, I2 and I9, two of the strongest users of
new ICTs, report outsourcing problem-solving and/or maintenance of new ICTs to their sons.
However, both of them live alone. Thus, the living situation is certainly only one among
multiple factors influencing the amount and kind of assistance with new ICTs. Other factors
need to be explored as well, such as the intrinsic value of intergenerational interaction within
families as such. For both I2 and I9, talking about media technologies might provide an entry
point for discussion and exchange with their grown-up sons that both are interested in.
For them, their sons’ assistance with new ICTs also creates an opportunity for contact and
exchange with their grown-up children. Although the picture seems to be complicated,
it nevertheless is noteworthy that all the interviewees of this study that did live in an
intergenerational setting are on the weaker spectrum of use of new ICTs. Whether this is purely
accidental should be explored further.
The third point that needs to be made in the context of intergenerational assistance with
new ICTs is its potential ambivalence.704 While some of the terms interviewees use to
characterize intergenerational help with new ICTs they receive from their children,
such as “technical support”705 (I2) or “my little advisor”706 (I6) imply appreciation, other parts
of the qualitative material also point towards its potential ambivalence. For example,
replying to the question of what she thinks is less good about computers, I2 mentions the fact
that she is ‘dependent on the support of [her] son.’707 And, as illustrated before, both I7 and I8
criticize the younger generation for not being particularly patient when teaching them about the
use of new ICTs. However, negative connotations of children’s help with ICTs are not put
forward forcefully by interviewees, but are rather mentioned in passing. Unhelpful interference
with ICT matters seems to be a sensitive topic that is not easily discussed. Evidence supporting
this hypothesis is the case of I5, as mentioned elsewhere (Ratzenböck 2016b:57–58).
704 Also Gilleard, Wilska, and Taipale (2017:219) have pointed out the ambivalent nature of intergenerational
exchange in the context of ICT use within families. According to them, these interactions “seem as likely to be
forging new bonds between older and younger family members as they are to developing new divisions within
the family” (Gilleard et al. 2017:219).
705 I2 uses this English term in the interview conducted in German.
706 ‘mein kleiner Berater’ (I6)
707 “abhängig bin vom Support von meinem Sohn” (I2)
306
While I5 positively emphasized the help of her son during the sit-down interview and also
repeats this during the walking tour through the house, she also offers modest criticism of her
son’s involvement in ICT matters during the walking tour. Standing in front of the device,
she shares the story of how her son, together with her husband, went to buy a new TV for
her and her husband’s household, which eventually resulted in the purchase of a TV she
‘actually did not want’708 (I5).
Teaching and learning relationships naturally involve power dynamics because of inherent
differences in knowledge. While interviewees’ accounts on intergenerational learning about
new ICTs are overwhelmingly positive, it is also important to consider this imbalance in power
and draw attention to its ambivalent aspects. An example in this context might also be
the case of I7, who reports that her son set up all the passwords for her. Although she appreciates
his assistance, factually this also represents a limitation of privacy that needs
to be acknowledged. This issue of “intergenerational control and agency of use”
(Fernández-Ardèvol and Ivan 2016:94) is important to address and has also been noted in
previous studies on older adults’ ICT use. For example, Ivan & Fernández-Ardèvol (2016:92)
have observed that increased dependence on their children’s assistance prevents seniors from
engaging with their cell phones in depth in the Romanian context.
Before ending the discussion on intergenerational learning about new ICTs, there is one more
question that needs to be addressed. How does the interviewees’ current acquisition
of knowledge compare to strategies they employed in early phases of the life? As outlined
in section 4.2.3, interviewees predominantly note to have acquired computer skills collectively
in adulthood. Those interviewees who used to work in offices asked colleagues, took computer
classes or training courses, or interacted with computer specialists visiting their companies.
And, except for I5, all other interviewees who did not (primarily) work in an office setting,
reported to have consulted others, colleagues or their children, in the process of learning
how to use new ICTs. For those who worked in offices, the counter-parts for knowledge
acquisition have changed – from colleagues, instructors, and technicians to their own children
and grandchildren. And those who reported to have asked their children previously in the
context of acquiring ICT skills in their working lives continue to do so in retirement.
708 “wollte eigentlich nicht” (I5)
307
Thus, concerning strategies of ICT knowledge acquisition (not regarding relevance or extent of
use though), there seems to be no notable difference between those who used to work at offices
and those who did not. Importantly, all interviewees still prefer to learn about ICTs collectively.
This is noteworthy since other possible courses of action could, for example, include consulting
manuals or primarily employing a trial and error strategy. These are, however, not overly
relevant to interviewees.
6.1.4 Summary of Key Points Regarding Family-Centered ICT Use
As stated at the beginning of this subchapter, of all three types of ICT use
in retirement identified, family-centered use is by far the most important one.
Put shortly, talking about ICTs for interviewees often equals talking about relationships.
Family-centered ICT use comprises three dimensions: family care work, family history writing,
and intergenerational learning about new ICTs. In the context of the first area,
family care work, the concept of care is central to interviewees in two separate but logically
connected regards. As the analysis has shown, frequently, interviewees use ICTs to care for
their families or, on the contrary, claim to be too busy caring for their families to use them.
Thus, family care work can either encourage or limit the use of (particularly new) ICTs.
However, in both cases, it is a central topic that interviewees' narrations of ICT use in retirement
revolve around. The qualitative material includes an abundance of examples of how participants
use both old and new ICTs in the context of family care work. Traditional media,
such as TV and radio, are often used as a backdrop for domestic labor, most commonly when
cooking or ironing. New ICTs serve as sources of entertainment and education
for grandchildren and to coordinate pick-ups and appointments for them. However,
their relevance goes far beyond that. For many, looking up recipes online is a regular activity.
And the cell phone is not only a key tool for grandparenting but also for caring for their
grown-up children extensively.
Summarizing, two points are important to note in the context of family care work with ICTs.
Firstly, for interviewees, family care is indeed work, a term some of them also use explicitly.
Thus, it is crucial not to only explore older women’s ICT use in terms of leisure, but also in the
context of domestic labor, which they continue to perform in retirement. The second point
draws attention to a two-fold practice of limited users of new ICTs. On the one hand,
they frequently claim to be too busy to use new ICTs because of family care work.
On the other hand, if they do use them, they mostly do so to care for their families.
308
In addition to family care work, interviewees also make, preserve, and review family memories
in a multiplicity of ways, assisted by (primarily new) ICTs. These practices can be summarized
under the heading of family history writing. The purpose of documenting family life seems
to be two-fold. On the one hand, interviewees enjoy remembering their own family work they
have been providing to their families over the entire life course. This is exemplified by
family diaries meant to document meaningful moments. On the other hand, they also want to
create sustainable archives for some of their children’s keepsakes, such as digital photos,
drawings, and devices. However, sometimes there are also very pragmatic reasons for
documenting family life. This is best illustrated by the case of I4, who reports having created
a family logbook to keep up with her ever-extending network of relatives.
Lastly, a third important area of family-centered ICT use is intergenerational learning about
new ICTs. Asking younger family members for advice, instructions, or completion of tasks
represents the interviewees’ preferred strategy when struggling with (mostly, but not
exclusively new) ICTs in retirement. With regard to assistance in the acquisition of new devices,
some interviewees report to have either received hand-down devices or new devices as gifts
from their grown-up children. Most popular, however, is the practice of asking their grown-up
children for advice on which cell phone or computer they should buy themselves.
As interviewees explain, this is a preferred strategy because their children know them,
their needs, and skills better than any shop assistant. A similar motivation governs the common
practice of asking their grown-up children for instructions on how to use ICTs they
already own. Interviewees feel that it is safe to ask their grown-up children, and sometimes also
grandchildren, for guidance because, unlike in front of strangers, there is no need to be
embarrassed about knowledge gaps in front of family members.
By far the most popular strategy of dealing with ICT-related issues is, however, proxy use and
outsourcing problem-solving altogether. Interviewees ask their grown-up children to buy things
for them online or task them with conducting online research on their behalf.
Even more common is the complete outsourcing of tasks. Notably, the interviewees’ description
of ICT-related tasks they have outsourced to their children are rather vague and sometimes
difficult to understand in detail. This vagueness in their descriptions highlights the importance
of outsourcing as a practice. – Because they have tasked their grown-up children with many
ICT-related issues, they do not know their details. Outsourcing is popular for a multiplicity
of reasons.
309
Firstly, interviewees often downplay their ICT skills, which makes outsourcing tasks to others,
more skilled users, understandable. Secondly, however, it is reasonable to assume that
interviewees simply use conversations about new ICTs as an opportunity for interacting with
their grown-up children.
6.2 Professional and Community-Oriented Use of ICTs
As the repeated analysis of the qualitative material has shown, use of ICTs in retirement
also matters to interviewees with regard to working as an employee or entrepreneur,
as well as participating in associations as a volunteer. Although none of the interviewees still
pursued formal full-time work at the time of the interview, some of them (I7, I9, I10)
still worked part-time with varying scopes of weekly hours. Moreover, multiple interviewees
reported actively participating in various associations (I1, I5, I10, I11, I12). Particularly the
ICT engagement of I10 and I11 can be described as professional and community-oriented.
In comparison to family-centered use, professional and community-oriented use of ICTs was
not emphasized by the majority of the interviewees. On the one hand, some interviewees are
fully retired and did not state to be members of any association. Naturally, this makes this
kind of media engagement irrelevant in their cases. On the other hand, however,
with the exception of I10 and I11, interviewees who did still work part-time or reported being
members of an association did not describe these circumstances as overly relevant for their
media engagement. Largely, their social roles as mothers and grandmothers are more relevant
for their use of ICTs than being an employee or member of an organization. This, again,
points to the gendered nature of old age and the high relevance of the grandmother role that
many interviewees express and reproduce in their narrations on media engagement.
6.2.1 Professional Service Use of ICTs
Out of all the interviewees, professional service use of ICTs is most important for I10,
a former bank clerk. She is self-employed as a ‘energy therapist,’709 a business
she started on the side while still working at the bank and that she continues to run
in retirement. As will be illustrated in detail in section 6.3.1, beyond running her business,
I10’s identity as an esoteric is important for her media use in retirement.
709 “Energetiker” (I10)
310
For example, she consciously engages with the Internet and propagates to make use of
one’s own emotional intuition, and not only one’s mind, when accessing information online.
In addition, she also shops for dietary supplements connected to her esoteric way of life online.
I10’s identity as an esoteric has been important throughout her media biography. For example,
she got her first PC at home because she needed it for accounting connected to her business as
an energy therapist. In retirement, most of her use of the computer and the Internet also relates
to her business. As she explains with regard to her use of Google:
“Was ich mir relativ viel oder immer wieder suche, eben so Informationen zu
meiner esoterischen Arbeit, weil ja oft über E-mail auch Links kommen.
Dann schauen wir schon dort einmal weiter oder da kommen Begriffe,
‘Was ist das, wo kriege ich das, wofür verwende ich das?’ Ja, also das dann
über Google, dass ich da einfach weiterschaue, ja.”710 (I10)
Beyond e-mail and Google, Facebook is another important source of information for I10
in the context of her work. On multiple occasions, she reports studying information other
‘energy therapists’711 put up there. Moreover, I10 also participates in courses related to
her activities as an energy therapist, for example in ‘esoteric astrology’712 or herbology.
For this training, she sometimes also uses her computer to access related messages and to send
or print related information. The cell phone is also relevant in relation to her business.
Besides communicating with companies, friends, and acquaintances, she also uses it to be in
touch with her clients.
In addition to I10, other interviewees also report using ICTs in professional contexts.
I9 continues to work part-time as an accountant. In this context, she regularly uses computer
programs, such as Excel and Word, as well as special accounting programs. The Internet is also
highly relevant for her job. She, for example, explains using e-mail to communicate with
colleagues, business partners, and suppliers and to access various websites relevant to her area
of expertise. Detailing her professional use of the Internet at the office, she explains:
710 ‘Relatively often or repeatedly, I do look for information concerning my esoteric work, well because I do
get links via e-mails. Then, we actually do continue to look or there are terms, ‘What is it, where do I get that,
what do I use it for?’ Well, then, using google, I just continue to look it up, yes.’ (I10)
711 “Energetiker” (I10)
712 “esoterische Astrologie” (I10)
311
“[…] [D]a fragen sie mich zum Beispiel, ‘Du wie ist denn das jetzt mit den sechs
Wochen Urlaub?’ oder ‘Wie ist denn das mit der Umstellung von Arbeitsjahr aufs
Kalenderjahr in Bezug auf Urlaub?’ Also, da findest alle Infos im Internet,
musst nur aussortieren, welche jetzt die letzten sind, welche seriös sind,
ob von der Arbeiterkammer, von der Wirtschaftskammer oder so, also da, da nutze
ich es, oder wie ist das jetzt mit der Steuerreform, wie sind die neuen Steuersätze?
Und ich drucke mir das zwar aus, dann lege ich es irgendwo hin,
dann vergesse ich, wo ich den Zettel habe, das nächste Mal schaue ich,
tippe ich dann wieder geschwind ein und schaue nach.”713 (I10)
Another interviewee who continues to work part-time in retirement is I7. She works in retail
one day per week. Although her part-time job is not particularly relevant in her narration of her
media use in retirement, she still mentions communicating with the company she works through
her cell phone. In addition, I7’s family runs a small food specialties business on the farming
compound. Occasionally, she also helps out with this business making calls with her cell phone.
Although interviewee 11 has retired from her office as mayor of a small town, this background
continues to be important for her. As will be shown in detail in section 6.3.1, her identity as
a former mayor and politically engaged person is crucial for her use of ICTs in retirement.
In one way or another, much of her use of both new and traditional media, is connected to her
political interests. Besides watching programs on TV on social issues and listening to
controversial cultural discussions on the radio, also much of her use of new ICTs relates to her
identity as a politically engaged person. Similarly to I10, this relevance goes back to earlier
moments in her biography. For example, I11 received her very first cell phone during
an elections campaign for the regional parliament from somebody in the campaign team.
Today, although not holding official office as mayor anymore, her use of new ICTs is still
connected to this career. Among other things, she acquired many Facebook friends during her
time as mayor and continues to extend birthday wishes to many of them on Facebook.
And during the walking tour through her home, she explains that the first thing she usually
looks at on the Internet is “EU-net” (I11) or the website of her city’s municipality.
Most importantly, however, she uses new ICTs for contributing to a number of volunteer
organizations, as will be illustrated in the following section.
713 ‘[…] [T]hey, for example, ask me, ‘How does it actually work with these six weeks of leave of absence?’
or ‘How does the conversion from working year to calendar year work with regard to leave of absence?’
Well, you find all the information on the Internet, you just have to sort, which are the most current one,
which are serious, whether from the chamber of labor, of the chamber of commerce or such, well there,
there I use it, or how does the tax reform work, what are the new tax brackets? And I do print that, put it somewhere,
but then I forget where I put the paper, the next time I look, I type it in quickly again and look it up.’ (I9)
312
6.2.2 Community-Oriented Use of ICTs
As mentioned, interviewee 11 is a very politically engaged person. Among others,
this is reflected in her participation in a number of non-profit associations and projects.
Particularly, much of her use of new ICTs relates to these activities. For example, she serves as
secretary for multiple associations and uses her computer to type up minutes of meetings and
then sends them to members of the associations via e-mail. As noted previously, she appreciates
her computer as an important tool in this context. She finds typing up minutes on the computer
to be time-saving and describes it as her ‘working basis.’714 In addition to sharing the minutes
of meetings, e-mail is also relevant for I11 in the context of receiving information related to her
volunteer activities and for communicating with colleagues from associations and projects.
Replying to the question of whom she communicates with on the Internet, she highlights
the importance of her participation in non-profit associations and projects:
“Ja, mit meinen Kindern, mit meinen Freundinnen, mit Ihnen jetzt
[meint Interviewerin], über das [gemeinnütziges Netzwerk], wo wir alles übers
Internet machen, also das im Verteiler, ja, alles, wo jeder, der einen PC hat und
mich auf seiner Liste hat, das ist drinnen. Auch die ganzen Vereine, […]
das geht übers Internet, also da wird kein Brief mehr wohin geschickt und das
funktioniert so. Auch mit der Gemeinde, wenn ich von oben was brauche,
schreibe ich ein Mail, […] bevor ich anrufe.”715 (I11)
The importance of e-mail for her contribution to associations and projects is also highlighted
during the walking tour through her home. There, discussing her use of the computer,
she shows her e-mail inbox to the interviewer, filled mostly with e-mails from rally organizers,
working groups, and a charity shop for which she volunteers. Beside e-mailing minutes and
exchanging information with colleagues from associations and projects, I11 frequently uses
the Internet in connection to her activism. She, for example, advertises charity events
on Facebook and also communicates with colleagues from one association through
this platform. Together with other colleagues, she also reports using Doodle to organize
meetings of working groups and networks.
714 “Arbeitsgrundlage” (I11)
715 ‘Well, with my children, with my friends, now with you [refers to interviewer], about the
[non-profit network], where we do everything via the Internet, well the mailing list, well, anything, if somebody
has a PC and got me on his list, that is included. Also all the associations, […] that works via the Internet,
there is no letter being sent anywhere anymore and it works that way. Also with the municipality,
if I need something from there, I write an e-mail […] instead of calling.’ (I11)
313
In addition to typing up associations’ minutes, I11 also uses her computer to prepare a schedule
for cleaning services in a charity shop she volunteers for and to write letters connected to
her advocacy for asylum seekers. The latter comes up in the walking interview again,
where she explains to keep notes of meetings related to her advocacy for asylum seekers
on her computer. With regard to her use of the cell phone, her activism is also important.
Answering the question of how often and for what kind of communication she uses her
cell phone, I11 first mentions her ‘association business,’716 as well as requests for support
she receives in her role as former mayor, before mentioning communication with her children.
Although not as extensively as I11, I10 is also active as a volunteer. In this context,
she reports using various communication channels for outreach and coordination work,
among them e-mail, SMS, phone calls, as well as posts on Facebook. She particularly elaborates
on the importance of Facebook in spreading the word about this association that operates
on an ‘energetic level.’717 She explains:
“[…] [W]ir sind in einem Verein auch, da ist natürlich auch über Facebook
die Kommunikation, damit eben viele Leute da sehen, was wir da machen, ja.
Und ja, der Verein nennt sich [Name des Vereins] […] [u]nd da geht es darum,
schon über Facebook zu kommunizieren, damit eben viele Leute sehen,
‘Aha, das ist eigentlich ein Bereich, der auf menschliche[…],
auf zwischenmenschliche[…] Verbindungen Wert legt.’ Also man kann das
durchaus schon so nützen und Informationen da weitergeben, ja.”718 (I10)
Besides I11 and I10, a few other interviewees also mention using ICTs for work related
to associations. As cashier of a pensioners’ club, I12 reports using the calculating program
Excel and also exchanging WhatsApp messages with other members of the club. I5 is a member
of a local Red Cross group and receives calls on her cell phone in case she is asked to participate
in an activity. As she explains, all other members of the team receive SMS alerts, but since she
never reads SMS messages, the team’s coordinator resolved to call her on her cell phone.
716 “Vereinsdienstlichkeit” (I11)
717 “energetischen Ebene” (I10)
718 ‘[…] [W]e are also part of an association, there the communication is of course also via Facebook,
so many people can see what we are doing there, yes. And well, the association is called [name of association]
[…] [a]nd it is about also communicating via Facebook, so people can see, ‘Aha, that is a field where personal[…],
interpersonal[…] connection is being valued.’ Well, one can actually use it for that and pass on information there,
yes.’ (I10)
314
I1 serves as press secretary of a choir. She uses e-mail to send information related to the choir
to the press and radio, as well as to distribute invitations to concerts to more than 150 people.
In addition, she also advertises the choir’s performances on multiple regional online platforms.
And, although I8 does not explicitly state being a member, she explains that she sometimes
looks at the website of her local parish, as well as ‘a few associations.’719
6.3 Self-Oriented and Individually Fulfilling ICT Use
Although there is a tendency of most interviewees to downplay more individual use of ICTs,
it does come up in the qualitative material and thus matters to participants. Self-oriented and
individually fulfilling ICT use includes use that does not primarily focus on caring for others,
but centers on interviewees’ individual interests, self-expression, self-development,
and enjoyment. Different to family-centered ICT use and professional and community-oriented
ICT use, self-oriented and individually fulfilling ICT use does not primarily focus on providing
services to others – be it as a mother or grandmother, a volunteer, an employee or entrepreneur.
Instead, it focuses on interviewees self-actualization.
However, as also noted in the introduction to chapter 6, Type 2, professional and
community-oriented use, and type 3, self-oriented and individually fulfilling use, share some
commonalities and theoretically could have also been integrated into one type. A good example
to illustrate this is volunteering. It is an important activity of the second type of ICT use,
but could have also been important for Type 3, which focuses on self-actualizing ICT use.
Volunteering could be perceived as an activity that also contributes to self-actualization –
and sometimes it also does. Ultimately, the decision to differentiate between Type 2 and
Type 3 of ICT use in retirement was based on the interpretations interviewees
themselves offered. In their narrations, interviewees did distinguish between ICT use related to
professional and community contexts and more self-oriented and individually fulfilling
ICT use. Thus, the reporting of findings also follows this logic. As mentioned above,
the distinguishing criterion seems to be the notion of providing services and being of service
to others. While this is an important characteristic of Type 1 and Type 2, it does not play
an important role for Type 3.
719 “einige Vereine” (I8)
315
Through the repeated analysis of the qualitative material, three areas of self-oriented
and individually fulfilling ICT use in retirement emerged: pursuit of personal interests and
self-expression with ICTs, self-educational use of ICTs, and use of ICTs for “casual leisure”
(Stebbins 1997, 2011; italics added by author).
Pursuit of personal interests and self-expression with ICTs involves activities connected to
a strong thematic interest of the interviewee and relates to self-expression in terms of cultivating
a particular self-image and communicating this self-image to others. Pursuit of specific interests
includes, for example, ICT use related to travel, interest in political developments,
or environmentalism. Self-expression connected to these activities refers to the portrayal of
oneself as, for example, a cosmopolitan, politically engaged person, or environmentalist in the
context of one’s media use. Self-educational use of ICTs involves acquisition or deepening of
knowledge in an area of interest assisted by ICTs. And use of ICTs for “casual leisure”
(Stebbins 1997, 2011; italics added by author) refers to everyday media engagement that is
described by interviewees as unspectacular but enjoyable, such as watching a TV program that
is not connected to a core interest.
Self-oriented and individually fulfilling ICT use was not put forward forcefully by
most interviewees and sometimes even only surfaced late in the conversations,
for example during the walking tours through the homes. Two factors seem to be relevant in
explaining the limited occurrence of self-oriented and individually fulfilling ICT use in
retirement. Firstly, the analysis of the material suggests that interviewees discursively downplay
the role self-oriented and individually fulfilling ICT use plays in their lives. This discursive
strategy is related to two areas. Arguably most relevant in the context of interviewees’
hesitancy to discuss more individual use of ICTs in retirement might be general norms
concerning “successful aging.” As noted in section 1.1.2, imperatives of “successful aging”
call upon older adults to lead an “active” and socially engaged lifestyle720 and
self-oriented and individually fulfilling use of ICTs might not fit this picture in
interviewees’ opinion, explaining why they are hesitant to discuss it extensively.
720 For a critical discussion of the widespread concept of “successful aging,” see Katz and Calasanti (2015).
316
This is supported by findings of Sayago et al. (2016:73) who (as mentioned in subchapter 2.2)
found “fun and pleasure” not to be particularly important for older adults involved in
a game design project and who instead put forward more utilitarian goals, such as learning about
new ICTs as such, through engaging in game design. It is possible that participants of
the main qualitative strand of the study at hand also prefer to discursively frame their ICT use
in instrumental terms, in their case mostly in terms of family care work, but also professional
and community work.
Additionally, norms concerning gender and aging are likely to contribute to the
limited relevance of self-oriented and individually fulfilling ICT use reported in the interviews.
As noted before, cultural images of aging are gendered. As Sontag (1972) has already argued
in the 1970s, proclaiming a “double standard of aging” for men and women, men are more
likely to gain in status when aging, while women are more likely to lose status.
Since the grandmother role is one of the few positive and socially highly legitimate roles for
older women (see, for example, Chivers 2003:xlvi), it seems plausible that many women
interviewed seek to highlight this particular social role in the interview situation
(as already argued in subchapter 6.1) and downplay other, more individual contexts of ICT use.
In addition to discursively downplaying the relevance of self-oriented and individually fulfilling
ICT use in retirement, its limited occurrence in the qualitative material also points to an actual
limited relevance of individualized and pleasurable use of ICTs for most interviewees
in retirement. This seems to be plausible given all the family care work many of the older
women continue to perform, which simply leaves them with little free time. Current large-scale
research on older adults’ leisure in Europe has shown that older women generally participate
in leisure activities less than older men, citing financial and cultural barriers older women face
as potential reasons for this (Avital 2017:5). As mentioned in subchapter 2.1, income for retired
men and women in Austria differs considerably, with a retired woman having had only about
60% of a retired man’s median yearly gross income in 2016 (Statistik Austria 2017b).
Thus, financial capabilities differ for older men and older women in Austria, which is likely to
affect possibilities of participating in leisure activities as well. In short: actual limited relevance
of self-oriented and individually fulfilling use of ICTs in retirement on the one hand,
and its discursive downplaying on the other, seem to inter-relate. Together, both factors might
explain the overall comparatively limited occurrence of accounts of self-oriented and
individually fulfilling ICT use in retirement in the main qualitative strand of the study at hand.
317
However, although not put forward as forcefully in the qualitative material overall, self-oriented
and individually fulfilling ICT use does play a role in interviewees’ lives in various ways.
Out of all the interviewees, self-oriented and individually fulfilling ICT use in retirement is
most important for I6, I8, and I12. While I12’s use of ICTs provides strong examples of
mediated pursuit of personal interests and expression of self, as well as self-educational use
of ICTs, I6’s ICT engagement focuses on pursuit of interests and self-expression and less on
self-education. And for I8, engagement with ICTs means first and foremost to relax and
be entertained – in other words: to engage in “casual leisure” (Stebbins 1997, 2011).
All three cases will be described in detail in the following sections, supplemented by other
examples from the remaining qualitative material.
6.3.1 Pursuit of Personal Interests and Self-Expression with ICTs
In the conversations, participants share a variety of individual interests and how ICTs matter
in their pursuit. Particularly interviewee 12, a former accountant, mentions a wealth of
personal interests, including traveling and foreign languages, design, fashion, and architecture,
as well as nature, animals, and plants. In the conversation, she explains how ICTs are relevant
in the context of these thematic interests. She has, for example, developed a creative practice
that can be characterized as a kind of online traveling. Every morning, I12 goes online to
watch webcams of places she has visited previously or about which she is curious. She states:
“Und im Internet, muss ich sagen, da schalte ich dann natürlich auch ein,
dann schaue ich mir gewisse Bilder an, das klingt vielleicht auch witzig,
und zwar die Webcam von Oslo, von Tallin, ja (lacht), […] von Grado,
von Bad Aussee und von Venedig. Das ist einfach so, […] wie das Wetter dort ist,
das sehe ich dann, das brauche ich in der Früh.”721 (I12)
721 ‘And on the Internet, I have to say, I of course also turn it on, there I watch certain images,
this might sound funny, actually, the webcam of Oslo, of Tallin, yes (laughs), […] of Grado, of Bad Aussee
and of Venice. That’s how it is, […] I then see how the weather is there, I need this in the morning.’ (I12)
318
Answering the question of how she initially got into watching webcams, I12 further elaborates:
" […] Ja und die Webcams, die gefallen mir, weil das sind Gebiete, wo ich vielleicht
einmal nicht hinkomme oder […], New York gefällt mir, habe aber nie
das Bedürfnis selbst hinzufahren, also schaue ich es mir im Internet an. […]
So komme ich auf das. Und Tallin, Oslo, da war ich schon, das hat mir sehr gut
gefallen und […] es ist witzig, Tallin zum Beispiel, da ist genau die Webcam
auf den Hauptplatz gerichtet, da interessiert es mich, ‘Aha heute sind so und so
viele Menschen unterwegs’, […], einfach aus, für mich alleine, nicht,
nicht aus irgendwelchen Gründen, die ich dann weitergeben muss,
aber mich interessiert das. […]”722
In this statement, I12 highlights that watching webcams of different cities is
‘for [her]self only’723 and not related to others. Put differently, it is personally fulfilling.
She watches webcams because she is interested in seeing different places. This is noteworthy,
as I12 shortly afterwards explains that she is happy not to have others, namely grandchildren,
to look after. Talking about language-learning groups in which she participates, I12 compares
herself to other women of her generation, whom she identifies as being overly concerned with
their grandchildren.
“[…] [D]ie meisten so in meiner Generation, […] die glauben unabkömmlich
zu sein, weil sie auf die Enkelkinder schauen müssen […]. Enkelkinder gibt es nicht
und ich muss sagen, klingt es jetzt wie es will, ich bin auch sehr dankbar,
dass es das nicht gibt, weil ich vielleicht mit Kindern gar nicht so umgehen kann,
wie man sich das vorstellt, weil überhaupt das da dazu gehört.”724 (I12)
722 ‘[…] Yes and I like the webcams because these are places I might never get to or […] I like New York
but I don’t have the urge to go there, so I look at it online. […] That’s how I got into it. And Tallin, Oslo,
I have been there, I liked it very much and […] it’s funny, in Tallin, for example, the webcam is directed towards
the main square, there I am interest, ‘Aha today, there are so and so many people out and about,’ […] just because,
for me, for myself only, right, not out of some reasons, that I have to pass it on, but I am interested in that. […]’
(I12)
723 “für mich alleine” (I12)
724 ‘[…] [M]ost of my generation, […] they think they are indispensable, because they have to watch
the grandkids […]. There are no grandkids and I have to say, I don’t care how this might sound, I am also very
grateful that there are none, because I might not be able to take care of children as one imagines that because
generally this is simply a part of it.’ (I12)
319
Here, I12 vocally distances herself from other women of her generation and the
social importance of the grandmother role. The latter might not be surprising, given that I12
actually does not have any grandchildren. However, different to most interviewees of the study,
I12 does not talk about any family care work related to her daughter performed in the context
of her ICT use. In this regard, she only mentions her mother, on whom she checks by calling
when she is traveling, as well as the practice of ‘control call[s]’ (I12) she established with two
friends as a safety mechanism, as mentioned previously. Although I12 shares these
two examples of how she uses ICTs for care work, for her, this is not their main purpose.
Instead, for I12, ICTs are primarily tools to pursue individual interests and to educate,
as well as express herself. With regard to self-expression, she uses the interview as an
opportunity to communicate her identity as somebody who does not always comply to
conventional and established norms of living as an older woman, for example as a caring mother
or grandmother. At some points of the interview, she explicitly expresses this defiant identity
by distancing herself from the ways other women of her age use new ICTs. For example,
without prompt, she explains not to look for recipes on the Internet, ironically remarking that
she ‘prefer[s] eating to coking.’725 Apparently, I12 is aware that looking for recipes online is a
popular practice among older women, as the qualitative strand of this study has also shown.
She, however, has different interests that do not necessarily always relate to conventional ideas
about what older women do with ICTs, as she is eager to signify.
Instead of family-centered use or professional and community-oriented use,
much of I12’s engagement with new ICTs revolves around her interest in foreign places and
cultures. In addition to watching webcams of various cities, she engages in what she calls
‘pensioners’ reveries.’726 Together with friends, she likes to look up places abroad that she
and her friends dream of moving to but cannot afford, such as Tenerife. She also participates in
several foreign-language classes and reports using e-mail to share assignments with some of
her friends and class mates as well as to consult online dictionaries. More generally,
she also identifies the provision of ‘global news’727 as an important advantage of the Internet.
725 “ich tu lieber essen als kochen” (I12)
726 “Träumereien der Pensionisten” (I12)
727 “weltweit[e] Nachrichten” (I12)
320
Additionally, she mentions looking up details for international train travel online.
Also much of her use of traditional media revolves around her cosmopolitan identity that she
puts forward repeatedly throughout the interview. For example, she likes to watch
documentaries on international social issues or on travel and transportation on TV.
Another strong interest of I12 is design and crafts. Particularly, she likes to make fashion
jewelry and to knit. As she explains, both of these creative activities are related to her use of
new ICTs. With regard to designing and assembling fashion jewelry, she uses e-mail
to coordinate joint orders of stones with friends who are also into making fashion jewelry.
And when knitting, she likes to note down knitting patterns on her computer to be able to print
them out at later points and to use them as reference for other projects.
As already mentioned above, of all interviewees, I12 states the importance of ICTs for pursuing
personal interests and self-expression most strongly. Importantly, her explicit criticism of
traditional norms related to gender and aging, that also serve as a means of distancing herself
from mainstream ICT use of other women her age, is rather unusual for the qualitative sample.
However, other interviewees also repeatedly share how they use ICTs as tools to pursue
personal interests and express themselves as individuals. One of them is interviewee 6.
Interviewee 6, a former social worker, perceives herself as somebody who keeps up with
the latest ICT developments although simultaneously suggesting that she is
“not a very technically capable person.”728 Despite downplaying her technological skills,
she enjoys engaging with a broad variety of new ICTs, including an iPod, iPad, and Kindle,
among others. Similar to I12, she highlights that her use of new ICTs differs from that of others
of her generation. However, in contrast to I12, she does not downplay care work she performs
with ICTs, but directs attention to her self-image as an ICT pioneer. As I6 explains,
compared to others of her generation, she uses new ICTs more extensively.
728 ‘ technisch keine sehr fähige Person.’ (I6)
321
“I think I am the sort of person who likes gadgets. […] [S]o I buy gadgets that
I do not really need, sometimes. A lot of people I know aren’t like that
of my generation. Probably, I feel myself more to be like somebody ten years
younger than me. And I feel that friends I have are more like ten years older than
me in their fear of developments. It is a lot of scare of new stuff, isn’t there.
I probably don’t know anybody who feels as comfortable about media as I do.
I don’t know whether it is because I am from another culture. Maybe. Although I
do know other British people who are not as involved in it as I am or
are uncomfortable. I think the friends that I might have, like the Austrian friends
I have, they use those things but in a more limited way. […] I am kind of aware of
being in a society that is behind. That is positive and negative in a way. You know,
when you are in Britain, you have […] shops selling stuff that is really sexy,
you know. Everything is being shown and that’s a bit extreme. I am somewhere
in the middle (laughs), I think. [Within] [m]y generation, I think I am a bit different.
That is my feeling, yeah.”729
Although I6 ponders the question whether being “from another culture”730 (I6) has added to
her particular perspective on ICTs, in addition to also diverging from the mainstream
tech interests of her generation, ICTs are certainly crucial in terms of expressing and sustaining
her British identity. For I6, ICTs are an important means to accessing her native culture and
to cultivating her multicultural sense of self. Sharing her enthusiasm for the Internet,
she highlights how it has been connecting her to British culture and to her daughter who lives
in the UK.
“I love it, I just […] love it. I can't imagine living without it. It just opened up
all sorts of things for me and created much greater access to my own culture.
I never read paper newspapers, I would always read my own newspapers.
I was glad when somebody brought me back a newspaper once every six months,
I would sort of read every bit, but now I can do that. There's skyping my daughter,
it’s amazing, I never had that with my mom.”731 (I6)
729 ‘Ich denke, ich bin eine Person, die technische Spielerein mag. […] [A]lso ich kaufe Spielerein,
die ich nicht wirklich brauche, manchmal. Viele Leute meiner Generation, die ich kenne, sind nicht so.
Wahrscheinlich fühle ich mich mehr wie jemand, der zehn Jahre jünger ist als ich. Und ich habe das Gefühl,
dass meine Freunde eher zehn Jahre älter als ich in ihrer Angst vor Entwicklungen. Da gibt es viel Angst vor
neuen Sachen, nicht. Ich kenne wahrscheinlich niemanden der sich mit Medien so wohl fühlt wie ich. Ich weiß
nicht ob es deswegen ist, weil ich aus einer anderen Kultur komme. Vielleicht. Obwohl ich auch andere britische
Leute kenne, die nicht so involviert sind wie ich oder die sich nicht wohlfühlen. Ich denke, dass vielleicht
die Freunde, die ich habe, also die österreichischen Freunde, die nützen diese Dinge, aber auf eine
eingeschränktere Art und Weise. […] Ich bin mir auf eine Art bewusst, in einer Gesellschaft zu sein, die hinterher
ist. Das ist auf eine Art gut und schlecht. Weißt du, in Großbritannien hast du […] Geschäfte, die Sachen
verkaufen, die wirklich sexy sind, weißt du. Alles wird gezeigt und das ist ein bisschen extreme. Ich bin irgendwo
in der Mitte (lacht), denke ich. [In] [m]einer Generation, denke ich, bin ich ein bisschen anders. Das ist
mein Gefühl, ja.’ (I6)
730 ‘aus einer anderen Kultur’ (I6)
731 ‘Ich liebe es, ich liebe es […] einfach. Ich kann mir nicht vorstellen ohne es zu leben. Es hat einfach allerlei
Dinge für mich eröffnet und viel größeren Zugang zu meiner eigenen Kultur geschaffen. Ich habe nie gedruckte
Zeitung gelesen, ich habe immer meine eigenen Zeitungen gelesen. Ich war froh, wenn mir alle sechs Monate
322
The access both new and traditional ICTs provide to British culture is highly relevant for I6,
as she notes repeatedly during the conversation. For example, she explains to listen to
“both sets of news, from Britain and Austria”732 (I6) every morning on the radio and also shares
many details on skyping with her daughter in the UK. During the walking interview through
her house, she additionally explains how she uses the website of BBC to watch British programs
and again emphasizes the importance of British online newspapers.
In addition to expressing and cultivating her British identity, ICTs also matter for I6 in relation
to specific thematic interests. These include literature, art and making art, physical activity,
as well as traveling. For example, I6 is an avid reader and regularly participates in a book club.
She does most of her reading with an e-reader (Kindle), as she reports proudly, pointing to her
aforementioned identity as a “person who likes gadgets.” 733 The book club is one of the
concrete settings in her current everyday life in retirement in which I6 experiences her use of
new ICTs to differ considerably from that of others. She elaborates:
“I have a book club and I am the only one with a Kindle. Very negative attitudes
actually. Quite unpleasant. I don’t know why they get so worked up. You know,
I just say, ‘Well, I do this, you do that, my choice! Leave me alone!’ And it seems
as if it comes later with some people. There is a lot of resistance. But I think
eventually they’ll all move over, probably.”734 (I6)
Beyond using an e-reader, I6’s interest in literature is connected to her use of new ICTs.
For example, during the media tour through her home, she explains she looks for new books,
as well as reviews of books, plays, and films online. Moreover, the Internet is also relevant for
I6’s creative interest in art and making art. In this context, she likes to find motifs online that
she then prints to use them as inspiration for her own painting projects.
Similarly, I6’s interest in politics is connected to the Internet, to Facebook in particular.
She reports receiving political news from both her son and brother on Facebook that she likes
to engage with. I6 states:
jemand eine Zeitung mit zurück gebracht hat, dann habe ich jede Kleinigkeit gelesen, aber jetzt kann ich
das machen. Es gibt Skypen mit meiner Tochter, das ist großartig, ich hatte das nie mit meiner Mutter.’ (I6)
732 ‘beide Ausgaben der Nachrichten, aus Großbritannien und Österreich’ (I6)
733 ‘eine Person, die technische Spielereien mag’ (I6)
734 ‘Ich habe eine Buchclub und ich bin die einzige mit einem Kindle. Sehr negative Einstellungen eigentlich.
Sehr unangenehm. Ich weiß nicht, warum sie sich so aufregen. Weißt du, ich sage einfach, ‘Also ich mache das,
du machst das, meine Entscheidung! Lass mich in Frieden!’ Und es scheint so als ob es bei manchen Leuten erst
spät kommt. Da gibt es viel Widerstand. Aber ich denke, schlussendlich werden sie alle dazu übergehen,
wahrscheinlich.’ (I6)
323
“[…] And I've come to realize very recently the positive aspects of Facebook. […]
And therefore, I inform myself from what he [her brother] posts, if you'd like.
For example, there's this terrible right-wing government in Britain, but there's
a great grass-roots movement going on against that and it's not exposed in the
media at all, but it is on social media. And he sometimes posts me films or – not me,
on Facebook – films and articles. And I think that's fantastic. […].”735
In addition to her interest in literature, art, and politics, it is also important for I6 to be physically
active. As she explains during the walking interview through her house, she is part of an
informal “walking group”736 (I6) and often in charge of planning and organizing the group’s
walks, for which she uses the Internet. Besides exercising with her group, she also goes
for walks on her own. When doing so, I6 makes sure to bring her cell phone to be able to call
her husband in case she gets lost, as outlined before. Finally, new ICTs also matter with regard
to I6’s strong interest in traveling. She likes to organize online weekend getaways or longer
trips with her husband and reports using Excel tables to make lists related to travel organization.
In front of her PC during the media tour, I6 again emphasizes the Internet’s relevance in travel
planning. Asked what she does when she works on her PC for longer periods of time,
“[c]hecking out holiday stuff”737 (I6) is the first thing that comes to her mind.
As mentioned above, in addition to I12 and I6, individually fulfilling use of ICTs is also relevant
to I8. However, I8 does not share many specific thematic interests connected to her use of ICTs
and does not put forward ICT use as expressing a particular identity that differentiates herself
from others. But, in contrast to I12 and I6, she reports a vast array of leisurely use of ICTs.
This pattern of ICT use will be discussed in detail in section 6.3.3. Nevertheless,
although examples of specific thematic interests are not plentiful in her case,
I8 does also mention how some of her more specific interests relate to her use of ICTs
in retirement. For example, just as I6, I8 is interested in traveling and likes to plan online short
trips to traditional Austrian thermal spas or more extensive vacations with her husband.
735 ‘[…] Und mir sind vor Kurzem die positiven Aspekte von Facebook klar geworden. […] Und daher
informiere ich mich über das, was er [ihr Bruder] posted, wenn du so willst. Da ist zum Beispiel diese furchtbare
rechts gerichtete Regierung in Großbritannien, aber da gibt es diese großartige Basisbewegung, die sich dagegen
richtet und das ist überhaupt nicht in den Medien sichtbar, aber es ist in den sozialen Medien. Und manchmal
postet er bei mir Filme – nicht bei mir, auf Facebook – Filme und Artikel. Und ich finde das fantastisch. […]’ (I6)
736 ‘Walking Gruppe’ (I6)
737 ‘Urlaubssachen nachschauen’ (I6)
324
Also more generally, she is interested in traveling and foreign places. At one point
in the interview, she explains that she has looked up information on India, on its cities and
customs of living in particular, when her son was traveling there. Elaborating on her use of
the Internet, she furthermore explains that she likes to learn about the places she is traveling to,
and their sights online before going there: “Oder wenn du [auf] Urlaub fährst, dann informierst
du dich halt schon im Vorfeld, was kannst du anschauen oder wie ist es dort”738 (I8).
A second interest that surfaces repeatedly in the conversation with I8 is politics. To stay
up to date with politics, she watches political debates on TV but also informs herself online.
Other interviewees also mention using ICTs for the pursuit of personal interests. Although I3’s
ICT use can be characterized best in terms of family care work overall, pursuit of personal
interests is also relevant for her. During the first part of the conversation, she continuously
downplayed her own ICT competencies and almost exclusively framed her ICT use in terms of
family care work. However, during the walking interview through her home and the immediate
engagement with her computer, it became evident that she also likes to use her laptop to pursue
one of her personal interests, gaming. Explaining her everyday engagement with her laptop,
she showed a digital card game (“Solitaire”) that she plays regularly and enthusiastically.
With much excitement, I3 shares details on her long-standing gaming activities.
“Ja, das ist ja höchstinteressant für mich, weil an dem spiele ich ja jetzt schon seit
ich ihn [den Laptop] habe und das ist doch schon ein paar Jahre, ich spiele auch
[…], weil da bin ich erst irgendwann draufgekommen, dass das mit Prozenten
mitgerechnet wird, da war ich dann schon unten auf 71 oder irgendetwas und dann
[…] hat mich der Ehrgeiz gepackt […], ich weiß nicht warum, damit ich wieder auf
100 Prozent komme, das dauert sicher noch zwei Jahre, weil jetzt bin ich auf 97
und da brauche ich schon noch ein paar tausend Spiele, gewonnene Spiele, um auf
den nächsten Prozentsatz zu kommen und […] das ist dieses Spiel da.”739
738 ‘Or when you are going on a vacation, then you inform yourself beforehand on what to look at there or
what it is like there.’ (I8)
739 ‘Well, and this is most interesting for me, because I have been playing it since I have got it [the laptop] and
it has actually been a few years, I am also playing, […] because I only realized at some point that it calculates
percentages, I was down to 71 or something and then […] I got ambitious [daughter-in-law says hi in-between]
[…] I don’t know why, to get to 100 percent again, it will surely take two years because now I am at 97 and I will
actually need a few thousand games, games won, to get to the next percentage and […] this is that game there.’
(I3)
325
Shortly afterwards, I3 emphasizes that ‘this is [her] game,’740 signifying that playing Solitaire
is related to her own interest and ‘ambition’741 only. This is relevant since I3 is a
busy grandmother, caring for a three-generation household and is mainly responsible for
preparing the family’s meals, as it also becomes evident on multiple occasions during
the interview. Asked what will happen when she reaches 100% in the game, I3 replies:
“Ja, gar nix passiert (lacht) Das ist jetzt mein Ehrgeiz. […] Das ist mein Spiel. Und jetzt muss
ich schauen – wart, jetzt gehen wir gleich essen – zum Beispiel ich kann nur so legen,
den 8er auf 9er, also […] der geht jetzt da her, jetzt bin ich fertig.”742
As discussed in subchapter 2.2, the case of I3 is noteworthy because she is the only interviewee
of the entire qualitative sample who mentions playing a digital game. This low relevance of
digital gaming for interviewees does not resonate with quantitative findings obtained from data
of wave 1 of the ACT Longitudinal Study on Older Audiences in a Digital Media Environment
(discussed in detail in chapter 2). As mentioned in subchapter 2.2, this discrepancy might be
related to the intentionally purposive sampling in the main qualitative strand of the study
(also see section 3.4.1). However, as indicated, it is also possible that underreporting of
self-oriented and individually fulfilling engagement with ICTs by older women participating in
the qualitative strand of the study is an issue. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that many
accounts of self-oriented and individually fulfilling use of ICTs only surfaced late in the
conversations and often were not put forward as forcefully as other kinds of use. As noted in
subchapter 2.2, there is reason to assume that self-oriented and individually fulfilling use of
ICTs in retirement is not perceived as socially acceptable by the women interviewed –
particularly if compared to other forms of ICT engagement, such as family-centered use or
professional and community-oriented use. In this context, the distinct advantages of different
empirical methods (qualitative vs. quantitative) become evident, underscoring the usefulness of
combining different methodological perspectives in a mixed methods design.
740 “Das ist mein Spiel” (I3)
741 “Ehrgeiz” (I3)
742 ‘Well, nothing at all (laughs) that is my ambition. [I3 introduces her daughter-in-law and author of thesis
and explains purpose of study in-between] That is my game. And now I have to see – wait, we will go and eat
right away – for example, I can only put it like that, the 8 on the 9, well […], this one goes here now,
now I am done.’ (I3)
326
However, although not always put forward as forcefully as other kinds of ICT use,
the pursuit of personal interests and self-expression assisted by ICTs play a role for quite
a few interviewees. As just illustrated in the case of I3, patterns of ICT use are complex.
While one type of use usually describes an interviewee’s media engagement best,
patterns of use are not case-bound. One case can, and most often does, include multiple patterns
of use that are relevant to different degrees. This also applies to I4. While much of her
engagement with ICTs revolves around family-centered activities, most importantly family
history writing, she also uses ICTs in relation to her interest in environmental issues.
Elaborating on her use of e-mail, I4 explains that she participates in online petitions for
environmental causes, such as the protest against the regulation of certain plant seeds.
“Ja, da schreiben wir wieder, wie heißt das […] Global 2000 und die Sachen und
die […] Pflanzen und was da in unsere EU-Gesetze kommen soll und wir müssen
Einspruch erheben [gegen] […] die Registrierung aller zig-tausend, 30.000
Paradeissorten, die sich kein Kleiner leisten kann, [dagegen] die registrieren zu
lassen oder patentieren zu lassen. Dann sind wir wieder dabei mit der
Unterstützung für diese Leute, das machen wir auch. Also, das mache ich vor allem,
in erster Linie, ich sage, ja, ich bin für die Vielfältigkeit und da brauchen sie halt
oft die Unterschriften und das unterstütze ich schon auch.”743
Similar to other interviewees, when talking about a personal interest, I4 emphasizes that this is
her interest. By stating that supporting environmental causes online is something that
‘[she] doe[s] primarily, first and foremost’744 and that ‘[she] [is] for diversity,’745
she highlights that this area of ICT use relates to her individual interests, independently of other
family members, in this case her husband. Her interest in environmental issues also comes up
in the context of use of traditional media. For example, I4 mentions watching programs
‘that are about the environment’746 on TV and that she hates it ‘if a TV goes on stand-by,’747
instead of turning off completely.
743 ‘Well, and then we write again, what is it called […] Global 2000 and this stuff and the […] plants and
what should become part of our EU laws and we have to object [to] […] the registration of thousands of, of 30,000
kinds of tomatoes, which no small [enterprise] can afford, [against] having those registered or patented.
Then we are participating in supporting those people, that we also do. Well, I do it primarily, first and foremost,
I do say, yes, I am for diversity and there they do need the signatures and that I do also support.’ (I4)
744 “mache ich vor allem, in erster Linie” (I4)
745 “ich bin für die Vielfältigkeit” (I4)
746 “da geht es um die Umwelt” (I4)
747 “wenn ein Fernseher auf Standby geht” (I4)
327
In addition to those interviewees whose ICT engagement can be described best in terms of
self-oriented and individually fulfilling use – I12, I6, and I8 – as well as the cases of I3 and I4
discussed above, other interviewees also occasionally mention using ICTs for pursuing personal
interests and self-expression. I1 regularly sings in a choir. While much of her media use related
to her choir can be characterized as community-oriented use of ICTs, focusing on providing
services to her choir, it is also connected to her general interest in music and being a chorister.
For example, she reports using YouTube to look up music her choir plans to rehearse and that
she does not know. I5 also expresses a strong interest in music, which connects to her use of
traditional media. She plays the guitar and sometimes turns on the TV on silent mode in the
background while she is playing. In addition, she likes to listen to guitar music featured on
national public radio. Similar to I1 and I5, most of I7’s engagement with ICTs centers on
activities connected to her family. However, late in the conversation, during the walking tour
through her home, she also mentions using her tablet related to an activity she performs
individually – working out in a fitness studio. She uses an app on her tablet to book
appointments for “Power Plate” workout sessions. Showing the app to the interviewer,
I7 actually starts looking into free appointments right after the interview, using her tablet.
As illustrated, I10 has established her own business as an esoteric counselor and much of her
use of ICTs is related to this enterprise. While most of her ICT engagement can be characterized
as professional, her identity as an esoteric is important for her use of media more generally.
For example, she explains how being an ‘energy therapist’ informs her interaction with
information she receives on Facebook.
“[…] [I]ch bin Energetiker und es gibt verschiedene Energetiker auch,
die viele Informationen übers Facebook einfach weiterleiten, ja, […] das ist für
mich durchaus immer wieder sehr interessant, ich lese aber auch durchaus sehr
kritisch, ja, und ich spüre in mich hinein, wie ist die Information für mich und ich
glaube, das haben wir sehr, sehr viel verlernt, zu spüren. Was macht die
Information für mich, was sagt diese Information, was sagt mir mein Herz dabei?
Klick weiter oder schau es dir an und ich glaube, das müssen wir wieder entdecken,
dass man mit dem Gefühl und nicht nur mit dem Verstand arbeiten, ja.”748 (I10)
748 ‘[…] [I] am an energy therapist and there are also various energy therapists that share much information
on Facebook, yes, […] that is absolutely interesting for me from time to time, but I do read it absolutely critically,
yes, and I pay attention to my inner emotions, what is this information like for me and I think we very,
very much unlearned to feel. What is this information doing for me, what is this information saying,
what is my heart saying? Continue to click or look at it and I believe, this we have to rediscover, to work with your
emotions and not only with your mind, yes.’ (I10)
328
Much of I11’s engagement with ICTs can be characterized as professional and
community-oriented use. However, her identity as a former mayor of a small town does not
only inform her use of ICTs in service of associations and community projects, but also her
engagement with ICTs more generally. I11 has remained a political person after having retired
from her official duties as a mayor. Also in retirement, I11 uses ICTs to express and sustain
her identity as a politically interested and involved person more generally. For example,
she likes to watch movies on political and social issues with friends on DVD and to tune into
various TV programs on international affairs and current social issues. She also likes to listen
to national public radio when there are shows on controversial contemporary art and literature
that feature representatives of public life reacting to it. She is also interested in art more
generally and likes to listen to interviews with artists and representatives of the cultural scene,
as well as book reviews on the radio. In addition to her interests in politics and culture,
I11 also likes to travel and uses ICTs in this context. For example, she uses the Internet in a
multiplicity of ways to prepare for trips. She streams documentaries as preparation for her
travels, repeatedly mentions that she purchases her train tickets online and sometimes buys
clothes she needs for traveling online. When traveling, she uses her Kindle for reading,
as well as her iPad for e-mails and for taking and sending photos. Another core interest of
I11 is watching sports on TV, which she characterizes as a personal ‘quirk’749 of hers.
As she explains, she sometimes gets up very early in the morning to watch a ski race and also
enjoys knitting while watching sport events.
“Was ich gern schaue, das ist Sport. Also ich bin ein begeisterter
Wintersportfernseher. Dort entstehen auch die meisten Handarbeiten, weil da sitze
ich wirklich bei Abfahrten, beim Slalom, und dann stricke ich ganz schnell,
dann sind meistens Fehler drinnen, aber das schaue ich gern. Da bin ich jetzt sogar
einmal um 4 Uhr in der Früh [aufgestanden] […], habe ich den Wecker gestellt,
damit ich das kurz anschauen kann. Also das ist ein bissel ein Spleen.”750 (I11)
749 “Spleen” (I11)
750 ‘What I like to watch is sports. Well, I am a person who watches winter sports on TV enthusiastically.
Then I also do most of my crafting because I am really sitting when downhill races are on, when the slalom is on,
and then I knit very fast, then there are usually mistakes but I like to watch that. The other day I even [got up]
at 4 o’clock in the morning, I set my alarm, to be able to watch that quickly. Well, that is a bit of a quirk.’ (I11)
329
6.3.2 Self-Educational Use of ICTs
In addition to using ICTs for the general pursuit of thematic interests and to express and sustain
individually relevant identities, interviewees’ engagement with ICTs also includes
self-education. For example, I12 likes to listen to programs on the radio discussing scientific
issues and to educate herself watching programs on architecture, history, and animals on TV.
Watching these programs represents more than just pursuit of interests or leisure for I12 and
does indeed serve self-educational purposes. This can be exemplified in two contexts.
Firstly, I12 explains to ‘focus’751 on the animal programs she watches on TV, wanting to
‘absorb’752 all information presented. She explains: “Aber bei Tiersendungen oder Reportagen,
das will ich aufsaugen irgendwie und das kann ich dann nicht neben[bei] laufen lassen.
Dann […] setze ich mich hin und da konzentriere ich mich dann auf das”753 (I12).
Secondly, in the context of TV programs on architecture, she sometimes takes notes while
watching a program and then conducts further research on the topic online. I12 states:
“[…] [D]a schaue ich mir die Sendungen im Fernsehen an und dann schaue ich eben weiter,
da schreibe ich mir das mit, weil merken tue ich es mir nicht, und dann schaue ich mir
das an.”754
Generally, I12 reports often looking up things she is interested in online, comparing the Internet
to a ‘lexicon,’ as mentioned previously. It is key to note that she talks about looking up things
online in the context of ‘research,’755 highlighting the importance of the Internet as
a self-educational tool. Reflecting on the Internet as a means of gathering information,
she elaborates:
751 “konzentriere ich mich” (I12)
752 “aufsaugen” (I12)
753 ‘But with programs on animals or documentaries, I somehow want to absorb it and I cannot have it turned
on on the side. Then […] I sit down and then I focus on it.’ (I12)
754 ‘[…] [T]hen I watch the programs on TV and then I look into it further, I take notes because I do
not remember, and then I look into it.’ (I12)
755 “Forschung” (I12)
330
“[…] [A]lso, ich bin auch davon überzeugt, dass auch das Wissen erweitert wird,
nicht nur Information […], ja, Information ist eigentlich Wissen, nicht, in dem Fall.
Wenn eine Forschung gemacht wird, […] von mir aus, wenn ich jetzt die Kamille
anschaue, dann schaue ich halt einmal nach, was hat diese Kamille für
Inhaltsstoffe. Ich muss jetzt nicht von mir aus in die Bibliothek rennen oder […]
mein eigenes […] Buch heraussuchen, was hat sie drinnen. Und dann weiß ich ja
auch nicht, das Buch ist geschrieben worden vor 10 Jahren, in der Zwischenzeit hat
sich auch wieder viel geändert und da kann ich eben dann schon da nachschauen.
Ich habe halt das Gefühl, dass internetmäßig doch alles so ziemlich am letzten
Stand ist von der Forschung her, sagen wir einmal.”756 (I12)
While self-oriented and individually fulfilling use of ICTs overall is important for I6 and I8
in terms of pursuing personal interests, expressing individual identities, as well as
leisure activities, it is less relevant for them in terms of self-education. As mentioned before,
I8 likes to look up information on places and sights before traveling there. As argued,
this is related to her interest in traveling, but it can of course also be interpreted as
a self-educational activity. Moreover, I8 mentions sometimes looking up a ‘date’757 or other
unspecified ‘information’758 online, but otherwise does not share too many details on
how she uses ICTs for self-educational purposes. One example of I8’s ICT use that can also be
interpreted as self-educational is her practice of comparing different national newspapers and
their reporting online. She explains:
“[…] [W]as ich früher einmal nicht gemacht habe, aber jetzt schaue ich,
meine Tochter hat den ‘Standard’ hinauf installiert, das kann ich selber nicht
(lacht), noch, und da vergleiche ich dann ab und zu einmal, wie die Zeitungen
schreiben. Das ist nämlich auch interessant, weil wir haben die ‘Kleine [Zeitung]’
und die ‘Krone’ und den ‘Standard’, also, da sieht man schon ein bisschen
Unterschiede manchmal, oft, in der Berichterstattung, ja.”759 (I8)
756 ‘[…] [W]ell, I am also convinced that knowledge becomes more broad, not just information […], well,
information actually is knowledge in this case. When doing some kind of research, […] when I am looking at
the chamomile, If you will, then I am looking up substances of this chamomile. I do not have to go to the library,
if you will or […] look for my own book, what is in there. And then I don’t know, the book has been written
10 years ago, in the mean time much has changed and then I can actually look it up there. I have the feeling that
regarding the Internet everything is very much up to date concerning research, let’s say.’ (I12)
757 “Jahreszahl” (I8)
758 “Informationen” (I8)
759 ‘[…] [W]hat I did not use to do, but now I have a look, my daughter installed the ‘Standard’
[Austrian national newspaper], I cannot do this myself (laughs), not yet, and there I then compare the newspapers’
reporting from time to time. That is actually interesting because we have the ‘Kleine Zeitung’ and the
‘Crown’ [both also Austrian national newspapers] and the ‘Standard’, well, there one does see quite a few
differences sometimes, often, in their reporting, yes.’ (I8)
331
I6 reports using Google to search for instructions when something does not work on
her computer, which she describes as “quite a good way of finding out things”760 and also
looks for explanations on “various things”761 on YouTube related to ICT problems.
However, similarly to I8, she does not share too many examples of self-educational use of ICTs.
The overall qualitative material does include some more accounts of self-educational use
of ICTs. Although I1’s engagement with media can be characterized best in terms of
family history writing, she also uses ICTs in relation to her interests in art, literature and
language, as well as music. For example, she likes to research related details online,
as she explains.
“[…] [W]enn ich etwas wissen [will], oder ein Gedicht, ich schaue nach, eben, und
eben wenn ich ‘Die Räuber’ will hören, [wenn ich] irgendeine Aufführung wissen
will oder ‘Faust’, ein Zitat, […] habe ich alles da, in dem Kasterl [meint Computer]
da drinnen, also es ist schon toll! Ich bin echt begeistert davon!”762 (I1)
As mentioned before, similar to I8 and I12, she compares the Internet to a ‘lexicon’ (I1)
that comes in handy pursuing one of her favorite activities, looking up things to refresh her
memory or to learn new facts. I1 illustrates her use of the Internet as ‘lexicon’ repeatedly
during the conversation. For example, she explains:
“Wenn ich etwas nicht weiß, ich schlage sofort nach. Das nervt manchmal,
meinen Mann nervt das furchtbar, weil ich sofort, also ganz wurscht was,
wenn mir ein Gedicht einfällt oder irgendein Fremdwort oder wurscht, egal was,
also ich schlage sofort nach und da ist Google natürlich großartig! Das nutze ich
jeden Tag! Jeden Tag x-Mal. Also immer wieder, wurscht, und wenn ich
nachschaue jetzt, was weiß ich, wenn im Fernsehen jetzt die Oper vom Barenboim
dirigiert wird, ja, wo kommt der Barenboim her, [er] ist ein argentinischer,
ist ein israelisch-palästinensischer Künstler und so weiter. Und da gebe ich
keine Ruhe, bevor ich das weiß.”763 (I1)
760 ‘ein ganz guter Weg um Dinge herauszufinden’ (I6)
761 ‘verschiedene Dinge’ (I6)
762 ‘[…] [W]hen I [want to] know something, or a poem I look it up actually, and actually, if want to listen to
‘The Robbers,’ [if I] want to know about any performance or ‘Faust,’ a quote, […] I got it all, inside this box
[refers to computer], well it actually is great! I am really excited about it!’ (I1)
763 ‘If I don’t know something, I look it up immediately. That is sometimes annoying, my husband gets terribly
annoyed by that because I immediately, no matter what, if I cannot recall a poem or some loan word or
no matter what, regardless, well, I look it up immediately and there Google is of course great! I use it every day!
Every day a hundred of times. Well, again and again, no matter what, and if I look up, I don’t know, if Barenboim
is conducting an opera on TV, well where does Barenboim come from, [he] is an Argentinian, Israli-Palestinian
artist and so on. And there I don’t leave it alone, before I know.’ (I1)
332
I1’s use of the TV also relates to ‘knowledge transfer,’764 as she puts it. As mentioned
previously, when ironing, she likes to turn on the TV as a backdrop. When doing so, she prefers
to watch programs that extend her current knowledge and broad her horizon. She elaborates:
“[…] [I]ch bin eher auf, sagen wir so, bisschen Wissensvermittlung oder
beim Bügeln […], da schaue ich unten, im Keller unten tue ich bügeln,
in der Wohnung unten. Und […] da schaue ich dann Phönix, Bayern Alpha, Arte,
Norddeutscher Rundfunk oder Westdeutscher Rundfunk oder was, irgendwelche
Reisesendungen, also, was halt dann [am] Nachmittag oder Abend [ist] oder wann
immer halt ich dann bügle, da schalte ich sicher ein. Und da kommt man zu den
tollsten Geschichten, bis zur Nano- und irgendwelche Physiksendungen, die ich
sonst nicht anschauen würde, aber wenn es halt gerade passt, nicht.”765 (I1)
In the context of I1’s case, it is important to note that while she repeatedly highlights
self-educational interests and her preference of high-brow media content, her use of ICTs does
also include a considerable amount of “casual leisure” (Stebbins 1997, 2011) and popular
culture content, as will be shown in section 6.3.3. This observation justifies the assumption that
some media use reported by interviewees is also related to social desirability and adherence
to it in an interview situation.
Similarly to I1, I4 reports also using her computer to learn about loanwords. In addition to
keeping a digital family chronicle or family logbook, she also keeps a list of loanwords on her
computer. She types them up in order to be able to remember them at later occasions.
“Auch zum Beispiel habe ich mir so eine Fremdwörterliste gemacht für Dinge,
die mich interessieren oder die ich mir vielleicht merken möchte, aber da drinnen
bleiben sie nicht (lacht), wenn ich etwas höre, ‘Aha, das ist ein spezielles Wort’ und
dann trage ich das da hinein, ‘Aha,’ trage ich noch etwas dazu, ob ich dann [zum]
Lesen dazukomme, ja, vielleicht einmal, keine Ahnung, aber ich mag das halt auch.
[…]”766 (I4)
764 “Wissensvermittlung” (I1)
765 ‘[…] [I] am more after, let’s say, a little bit of knowledge transfer or when ironing […], I do watch
downstairs, I am ironing in the basement, in the flat downstairs. And […] there I watch Phönix, Bayern Alpha,
Arte, Norddeutscher Rundfunk or Westdeutscherrundfunk [all German stations] or something,
some travel programs, well, what [is] on [in] the afternoon or evening or whenever I do iron, I certainly
turn it on. And there you can get the greatest stuff, such as nano and some programs on physics, that I wouldn’t
watch otherwise, but when it is convenient, right.’ (I1)
766 ‘Also, for example, I have created a kind of list of loan words for things I am interested in or that I might
like to remember but that do not stick (laughs), if I hear something ‘Ah, that is a special word’ and then I note
it down, ‘Ah,’ I add something, whether I also get around to read it, well, maybe at some point, don’t know,
but I also just like it actually.’ (I4)
333
While I9 is not interested in loanwords, she likes to look up foreign words in French online.
She uses an online dictionary with an audio function for studying French in a foreign-language
course. Whenever she learns new vocabulary in class, she likes to enter it into the online
dictionary to learn about its pronunciation.
Of all the interviewees, I10 is the one who puts forward the idea of gathering information most
strongly in the context of her use of ICTs. While the notion of information remains rather vague
for the most part, one of the instances where she defines it more concretely is online training.
Discussing her engagement with the Internet, she reports that she has discovered webinars to
be one of her favorite aspects of it. “[…] Was ich entdeckt habe, das gefällt mir ganz gut,
Webinare, das finde ich [ist] eine ganz eine tolle Entwicklung, ja, eben Internet-Kurse
zu machen, ganz tolle Sachen […]”767 (I10). Moreover, replying to the question of whether
she could imagine living without Internet, I10 again highlights the importance of
online training. When she was without Internet recently for a few days, she realized that
she missed ‘that source of information’768(I10).
“Das habe ich jetzt gesehen nämlich, ich habe drei Tage kein Internet gehabt,
vier Tage sogar, und dann habe ich mir gedacht, ‘Das fehlt mir schon,
diese Informationsquelle’. Jetzt hätte ich Zeit, jetzt würde ich gern das machen,
da bin ich auch gerade in einem Programm drinnen, wo ich eben sowie im Webinar
mit mehr Stufen [teilnehme] und da könnte ich jetzt weiter machen und so weiter.
Ja, also möchte ich nicht sein, ohne Internet. Gehört in die Zeit, ist so.”769 (I10)
6.3.3 Use of ICTs for “Casual Leisure”
In addition to pursuing specific personal interests and self-expression as well as self-education,
self-oriented and individually fulfilling use of ICTs also includes “casual leisure”
(Stebbins 1997, 2011). Originally coined as an analytical term by Stebbins, “casual leisure”
describes an “immediately, intrinsically rewarding, relatively short-lived pleasurable activity
requiring little or no special training to enjoy it” (Stebbins 1997:18, 2011:239).
767 ‘[…] What I discovered, what I quite like, webinars, that I find to be quite a great development, well, to do
Internet courses, quite great stuff […].’ (I10)
768 “diese Informationsquelle” (I10)
769 ‘I actually experienced that, I did not have Internet for three days, four days actually, and then I thought,
‘I actually do miss it, this source of information.’ Now I would have time, now I would like to do this, I am also
currently part of a program, where I [participate] with various levels, like in the webinar and there I could
continue and so on. Well, I would not like to be without Internet. [It] belongs to our times, that’s how it is.’ (I10)
334
Stebbins (2011:239) developed the concept of “casual leisure” in contrast to “serious leisure”
that he describes as systematic and ambitious, usually leading to a kind of amateur “career”
in a field. Unlike serious leisure, casual leisure focuses mainly on immediate enjoyment and
does not lead to the development of “a distinctive identity” (Stebbins 2011:242).
Although all kinds of casual leisure have in common that they are hedonistic in their nature
(Stebbins 2011:244), Stebbins (2011:243) distinguishes eight different types of casual leisure:
“play,” “relaxation,” “passive entertainment,” “active entertainment,” “sociable conversation,”
“sensory stimulation,” “casual volunteering,” and “pleasurable aerobic activity.”
In the context of the qualitative strand of this study, three of these types of casual leisure are
relevant. Building on Stebbins’ (2011:243) terminology, interviewees’ leisurely use of ICTs
in retirement can be described in terms of “relaxation,” “passive entertainment,” and
“sociable conversation.” Relaxation includes activities requiring very little effort, such as,
for example, sitting or napping (Stebbins 2011:243). Passive entertainment in Stebbins’ terms
describes use of media that is mostly receptive, lacking deep engagement, such as strong
concentration or learning (Stebbins 1997:19). According to Stebbins’ definition,
passive entertainment only requires people to facilitate reception of content by turning on media
devices or opening a book, for example (Stebbins 1997:19). Sociable conversations
are exchanges with others that are pleasurable and not oriented towards a specific goal
(Stebbins 1997:20). Other terms to describe a “sociable conversation”
(Stebbins 1997:20, 2011:243) might be chatting or exchange of pleasantries.
Using Stebbins’ conceptualization of leisure as a framework, Nimrod (2011) has studied
casual leisure of older adults participating in online communities. In this context, she has argued
that the advancing digitalization also provides older adults with increased opportunities for
pursuing casual leisure (Nimrod 2011:227). While Nimrod convincingly proves this in
her investigation, specifically focusing on online communities for seniors (Nimrod 2010, 2011),
in this study, casual leisure is most important in the context of traditional media.
The preferred use of traditional media for leisure activities found in the main qualitative strand
is supported by findings obtained through the supplementing quantitative component of
this study, as discussed in subchapter 2.2. If new and traditional media are compared,
older adults who are users of the Internet still prefer to use traditional media for leisure
activities. As the ACT online survey has shown, both Austrian men and women aged 60 to 70
who are online indicate that, if they had a few hours of free time, they would most likely
read printed books, newspapers or magazines, watch TV, or visit friends or family.
335
Activities such as writing e-mails to friends and family, using social network sites,
sending SMS to friends and family, or visiting a website are less popular among respondents of
the quantitative online survey from 2016 (see subchapter 2.2, Table 14). Importantly,
the quantitative online survey also shows gender differences in leisurely use of ITCs.
Most poignantly, this becomes apparent considering older women’s and older men’s replies to
the question of whether they would visit a website in their free time. As shown
in subchapter 2.2 (see Table 14), while a little more than a fourth (26.4%) of the Austrian men
aged 60 to 70 of the survey would visit websites in their free time, only about an eighth (12.4%)
of the women would do so. This supports an important finding of the main qualitative strand of
the study, namely that older Austrian women often prefer to use new ICTs for family-centered
activities and not primarily for leisure.
In the study at hand, interviewee 8, a former hairdresser and farmer, is among those
interviewees for whom casual leisure supported by traditional media is particularly important.
Much of her use of traditional ICTs can be described as “passive entertainment”
(Stebbins 1997:19). She is fond of her TV, which she also uses as a backdrop while cooking.
This she describes as a kind of guilty pleasure, as a ‘very bad habit.’770 Also beyond using
the TV as a backdrop while cooking, she likes to turn it on for ‘entertainment.’771
I8 reports watching all kinds of movies, including crime and romance, as well as wildlife
documentaries, talk shows, and folksy music programs on TV. While she watches
some programs with her husband, romantic programs, which she calls ‘tear-jerking stuff,’772
are her domain only. Because their ‘interests are often at odds,773 I8 and her husband
actually acquired two TV sets. She explains: “Gern schaue ich halt solche Sachen wie
‘Der Bergdoktor’ und solche Sachen, so ein bisschen so Schnulzensachen.
Für das haben wir auch zwei Fernseher”774 (I8). Particularly when her husband watches sports,
she likes to watch ‘any kind of movie, even if it is nonsense quite often’775 (I8).
770 “ganz eine blöde Angewohnheit” (I8)
771 “Unterhaltung” (I8)
772 “Schnulzensachen” (I8)
773 “Interessen gehen dann halt oft auseinander” (I8)
774 ‘I actually like to watch things like ‘The Mountain Doctor’ and such stuff, kind of tear-jerking stuff.
For this, we also have two TV sets.’ (I8)
775 “irgendeinen Film, auch wenn es ein Blödsinn ist oft” (I8)
336
Although I8 describes some of her TV consumption as ‘nonsense’776 – or perhaps precisely
because of this evaluation – she explains she finds it ‘relaxing’777 to watch TV.
Generally, TV is important for I8, which she also highlights explaining that it would be ‘hard
to imagine’778 being without a TV because she is ‘actually fond of it.’779 I8 succinctly
summarizes how she feels about her use of the TV by stating: “Ja, ich meine der Fernseher
gibt schon auch Informationen und eben Entspannung und Berieselung. Man braucht nicht
viel nachdenken, man kann sich wirklich entspannen, aber die Sucht, süchtig kannst du auf
alles werden.”780 Although she seems to be less attached to the radio, I8 also likes to listen to
some programs on the radio regularly, such as folksy music shows. With regard to new ICTs,
however, she tends to ‘watch some things’781 on YouTube, such as ‘a film or music,’782
as she vaguely mentions.
As noted previously, interviewees also use ICTs to sustain their broader social networks,
to care for friends and acquaintances. However, some mediated exchange with friends and
acquaintances mentioned by interviewees does not qualify as caretaking, but rather serves the
purpose of “sociable conversation” (Stebbins 1997:20). Sometimes, interviewees just enjoy
chatting with their friends and acquaintances. I8, for example, states occasionally exchanging
e-mails with an acquaintance from another city. Since I8 and her husband handed over their
farm recently, she hopes to have more time for e-mailing with her acquaintance in retirement.
While I8’s accounts on exchanging e-mails with her acquaintance remain somewhat vague and
are only shared in passing, other interviewees attach more importance to social exchange using
ICTs. One of them is I12.
In addition to ‘control call[s],’ I12 also mentions ‘gossip call[s]’783 to be relevant for
communicating with her closest friends via cell phone. While the ‘control call’ serves the
purpose of checking on each other for reasons of safety, particularly in winter, the ‘gossip call’
is for sharing gossip about others, as well as other casual news, as I12 explains.
776 “Blödsinn” (I8)
777 “entspannend” (I8)
778 “schwer vorstellen” (I8)
779 “schon eigentlich gern habe” (I8)
780 ‘I mean TV also does provide information actually and relaxation and ambience. One does not have to
think much, one can really relax, but the addiction, you can get addicted to anything.’ (I8)
781 “irgendwas anschauen” (I8)
782 “einen Film oder Musik” (I8)
783 “Tratschanruf[e]” (I12)
337
“Ja, also, […] [ein] sogenannte[r] Kontrollanruf [ist um zu schauen], ob einer noch lebt,
da tun wir uns abwechseln und […] [ein] Tratschanruf ist einfach, wenn jemand etwas weiß
oder wenn we[r] zum ‘Ausrichten’ ist. ‘Du da, da, da, habe ich gehört!’ […] (lacht) […]”784
(I12). Although I12 insists that she does not chat with her friends for long periods of time,
she characterizes these casual exchanges as ‘major communication,’785 highlighting
their relevance. Moreover, I12 also occasionally communicates with friends using e-mail and
exchanges WhatsApp messages with more distant acquaintances. Particularly the latter is not
goal-oriented, but rather “sociable conversation,” as conceptualized by Stebbins (1997:20).
Showing WhatsApp messages on her cell phone to the interviewer, I12 elaborates on how she
communicates with her ‘large circle of acquaintances.’786 I12 explains that she does not have
a ‘particularly close bond’787 with most of her acquaintances, but that she conceives of their
exchange as ‘appreciation.’788 She also shares details on what these casual WhatsApp
conversations include.
“Das schickt man […] halt dann schon von einem zum anderen oder wenn
irgendeine Neuigkeit ist, [kommuniziert man] auch mit Personen, die man nicht so
gut kennt, wo man sagt, das könnte den vielleicht auch interessieren […].
Oder du schreibst einmal ‘Guten Morgen’ oder gibst irgendein […] Smiley dazu
oder am Valentinstag eine Blume dazu. Das […] da sind viele […] Leute, dreißig,
vierzig, die das haben, wo du es dann einfach so schickst, weil du weißt,
der freut sich auch darüber, wo aber keine besondere innere Bindung besteht,
so meine ich das, ja.”789 (I12)
784 ‘Yes, well […] [a] so-called control call [is for checking], whether the other one is still alive, there we
take turns and […] [a] gossip call simple is when somebody knows something or if there is ‘gossip’ to be shared
about somebody. ‘Listen, here, here, here, I have heard!’ […] (laughs) […].’ (I12)
785 “große Kommunikation” (I12)
786 “großen Bekanntenkreis” (I12)
787 “besondere innere Bindung” (I12)
788 “Anerkennung” (I12)
789 ‘One does […] actually send this from one to another person or if there are some news, [one does] also
[communicate] with people you do not know very well, if you think they might be interested as well […].
Or you write ‘Good morning’ or add some smiley or, on Valentine’s Day, you add a flower. That […] are many
[…] people, thirty, forty, who have got that, to whom you just send it because you know, he or she is excited
about it but with whom you do not share a particularly close bond, that is what I mean, yes.’ (I12)
338
Similar to I8, also I6 mentions to only occasionally exchange e-mails with friends. Additionally,
she also texts them sometimes, but these texts seem to be rather instrumental, for example
to arrange meeting points. Interestingly, I6 explains that she does not like to exchange e-mails
with her Austrian friends because she is concerned about the quality of her written German and
has her husband check her e-mails before she sends them off. Although self-oriented and
individually fulfilling use of ICTs generally is important for I6, this might explain why casual
exchange with friends does not play a key role for her.
Also in other regards, “casual leisure” (Stebbins 1997, 2011) supported by ICTs is not overly
relevant for I6. As noted before, for I6, ICTs are meaningful tools for expressing and sustaining
her British identity, as well as for pursuing particular interests, such as literature. In contrast,
she barely mentions any “casual leisure” (Stebbins 1997, 2011) in relation to either traditional
or new ICTs. One exception is streaming TV series and movies, but she does not elaborate on
their content.
In this regard, I12 is similar to I6. While she also highlights her use of ICTs for pursuing
interests and expressing her identity, as well as for educating herself, she does not share many
examples of more casual media engagement. The few examples she provides include watching
science-fiction, crime, as well as romance movies on TV. Additionally, she also likes to
listen to classical music on the radio to relax when she experiences ‘inner restlessness’790(I12).
However, overall, the qualitative material includes more examples of how other participants
than those who primarily use ICTs for various kinds of self-oriented individual fulfillment –
I6, I8, and I12 – enjoy media casually. As stated before, patterns of ICT use cut across individual
cases. Usually, there is one main type of ICT use that characterizes an interviewees’
engagement with ICTs best, but some cases are less clear-cut. One of them is I9.
While family care work is a central topic with regard to her use of new ICTs, I9 also reports a
considerable amount of leisurely use of mostly traditional media. She watches an array of
different TV programs and also mentions quite a few radio shows to which she likes to listen.
The latter range from shows on politics or travel to music programs and radio quizzes.
Both radio and TV are important sources of ‘entertainment’791 for I9. On TV, she likes to watch
crime movies, comedy, as well as documentaries. However, watching TV also helps her relax.
790 “innterlich unrund bin” (I12)
791 “Unterhaltung” (I9)
339
Talking about her occasional difficulties of falling asleep during the media tour through her
apartment, she characterizes her TV as a ‘sleeping aid’792 (I9). Since her husband passed away,
I9 lives alone and admits to sometimes feel lonely. Particularly at night, turning on the TV helps
decrease feelings of loneliness and helps her relax.793 She states: “Weißt [du], dass man sich
nicht so allein fühlt, weil […] es ist schon leise, wenn man allein ist und so. Und […] ich sage
jetzt nicht, das ist jetzt ein Partnerersatz oder was, aber es ist irgendwie eine Geräuschkulisse,
aber jetzt in dem Sinn wieder keine unangenehme, ja”794 (I9). While I9 highlights her use of
radio and TV for entertainment and relaxation repeatedly during the conversation, providing
numerous examples of concrete shows and programs she consumes, new ICTs only play a very
limited role in this regard. In addition to using TV and radio, I9 only reports to occasionally
stream TV programs from stations’ online platforms if she missed them when they were
broadcasted on regular TV.
Although the cases of I9 and I1 differ in some regards, they have in common that both,
in addition to heavily using ICTs for family-centered activities, also use them for
“casual leisure” (Stebbins 1997, 2011). Particularly in the first parts of the interview, I1 frames
her self-oriented and individually fulfilling ICT use mostly in terms of high-brow culture,
talking about opera, classical music, literature, and theater. Only as the interview progresses,
does she start to share more mundane media habits. Particularly TV has a high ‘entertainment
value’795 (I1) for her, as can be seen from the statement below.
“Übrigens, ja, Fernsehen! Also ein geliebter Programmpunkt von mir,
ein ganz beliebter, ist der Jauch, ‘Wer wird Millionär?’ Also das weiß mein Mann,
da ist das Wohnzimmer mit Jauch (lacht) blockiert (lacht), da hat er keine Chance!
(gemeinsames Lachen) Da sitzt die gnädige Frau vorm Fernsehapparat,
wenn der Jauch da ist. […] Ja, aber den, also das schaue ich schon gerne!
Das habe ich vergessen, der Jauch! Oder von mir aus auch der Assinger, Notfalls,
also Montag oder Freitag, also so Quizsendungen, das liebe ich! Da habe ich echt
eine Freude damit! Da freue ich mich richtig!”796 (I1)
792 “Einschlafhilfe” (I9)
793 Already very early studies, such as Silverstone’s (1996:227) mention the relevance of the TV as “company”
for people who feel lonely. Similarly, Bosch (2010:383) has observed the relevance of the TV as a means to reduce
feelings of lonliness in her study on unemployed individual’s favorite objects. In this context, Bosch (2010:383)
highlights the ‘virtual presence of other people’ (“virtuelle Präsenz anderer Menschen”), which TV facilitates.
794 ‘[You] know, so you feel less lonely because […] it is actually quiet if one is alone and such. […]
And I don’t say it is a substitute for a partner or something like that but it is some kind of background noise, but
in that sense not unpleasant, yes.’ (I9)
795 “Unterhaltungswert” (I1)
796 ‘By the way, yes, TV! Well, a beloved program of mine, a very popular one, is Jauch [last name of a popular
German TV host], ‘Who wants to be a millionaire?’ Well, my husband knows that the living room is occupied with
Jauch (laughs) then (laughs), he doesn’t stand a chance then! (shared laughter) Then, the Madame is sitting
340
Generally, TV is linked to ‘entertainment’797 and ‘pleasure’798 for I1. Besides quiz shows,
I1 also likes to watch dating shows and society events on TV. As noted, all of these activities
only come up late in the conversation, pointing to a hesitancy to share the uses of ICTs that
‘only’ qualify as entertainment and individual enjoyment.
All other interviewees also report using ICTs for various kinds of “casual leisure”
(Stebbins 1997, 2011). Similarly to I8, I9, and I12, I7 turns on the TV to relax. As she explains
in the walking interview through her house, she likes to nap in front of the TV: “Zwischendurch,
wenn ich wirklich eine Viertelstunde oder was Zeit habe, dann lege ich mich auch hin und
schalte den Fernseher ein und tue ‘fernschlafen’ (lacht)”799(I7).
Although overall, leisurely use is less important than family care work or professional and
community-oriented use in the context of interviewees’ ICT use in retirement, particularly with
regard to “passive entertainment” (Stebbins 1997:19, 2011:243), the qualitative material
includes multiple examples involving mostly traditional media, but sometimes also new ICTs.
The latter, for example includes online streaming of TV programs (e.g. I11). The media contents
interviewees consume in the context of “passive entertainment” (Stebbins 1997:19, 2011:243)
vary greatly and range from folksy music shows on the radio (I3, I5, I8) to classical music
(I1, I5, I9, I11, I12). On TV, interviewees’ preferred programs include everything from
daily soaps (I7) to reports on social issues (e.g. I9, I10, I11). While media contents that
interviewees consume vary, content as such is actually not that important with regard to
“casual leisure” (Stebbins 1997, 2011). The main purpose of “passive entertainment”
(Stebbins 1997:19, 2011:243) is to entertain and to help interviewees decompress.
in front of the TV, when Jauch is on [Talks about choir rehearsals and what her granddaughter likes to watch
on TV] But him, well I do like to watch that actually! I forgot that, Jauch! Or for all I care also Asssinger
[last name of a popular Austrian TV host], if I have to, so Monday or Friday, such quizzes, I love that! I really do
take much pleasure in that! I am really excited then!’ (I1)
797 “Unterhaltung” (I1)
798 “Genuss” (I1)
799 ‘In-between, if I do actually have a quarter of an hour or so, then I do lay down and turn on the TV for some
‘TV sleep’ (laughs).’ (I7)
341
With regard to “sociable conversation” (Stebbins 1997:20, 2011:243) assisted by ICTs,
it can be noted that other interviewees also mention communicating with their friends and
acquaintances through their cell phones (I1, I4, I5, I9, I10), e-mail (I2, I3, I7, I8, I9),
or Facebook (I10, I11). However, with the exception of I12, these accounts are not detailed,
sparing words, and only mentioned in passing. Thus, “sociable conversation”
(Stebbins 1997:20, 2011:243), overall, represents only a minor aspect of the ICT use of the
women interviewed.
Finally, there are three more points worth mentioning with regard to self-oriented and
individually fulfilling ICT use in retirement. Firstly, as already argued in section 5.3.2, the
meaning participants ascribe to the TV seems to have – at least discursively – shifted from
childhood and adolescence to retirement. While interviewees often portrayed TV as a ‘kind of
treat’ (I10) in childhood and adolescence (see section 4.1.3), in retirement, they mostly judge
it to be a convenient information tool (see section 5.2.1).
However, at least to some extent, this shift in meaning seems to be only discursive in its nature.
As the discussion of the use of ICTs for “casual leisure” (Stebbins 1997, 2011) in retirement
has shown, discursive evaluation of the TV and actual actions are not always congruent.
As illustrated in this section, the material does indeed include accounts on how interviewees
use TV for enjoyment and pleasure. In comparison to accounts of watching TV in childhood
and adolescence, however, they are put forward less forcefully. As already argued at the
beginning of subchapter 6.2, there seem to be two reasons why interviewees report less self-
oriented and individually fulfilling use of media in retirement compared to both, earlier points
in their biography, and other kinds of ICT use in retirement (e.g. family-centered use). In
addition to discursive downplaying of leisurely use of the TV, many interviewees indeed do not
have much time for “casual leisure” (Stebbins 1997, 2011) in retirement because of their duties
as grandmothers. Although the material includes accounts of hedonistic TV-watching,
they are less frequent than expected at the beginning of this investigation. Different to initial
expectations, overall, while TV is used for “casual leisure” (Stebbins 1997, 2011) sometimes,
it seems to be even more important for the pursuit of specific interests (see section 6.3.1),
as well as for receiving general information, such as news (see section 5.3.2). This observation
leads to the next important point to note in the context of self-oriented and individually fulfilling
ICT use.
342
As Scannell (1996:161, italics in original) has already argued, “[n]ews marks the structure
of days, bringing it to an eventful climax with the main news nightly […].” News provided by
traditional media, such as TV and radio, are also important for interviewees of this study
(see section 5.3.2). While there are no discernible patterns of engagement with new ICTs,
such as the cell phone, the computer, and the Internet with regard to different times of the day,
there are some, as expected, with regard to TV and radio. As expected, most interviewees
(all except I12) report to turn on their TV in the evening. As detailed above, some interviewees
watch TV programs in terms of “casual leisure” (Stebbins 1997, 2011), which includes
watching movies, sports programs, or documentaries in the evening. More important than
entertainment programs, however, seem to be evening news. Particularly relevant are regional
evening news in this context. Almost half of the interviewees (I2, I3, I4, I5, I7) state that they
regularly watch “Steiermark heute,” a show featuring regional news from the province of Styria.
Quite a few interviewees also report watching other (mostly national) evening news on TV,
either at 5 pm (I11), 7.30 pm (I4, I8), and/or 10 pm (I3, I4). I4 succinctly summarizes
the importance of evening news on TV during the walking tour through her home:
“[…] [W]enn wir jausnen tun, am Abend, […] da tun wir eigentlich in der Zeit,
[…] Informationen [konsumieren], also, da kommt halt das Übliche,
‘Steiermark heute’, so wie es halt schon bei den Alten ist (lacht) und die Halb-Acht-
Uhr-Nachrichten und, wenn wir noch draußen sind [meint in der Küche],
die Zehn-Uhr-Nachrichten auch, also das schauen wir draußen bis
zum Schlafengehen.”800
While I11 and I12 report watching news on TV in the morning, this is rather an exception within
the qualitative sample. Interviewees do consume news in the morning, but the majority does so
by turning on their radio. This resonates with findings of Blaakilde’s (2017) study on
the experiences of older Danish people with the radio. Blaakilde (2017:8) also found that many
of her participants turned on their radio first thing in the morning. In the study at hand,
except for I10 and I12, all interviewees report turning on their radio in the morning and many
specify listening to the morning news.
800 ‘[…] [W]hen we are having a light dinner in the evening, […] during that time, […] we [consume]
information, well, there the usual stuff is on, ‘Steiermark heute,’ the way it is with the elderly (laughs) and
the news at 7.30 pm and, if we are still out [means in the kitchen], also the 10 pm news, well, we watch those
out there until we go to bed.’ (I4)
343
The third important point to consider in the context of self-oriented and individually fulfilling
use of ICTs in retirement is household composition. Notably, all three interviewees for whom
individual fulfillment is most important in the context of their ICT use do not live
in an intergenerational household, but either alone (I12) or with their husbands only (I6, I8).
While all of them also share some examples of how they use ICTs for care work in retirement,
they do not identify family-centered use as their main purpose. Instead, for them,
ICTs are primarily tools for pursing personal interests, for expressing and educating themselves,
and for entertainment. Thus, as argued in section 6.1.3, household composition might influence
how older women ascribe meaning to and interact with ICTs. The qualitative material suggests
that living alone or with a partner only (and without grown-up children and grandchildren)
might be a factor fostering engagement with ICTs that does not focus on the family.
This pattern also becomes evident in the case of professional and community-oriented use of
ICTs in retirement discussed in subchapter 6.2. Both interviewees whose ICT use in retirement
can be characterized best in in those terms (I10, I11) live alone.
However, as already noted in section 6.1.3, the role household composition plays for
older women’s ICT use in retirement needs to be explored further in future research since the
findings of the study at hand are not conclusive. Actually, two interviewees that do live alone
(I2, I9) primarily use ICTs for family care work and not for individual fulfillment or
professional and community-oriented purposes. Thus, household composition can only be one
among multiple factors influencing older women’s ICT use in retirement. Nevertheless,
the qualitative material does provide indications that the older women’s living situation matters
with regard to their media use. It points to a general pattern of 1) older women living in
an intergenerational household using ICTs more for family-centered activities,
and of 2) women living alone or with a partner only using them more for self-oriented individual
fulfillment and/or professional or community-oriented use.
6.4 Summary of Patterns of ICT Use in Everyday Life
With regard to patterns of ICT use in retirement, the three most important types of
media engagement identified are: family-centered ICT use (Type 1), professional and
community-oriented ICT use (Type 2), and self-oriented and individually fulfilling ICT use
(Type 3). It is important to note that types of use often cut across individual cases
of interviewees. One case can, and often does, include multiple patterns of use. However,
mostly, one type of use dominates within an individual case.
344
Of the three types of media engagement in retirement identified, family-centered use (Type 1)
is by far the most important one. As noted, talking about ICTs often equals talking about
relationships. Family-centered use of ICTs in retirement includes two subtypes:
family care work assisted by ICTs (Subtype 1a), family history writing with ICTs (Subtype 1b),
and on additionally relevant dimension: intergenerational learning about ICTs.
Family care work assisted by ICTs (Subtype 1a) includes the use of traditional media as
a backdrop for household chores, as well as the use of new ICTs for looking up recipes,
arranging grandchildren’s pick-ups and appointments, or supporting grown-up children
emotionally and practically. With regard to family care work assisted by ICTs, it is crucial
to note that the concept of care is important for interviewees in two different but logically
connected ways. Often, interviewees use ICTs in the context of caring for their families or,
on the contrary, claim to be too busy caring for their families to engage with them.
In both cases, however, the idea of caring for is key in interviewees’ sense-making process with
regard to ICTs.
Also, family history writing with ICTs (Subtype 1b) relates to care, although in a different way.
Interviewees care about their family’s history and invest considerable effort in making,
preserving, and reviewing family memories. This includes digitally designing photo books and
calendars, scanning old photos and kids’ drawings, as well as creating digital family chronicles
and diaries. Family history writing mostly matters to interviewees for two reasons:
they themselves wish to remember all the family care work they have been providing over
a life time and they also want to sustain some of these memories for their descendants.
In addition to using ICTs for providing family care work and archiving family life,
engagement with them also creates an important platform for intergenerational exchange.
Although not constituting a subtype of use, intergenerational learning about ICTs represents
an important pattern and includes assistance by younger family members with the acquisition
and use of devices and programs. Comparing different strategies, such as seeking
family members’ advice or asking for instructions, it turned out that complete outsourcing of
ICT-related tasks seems to be most popular among interviewees. It is preferred for two reasons.
Firstly, interviewees continuously downplay their own ICT competencies. Considering this low
self-esteem, outsourcing of tasks is an understandable practice. Secondly, it seems reasonable
to assume that interviewees simply enjoy interacting with their grown-up children and that
talking about ICTs represents a convenient entry point for intergenerational exchange.
345
Similar to the first type, professional and community-oriented ICT use (Type 2) mostly is
in service of others. Multiple interviewees use ICTs for paid work and/or for voluntary work
provided to associations, clubs, and other networks. Professional service use of ICTs
in retirement (Subtype 2a) occurs in the context of self-employed or employed part-time work
and includes activities such as e-mailing colleagues and business partners, work-related
Google searches, or cell phone calls to clients. Community-oriented use of ICTs (Subtype 2b)
refers to use of media for providing services to associations, clubs, and other networks by
writing e-mails or advertising events on Facebook.
The third type of engagement with ICTs in retirement, self-oriented and individually fulfilling
use of ICTs (Type 3), refers to use of ICTs that does not revolve around caring for others,
but instead focuses on interviewees’ individual self-actualization. This includes pursuit of
individual interests and self-expression with ICTs (Subtype 3a), self-education with ICTs
(Subtype 3b), and use of ICTs for “casual leisure” (Stebbins 1997, 2011,
italics added by author) (Subtype 3c).
Pursuit of individual interests and self-expression with ICTs (Subtype 3a) summarizes ICT
activities that relate to a strong thematic interest of an interviewee, as well as self-expression
in terms of cultivating a particular image of self and communicating it to others.
Specific interests mentioned by interviewees include travel, politics, environmental issues,
design, technical developments, exercising, as well as following professional sports, gaming,
and esoteric matters. Self-expression relates to these interests and the portrayal of oneself as,
for example, a cosmopolitan, politically engaged person, environmentalist, tech pioneer,
or esoteric through one’s use of ICTs.
The pursuit of individual interests relates to the dimension of self-education with ICTs
(Subtype 3b). Depending on their personal interests, interviewees use ICTs to acquire
knowledge or deepen their understanding of particular issues. This includes various practices,
such as attentively watching TV programs and taking notes, comparing different newspapers
online, using search engines for research, noting down loanwords in Word documents,
or participating in webinars.
346
Use of ICTs for “casual leisure” (Stebbins 1997, 2011, italics added by author) (Subtype 3c)
differs from the first two dimensions, as it does not relate to a core interest of the interviewee.
In contrast, it refers to everyday media engagement that is unspectacular but enjoyable,
such as watching a random TV program. Of Stebbins’ (2011:243) typology of “casual leisure,”
particularly three areas are relevant for the qualitative strand of the study at hand: “relaxation,”
“passive entertainment,” and “sociable conversation.” For example, interviewees report using
their TV as a ‘sleeping aid’ (I9) or simply for enjoyment and pleasure. Here, it is important that
with regard to “relaxation” (Stebbins 2011:243) and “passive entertainment”
(Stebbins 1997:19, 2011:243), accounts on traditional media, and the TV particularly,
dominate. In addition, some interviewees also like to use ICTs for casual communication,
which qualifies as “sociable conversation” in Stebbins (1997:20) terms. This includes
‘gossip call[s]’ (I12) using the cell phone or exchange on WhatsApp.
Reviewing the three most important patterns of ICT use in retirement, it can be concluded that
the two frames that already proved to be important in media biographical narrations, as well as
evaluations of ICTs – functionality and collectivity – are also important with regard to current
media engagement. For interviewees, ICTs are mostly tools for caring for others,
particularly younger family members, but sometimes also for people who are less close,
such as members of a club, or others profiting from volunteer work. This is particularly valid
with regard to new ICTs. However, interestingly, old ICTs also matter in this regard,
for example as a backdrop for domestic labor.
347
7 Empirically Grounded Model of Older Women’s ICT Use
in Retirement
This chapter integrates the findings of the main qualitative strand of the study
into an empirically grounded explanatory model of older women’s ICT use in retirement.
As noted, the qualitative strand of this study was inspired by “Grounded Theory”
(Corbin and Strauss 2015; Glaser and Strauss 2009 [1967]) (see sections 3.2.3 and 3.6.2).
As a research approach, Grounded Theory aims at building a theory from data, which should
explain what is happening in the material analyzed (Charmaz 2000:509). Corbin and Strauss
(2015:13) refer to the development of a grounded theory as “integration” of data. This includes
three steps: description (as provided in chapters 4-6), abstraction, and interrelation of
empirical findings. While the extensive description of findings of the main qualitative strand
already involved some abstraction, this chapter will provide a more aggregated view on
the main qualitative results. In addition, it will relate the main findings to each other and
discuss implications.
As noted, in concrete terms, building an empirically based theoretical model inspired by
Grounded Theory involves the development of a “core category,” which represents “the essence
of the study and enables all the other categories and concepts to be integrated around it to form
the theoretical explanation of why and how something happens” (Corbin and Strauss 2015:13).
Most importantly, the latter includes explaining the occurrence, variation, and implications of
the main phenomenon described in the core category (Corbin and Strauss 2015:13).
In terms of contents, any analysis inspired by Grounded Theory focuses on meanings people
ascribe to phenomena and situations and how these relate to their actions and interactions
(Corbin and Strauss 2015:28). This chapter thus combines past and present perspectives of the
interviewees and offers an integrated view on the interrelations of influential biographical
backgrounds for ICT use, current patterns of evaluation of ICTs, and current patterns of
ICT use in retirement. This is in line with the general aim of qualitative research
(as detailed in chapter 3): to create an understanding of people’s continuous and dynamic
(re-)production of social realities (Lamnek 2010:22).
348
The reason for building an empirically grounded theoretical model of older women’s ICT use
based on the qualitative material is twofold. Firstly, in addition to descriptive reporting,
it allows for the explication of the main phenomenon of interest (Corbin and Strauss 2015:62)
– older women’s engagement with ICTs in retirement – and for the selection of the most
important factors influencing it (Corbin and Strauss 2015:13). Secondly, it contributes to
quality assurance in qualitative research. As noted in section 3.2.2, transferability of results
represents an important quality feature of qualitative research (Steinke 2007:185).
Among the measures recommended by Steinke (2007:185) to achieve transferability is the
development of a final theoretical model including only the most essential findings.
Similarly, Corbin and Strauss (2015:62) point out that one of the benefits of Grounded Theory
is the development of concepts for future research – and thus the transferability of empirical
results that have been transformed into more abstract concepts.
7.1 Core Category: ‘ICT Engagement in Service of Others’
Often, for the women interviewed, talking about ICTs meant talking about relationships.
Much of their use of both new and old ICTs revolves around family. Most importantly,
family-centered ICT use (Type 1) involves family care work with ICTs (Subtype 1a) and
family history writing with ICTs (Subtype 1b).801 In addition, professional and
community-oriented ICT use (Type 2) matters to interviewees. Although interviewees do not
pursue formal full-time work (any longer), some still work part-time or are self-employed
in retirement. In these cases, older women use ICTs to communicate with their clients or
to coordinate their work schedules with employers. This has been termed professional service
use of ICTs (Subtype 2a). Almost half of the interviewees participate in various associations
and clubs and use ICTs in the context of their volunteer work. This has been termed
community-oriented use of ICTs (Subtype 2b). Although family-centered and professional and
community-oriented ICT use differ in many regards, they have one important thing in common:
both are framed by interviewees as ICT engagement in service of others.
801 In addition, family-centered ICT use involves intergenerational learning about new ICTs. However,
the latter does not represent a specific type of ICT use, but rather a general learning strategy common among all
interviewees, independent of what the purpose of the ICT use is.
349
The women interviewed use their tablets and TV sets to entertain their grandkids and their
cell phones to coordinate their appointments or pick-up locations. They leave their cell phones
on at night to be available to their grown-up children. They call their friends to make sure they
got home okay. They look up recipes online, which they use when cooking for their
multi-generational households. Often, they turn on TV and radio as a backdrop when doing
domestic chores. They gift their children and grandchildren with digitally created
family photo albums and calendars. They note down family trees in spreadsheets to facilitate
exchange among relatives. Interviewees also use their cell phones and e-mail to provide services
to their clients or to communicate with their supervisors and colleagues. They type up
the minutes of associations’ meetings on their computers. They create spreadsheets to
coordinate volunteer work. And they advertise associations’ events on Facebook.
Interviewees’ ICT engagement in retirement is multi-faceted in terms of devices and
programs used. However, motivations for their use are less diverse. Most importantly,
interviewees use ICTs to provide services to others, to their families and networks of friends,
to local communities, and professional contacts. Interviewees think of ICTs, particularly of
new ICTs, as tools for care work. Out of 12 cases, nine802 fit Type 1 or Type 2 of ICT use
in retirement, which can both be characterized as ICT engagement in service of others.803
Notably, older women’s engagement with new ICTs involves a double logic of care.
Either interviewees use new ICTs to care for others (particularly their families), or,
on the contrary, explain to be too busy caring for others to engage with new ICTs.
However, independently of whether they use new ICTs in retirement extensively or not,
their narrations of ICT engagement most often revolve around the topic of providing
services to others.
802 These are: I1, I2, I3, I4, I5, I7, I9, I10, and I11.
803 As noted, types of ICT use are not case-bound and, often, interviewees’ engagement with ICTs involves
more than one type of use. However, usually, one type best characterizes their overall use.
350
Remarkably, the living situation does not seem to make a difference here. ICT engagement
in service of others is important to most of the interviewees in the sample. Out of the nine
interviewees whose ICT engagement can be characterized best in terms of providing services
to others (Type 1 and Type 2), four live alone,804 one lives with her husband,805
and four live in an intergenerational household.806 Hence, this kind of ICT engagement matters
to older women with diverse backgrounds and current living situations. It is the
strongest pattern which emerged from the analysis of the qualitative material of the study.
It applies to women who live alone, who live with their partners, and who live
in an intergenerational household. Importantly, also older women who live alone or
with their husbands only can have care responsibilities, for example for their grandchildren,
even if they do not live with them, and this also plays a role in their ICT use.
7.2 Secondary Category: ‘Self-Oriented and Individually Fulfilling ICT Use’
ICT engagement in service of others contrasts with self-oriented and individually fulfilling
ICT use (Type 3). This includes use that does not revolve around caring for others,
but instead focuses on individual interests and self-expression, independently of service roles.
Although this kind of engagement with ICTs does come up in the qualitative material,
mostly, it is not put forward forcefully by interviewees. Self-oriented and individually fulfilling
ICT use (Type 3) includes the pursuit of personal interests and self-expression with ICTs
(Subtype 3a), the self-educational use of ICTs (Subtype 3b), and the use of ICTs for casual
leisure (Subtype 3c).
Although usually not foregrounded in their narrations, interviewees do use both new and
old ICTs to pursue their personal interests, such as traveling, nature, politics and global affairs,
esotericism, sports, literature, art, music, and technology. They follow webcam feeds of
tourist attractions of their favorite cities. They watch documentaries on nature, politics,
or history on TV. They visit websites dedicated to their interests. They watch ski races on TV.
804 I2, I9, I10, I11.
805 I1.
806 I3, I4, I5, I7.
351
They look for book reviews online and read novels on Kindle. They look for templates online,
which they use for crafting, knitting, or painting. They use YouTube to practice for
choir rehearsals and to look up advice on how to fix computer problems. In doing so,
interviewees use ICTs to express and (re-)create their personal identities, as a cosmopolitan,
environmentalist, political person, esoteric counselor, sports fan, reader, painter, singer,
or tech pioneer.
Sometimes, interviewees also use ICTs for self-education. They listen to science programs
on the radio. They watch documentaries on TV and take notes. The use search engines as
a ‘lexicon’ (I1, I3, I12) or a ‘catalogue’ (I8) of information. They look at online news
to compare their contents to printed newspapers. They create lists of loanwords in Word.
They use online foreign language dictionaries and they participate in webinars.
Finally, interviewees also use both new and old ICTs for “casual leisure” (Stebbins 1997, 2011).
However, often they downplay this kind of media engagement. Nevertheless, they do watch
movies, daily soaps, talk shows, dating shows, quiz shows, folk music programs,
or society events on TV. Sometimes, they also stream TV online. They listen to classical or
folksy music on the radio. They call family and friends for casual chats on the cell phone and
the landline phone. They also talk to them via e-mail and text messages, on WhatsApp,
or on Facebook.
Out of all 12 interviewees, three807 fit Type 3, self-oriented and individually fulfilling ICT use
in retirement.808 Remarkably, unlike in the other types of use, living arrangement does seem
to make a difference in whether interviewees also engage in self-oriented and individually
fulfilling ICT use. Out of the three interviewees who fit Type 3 of ICT use best, two809 live with
their husbands only and one810 lives alone. Hence, not living in an intergenerational household
seems to allow for more self-oriented and individually fulfilling ICT use in retirement.
807 I6, I8 and I12.
808 Again, types of use are not case-bound, and every interviewee uses ICTs in a multiplicity of ways,
but the ICT engagement of I6, I8, and I12 can be best described in terms of self-oriented use overall.
809 I6 and I8.
810 I12.
352
It is noteworthy that interviewees generally downplayed self-oriented use of both new and
old ICTs in the conversations. As stated, this is most likely related to social desirability,
particularly in the context of watching TV. Since watching TV commonly is not considered
a distinguished leisure activity (Bosch 2010:379), interviewees probably downplayed their
everyday engagement with TV. However, the limited relevance of ICTs for individual
fulfilment that interviewees mostly put forward is also connected to 1) cultural and social
intersections of age and gender, 2) cultural narratives of aging, and c) media biographies and
“generation location” (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]), as will be discussed below.
7.3 Contributing and Differentiating Factors
The empirically grounded model of older women’s ICT use developed in this study includes
a) contributing factors influencing the prevalence of ICT engagement in service of others
(Type 1 and Type 2), and b) differentiating factors explaining the occurrence of the alternative
pattern of self-oriented and individually fulfilling ICT use (Type 3).
The set of contributing factors (a) aims at explaining the large number of accounts on ICT use
in service of others found in the qualitative material. The set of differentiating factors (b)
aims at explaining why some interviewees deviate from this general pattern of ICT use
in service of others and instead choose to engage in more self-oriented and individually
fulfilling ICT use.
7.4 Contributing Factors to ‘ICT Engagement in Service of Others’
Which influencing factors explain the prevalence of ICT engagement in service of others?
Why do many of the older women interviewed frame their ICT use in retirement as primarily
related to service roles in their families, communities, and professional contexts?
Why are accounts of self-oriented, indulging, and individually fulfilling use of ICTs
less common? Three major influencing factors appear to play a role in this respect.
In order of their relevance, these are:
1. cultural and social intersections of age and gender,
2. cultural narratives of aging, and
3. media biographies and “generation location” (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]).
353
7.4.1 Influence of Intersections of Age and Gender
As detailed in subchapter 1.2, the social categories of age and gender interrelate in intricate
ways. Generally, the experience of aging is quite different for women and men (Sontag 1972).
Aging is first and foremost “an ordeal of the imagination – a moral disease, a social pathology
– intrinsic to which is the fact that it afflicts women much more than men,” as Sontag (1972:29)
has famously argued. Most importantly, this involves culturally rather limited scope for
older women to “imagine themselves” (Maierhofer 2019:2) freely. Although four decades
separate the publication of Sontag’s (1972) essay and the present study, her argument is
still relevant. To date, the social role of grandmother is one of the few roles available to
older women that carry a high degree of social acceptance (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:198;
Chivers 2003:xlvi) and cultural legitimacy (Seidler 2007:198).
Although older women do not simply ‘take’ on social roles, but do instead ‘make’ them –
as conceptualized in the tradition of symbolic interactionism (Turner 1962,
as cited in Scott 2015:84, italics in original) – they do not make them from scratch, but rely on
“loose templates for action” (Scott 2015:84) for their interpretation. People have agency in their
negotiation of social roles. Therefore, there are collective and individual variations of how
the grandmother role is performed in practice. Sometimes, it is also actively resisted.
However, this does not alter the fact that, frequently, older women still rely and build on
the cultural legitimacy of the traditional grandmother role.
This surfaced in the present study as well. In their narrations of ICT use, interviewees often
foreground their social roles as mothers and grandmothers. Similarly, they highlight
other service-oriented roles, which they take on in their larger social circles, communities,
and professional contexts. Their social identity as mother and/or grandmother is important for
many interviewees. Their children and grandchildren matter to them. Thus, it is not surprising
that, often, much of their ICT use is family-centered. And vice versa, interviewees also use ICTs
to strengthen their social status as caring mothers and/or grandmothers. ICT engagement
in service of others is thus influenced by and at the same time influences the performance of the
social roles of mother and/or grandmother.
354
Although older women have agency in their negotiation of the social roles of mother and
grandmother ascribed to and taken on by them, this agency is limited by narrow and
stereotypical collective cultural conceptualizations of these roles (Maierhofer 2003:40,
2007:113, 2012:99). These narrow cultural conceptualizations are consequential in concrete
terms. As noted, older women’s care work is not always a matter of ‘choice,’ but also of social
expectations and pressure (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:109, 2001:23–24; Cruikshank 2013:207).
For example, unlike men, women do usually not retire from domestic labor
(Calasanti and Slevin 2001:100; Cruikshank 2013:133; Buse 2009:1152)
or care responsibilities (Backes 2007:167, 2007:172; Calasanti and Slevin 2001:100).
As a consequence of these solidified social structures, they also have less time for leisure
in retirement (Calasanti and Slevin 2001:128). This includes leisurely engagement with ICTs.
In the present study, these circumstances result from the narrow cultural conceptualizations of
the social roles of mother and grandmother and are frequently reflected in interviewees’
service-oriented use of ICTs in retirement.
7.4.2 Influence of Cultural Narratives of Aging
In addition to cultural and social intersections of age and gender, more general
cultural narratives of aging and their negotiation also play a role in interviewees’ frequent
foregrounding of service-oriented engagement with ICTs. As noted in section 1.1.2,
our understanding of aging is strongly influenced by “narrative ideas” (Gullette 2004:11).
Among the most prominent cultural narratives of aging is the “[d]ecline narrative”
(Gullette 2004:13). In this narrative, aging and old age are thought of in terms of a permanent
deficit (Maierhofer 2007:114; van Dyk 2015:145, 2017:37). Aging is generally equaled to
“physical and mental decline” (Calasanti et al. 2006:20) as well as increasing dependency
(Calasanti and Slevin 2001:21). Thus, it is not surprising that people engage in practices of
discursively distancing themselves from aging and old age (van Dyk 2015:149).
This has been the case in the present study as well. Interviewees engage in “boundary-making”
(Suopajärvi 2015:117) and, in most cases, differentiate themselves from other, ‘older people’
(I4, I10) – for example when discussing the senior cell phone. Similarly, emphasizing
ICT engagement in service of others (Type 1 and Type 2) can be interpreted as a demonstration
of “boundary-making” (Suopajärvi 2015:117).
355
Offering numerous examples of the ICT-based services they provide to their families (Type 1)
and/or communities, clients, and employers (Type 2), the older women interviewed
highlight their active participation in and contribution to their social networks and society
in general. They seek to establish their continued social relevance in retirement.
In doing so, interviewees reference and reproduce a discourse of ‘active aging’ prevalent in
contemporary Western societies (for example, see Katz and Calasanti 2015). As Suopajärvi
(2015:121) states: “Keeping busy and productive even after retirement is important because
‘wasting time’ is not valued in these societies, nor by the aging citizens themselves.”
This explains why “old people feel compelled to stay active in order to be of worth,”
as Calasanti et al. (2006:23) have poignantly put it. Cruikshank (2013:169) has termed this
imperative of activity in retirement “prescribed busyness.” This imperative, Cruikshank
(2013:207) argues, can particularly pressure older women to continue performing
a “service role.” Similarly, van Dyk (2017:44) has recently addressed the increasing demand
towards ‘the young old’811 to provide care work.
In the qualitative material of the present study, interviewees frequently draw on this imperative
of “prescribed busyness” (Cruikshank 2013:169) in their narrations of ICT use by
foregrounding ICT engagement in service of others. In addition to performing family care work,
engaging in volunteer work can help also maintain “a self-image of usefulness”
(Cruikshank 2013:167). As Cruikshank (2013:165) emphasizes, the imperative of busyness is
also a form of “social control” and thus needs to be distinguished from other kinds of more
contemplative activities in retirement, such as, for example, creative engagement (2013:169).
As noted, remarkably, ICT engagement in service of others matters to interviewees
with all kinds of backgrounds and current living situations. Whether they live alone,
with their partners, or in an intergenerational household, most interviewees of the sample
emphasize that they engage with ICTs in order to provide services to others. This speaks to
the strong societal impact of the imperative of “prescribed busyness” in retirement identified
by Cruikshank (2013:169).
811 In the German original: “die Jungen Alten” (van Dyk 2017:44).
356
7.4.3 Influence of Media Biographies and “Generation Location”
Thirdly, interviewees’ media biographies and “generation location”
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]) influence the foregrounding of ICT engagement in service
of others. As detailed in section 1.3.2, Mannheim’s (1952 [1927/28]) notion of
“generation location” refers to people’s socio-temporal location in formative years and their
collective movement through time. Although people continue to make important and shaping
experiences throughout the life course, initial experiences entail a particularly strong
“moulding power,” Mannheim (1952 [1927/28]:296) argued. This is why early life experiences
become integral elements of people’s “inner ‘dialectic’” (Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:298)
and continue to inform the interpretation of their lives, including their ICT use
(see, for example, Bolin 2014, 2017a, 2017b; Bolin and Westlund 2009;
Schäffer 2003, 2007, 2009).812
One important element of interviewees’ media biographies is the notion of collectivity.
Their biographical narrations include many examples of collective engagement with ICTs
over the life course. As children and adolescents, interviewees watched TV collectively,
with their relatives, neighbors, or strangers at other people’s homes, at an inn, a farm, or an
education center. As adults, if formally employed, they acquired ICT skills collectively,
together with colleagues, classmates in a computer course, or representatives of a tech company.
If they did not engage in formal work, they asked others, such as their children, to assist them
in learning how to use new ICTs and also describe their learning experience as interactive and
collective. For example, they conceptualized their private PC as a “family thing” (I6).
Thus, the notion of collectivity constitutes an integral part of interviewees’ “inner ‘dialectic’”
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:298), which continues to influence their understanding of ICTs
in retirement. Presently, interviewees characterize ICTs, particularly new ICTs,
as ‘tool[s]’ (I10) or ‘object[s] of utility’ (I8), which are primarily to be used for the benefit of
a collective – their families, their communities, or professional circles.
812 However, as Haddon (2017:49) cautions, although generational perspectives do matter, they should always
be considered in concert with other factors influencing people’s ICT engagement. Following this line of thought,
the present study thus does not conceptualize interviewees’ memories of media experiences in childhood and
adolescence as clear-cut determinants, but rather as flexible elements that interviewees build on in their discursive
negotiation and practical interpretation of ICTs in retirement.
357
The interviewees’ description of ICTs as ‘tool[s]’ (I10) or ‘object[s] of utility’ (I8)
highlights another important two-fold component of their “inner ‘dialectic’”
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:298) with regard to media engagement. This is the
dichotomy of functionality vs. fun. Talking about their media memories from childhood
and adolescence, interviewees often characterize their media experiences as fun.
Most importantly, this includes accounts of TV watching as a ‘kind of treat’ (I10).
This notion then shifts – at least discursively – from childhood and adolescence to adulthood
and retirement. At present, interviewees mostly describe TV as a convenient information tool.
Similarly, other ICTs, such as the cell phone and the computer, are characterized in a functional
manner in retirement (but also already in earlier phases of adulthood). As noted, consequently,
some even keep media devices, such as their laptops or PCs, in places where one might also
store other household appliances, for example in a closet or a cold-storage room.
The interviewees’ frequent framing of ICTs as functional throughout substantial parts of their
lives (from adulthood onwards) contributes to their emphasis on ICT use in retirement
in service of others.813
7.5 Differentiating Factors in the Context of ‘Self-Oriented and Individually Fulfilling
ICT Use’
Most interviewees primarily use ICTs to provide services to others. Of the sample,
only three interviewees deviate from this general pattern. How do these cases differ from
the other nine interviewees? What do those three interviewees who emphasize self-oriented
and individually fulfilling ICT use (Type 3) have in common? What are their
distinguishing features? In many regards, the lives of those three interviewees who foreground
self-oriented and individually fulfilling ICT use differ greatly. I6 is a retired social worker,
has an academic degree and, together with her husband, lives on the outskirts of Styria’s capital.
I8 is a retired hairdresser and chicken farmer who completed an apprenticeship. She lives in the
countryside with her husband. I12 is a retired accountant who graduated from a secondary
commercial school. She lives alone in her house in a village. Given all those differences,
what do these three older women have in common? Which of these commonalities matter for
their ICT use in retirement?
813 However, every now and then, interviewees also address individually fulfilling ICT use,
which can be interpreted as reminiscent of very early experiences of TV as a ‘kind of treat’ (I10) in childhood.
358
As the analysis of the qualitative material has shown, the most important factor in this regard
seems to be the absence of an intergenerational living situation and the absence of any major
family care responsibilities. None of the three interviewees who emphasize self-oriented and
individually fulfilling ICT engagement lives in an intergenerational household. In addition,
none of them had major obligations in terms of family care work. I6 and I12 do not have
grandchildren. I8 has grandchildren but they do not live with her and do not play a notable role
in her narration otherwise. Also independently of family roles, neither I6, I8, nor I12 foreground
other care commitments in their communities.814
A second aspect worth mentioning is that I6, I8, and I12 all seem to be particularly open to
new ideas and experiences. This is perhaps most obvious in the case of I6, who migrated
from the UK to Austria at a younger age and thinks of herself as a tech pioneer and a
“person who likes gadgets.” I8 is less interested in ICT gadgets but has generally been open
towards new experiences throughout her life. This is particularly true of her professional career.
As a young woman, she completed an apprenticeship as a hairdresser in Styria’s capital,
before moving to the countryside, where she then ran a chicken farm together with her husband
for many years. These changes represent considerable biographical reorientations that
might positively influence I8’s openness in terms of a diverse use of ICTs in later life.
I12 did not mention any major biographical ruptures or reorientations. However,
she generally is keen on learning and experiencing new things. In addition, I12 thinks of herself
as a ‘cosmopolitan.’ This is manifested in her daily ritual of watching webcam feeds of
international cities that she either has traveled to or in which she has a general interest.
814 In contrast, all interviewees who live in an intergenerational household (I3, I4, I5, I7) primarily use ICTs
to provide services to others – and mostly not in a self-oriented and individually fulfilling manner.
Hence, there is a general pattern emerging from the material. Living in an intergenerational household seems
to be associated with more ICT use in service of others while living alone or with a partner seems to provide more
opportunities for self-oriented and individually fulfilling ICT use.
However, it is worth noting that this represents a general pattern, not a rule. There are also multiple cases which
do not fit this scheme. Four other interviewees live alone (I2, I9, I10, I11) and yet, they still mostly use ICTs
in service of others. Similarly, I1 lives with her husband, yet her ICT use can be characterized best in terms of
providing services to others. Thus, ICT use in service of others is complex and seems to depend on many factors.
Nonetheless, it is noteworthy that all interviewees who extensively engage in self-oriented and individually
fulfilling ICT use (Type 3) do not live in an intergenerational household.
359
Based on these observations, the prudent hypothesis can be put forward that a
general interest in and openness towards new ideas and experiences in life – as demonstrated
in different ways by I6, I8, and I12 – contributes to more self-oriented and individually fulfilling
ICT use in retirement. Their general openness to new ideas and experiences seems to facilitate
shifts in perspective and foci regarding their ICT use. While I6, I8, and I12 occasionally also
use ICTs in service of others, their repertoires of media use are comparatively broader
than those of other interviewees and include comparatively more accounts on self-oriented and
individually fulfilling ICT use.
7.6 Purposes vs. Extent of ICT Use in Retirement
While the model described above illustrates and explains what interviewees do with new ICTs
in retirement and why, it does not address how much they use them. As a concluding remark on
the model developed, this will be addressed shortly. As noted before, older women’s use of
new ICTs is understood best in terms of a “digital spectrum” (Lenhart and Horrigan 2003).
Non-use and active engagement with ICTs in retirement are not a question of either/or.
Even the one interviewee in the study who initially self-identified as a non-user of
the Internet,815 turned out to be a “’secondhand’ user[…]” (Lenhart and Horrigan 2003:29).816
Remarkably although interviewees consistently characterize new ICTs as unsafe and
problematic tools, which cause cultural and social erosion, are risky, time-consuming,
complicated, and potentially a health hazard, they all do engage with them. However, they do
so with varying degrees of intensity.817 Why do some interviewees use new ICTs more
extensively than others? What is the difference between interviewees representing different
points of the “digital spectrum” (Lenhart and Horrigan 2003)? Two differentiating factors seem
to play a role in this regard: professional experience with ICTs and current living situation.
815 (I5)
816 I5’s Internet use can be described as “access by proxy” (Haddon 2006b:15). Through others,
she can access information online.
817 As noted, out of all interviewees, I2, I9, and I12 can be considered the strongest users of new ICTs.
I1, I6, I10, and I11 can be characterized as moderate users of new ICTs, leaning towards strong use.
I4, I7, and I8 are moderate users of new ICTs, leaning towards limited use.
I3 and I5 were the most limited users of new ICTs in the qualitative sample.
360
7.6.1 Influence of Pre-Retirement Professional Experiences with ICTs
As noted in subchapter 4.2, professional engagement with ICTs matters for the use of ICTs
in retirement. Interviewees who used to work in office jobs tend to use ICTs more extensively
in retirement than those who worked in other places, such as the home, a farm, or a grocery
store. The strongest users of new ICTs of the qualitative sample all worked in office jobs
before retiring. I9 even continues to work part-time as an accountant, while I2 retired from
her position as a secretary and I12 from her job as an accountant.
In contrast, multiple of the interviewees who are either moderate users leaning towards
limited use or even limited users of new ICTs, used to work outside of the office.
I5, the most limited user of new ICTs in the qualitative sample, completed an apprenticeship as
a seamstress before starting a life-long career as a homemaker and care giver.
I7 owned a grocery store together with her husband and continues to work part-time
in retirement in food retailing. I8 completed an apprenticeship as a hairdresser,
before running a chicken farm with her husband.818 As noted, this finding is supported by results
of previous studies similarly emphasizing the importance of work environments for the
relevance of ICTs in later life (Buse 2010:995–96; Östlund 2005:34; Suopajärvi 2015:121).819
818 However, again, this only represents a tentative pattern, not a general rule. For example, I3, who is also a
limited user of new ICTs, did work as an accountant, as did I4, another moderate user leaning towards limited use.
Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that all strong users of new ICTs in the qualitative sample did work in the office
and that the majority of those who did not work in an office setting are either limited users leaning towards weak
use or are even limited users of new ICTs.
819 However, it is important to note that the kinds of ICT use (in service of others vs. self-oriented) and
extent of use of new ICTs are not necessarily related. For example, I8 is a moderate user of new ICTs,
leaning towards limited use, yet her overall use of ICTs can be characterized best in terms of self-oriented and
individually fulfilling. In contrast, two other moderate users of new ICTs, leaning towards limited use (I4, I7)
mostly use ICTs in service of others.
361
7.6.2 Influence of Current Living Situation
Remarkably, household composition does not only play a role in what interviewees do
with ICTs, as noted above, but also for how much they use them. The three women of
the qualitative sample who use ICTs most extensively in retirement820 all live by themselves.
In contrast, those two interviewees who can be considered the most limited users of new ICTs821
live in intergenerational households, sharing a house with their husbands, grown-up children,
their spouses, and grandchildren. As noted in section 6.1.3, based on this observation,
the hypothesis can be put forward that intergenerational living conditions negatively influence
extensive engagement with new ICTs. This is best illustrated by the case of I5, who explains to
be too busy caring for her intergenerational family, their house, dog, and garden in order to care
for ICTs in addition.
This relates to a second hypothesis, namely that intergenerational living situations probably
foster intergenerational assistance in both directions. While interviewees assist their grown-up
children in their everyday lives – for example by taking care of their grandchildren – their grow-
up children in turn offer help with new ICTs – for example by ordering things online for them.
These lines of thought need to be explored further in future research. Nevertheless,
it is important to note that, perhaps contrary to intuition, intergenerational interaction does not
always increase older women’s engagement with ICTs. On the contrary, sometimes,
it apparently limits their use of new ICTs.
820 I2, I9, and I12.
821 I3, I5.
362
8 Conclusion
“[…] Theorien sind auch Geschichten. Erst auf diese
Weise werden sie bekannt und verständlich.
Das – überzeugende – Erzählen gehört
zur wissenschaftlichen Arbeit.”
(Lüscher and Liegle 2003:238)822
Building on this quote by Lüscher and Liegle (2003:238) one can ask: what is the story that
has been told in this thesis? What is the story that we can tell about older women’s use of ICTs?
The fact that, to date, in Austria, considerably fewer older women than old men state using
the Internet (Statistik Austria 2019) was what motivated the research necessary to tell this story
in the first place. It inspired the questions that guided this project. Why or why not are
older women in Austria interested in new ICTs, such as the Internet? How do they experience
ICTs in their everyday life? What meaning do they ascribe to both ‘old’ and ‘new’ ICTs?
How does this process of meaning-making in retirement relate to earlier phases in their
media biographies, such as their formal working lives? And how do they use ICTs
in retirement?
The story that can be told answering these research questions might go like this:
Older women are a diverse group – in terms of their educational and professional backgrounds,
living situations, and personal interests. There simply is no single reality accessible to
all old women per se (Maierhofer 2003:342). Consequently, their experiences of ICTs are
also diverse. However, this study was able to identify multiple collective patterns of evaluation
and use of ICTs that are prominent among women aged 60 to 70 years in Austria.
Older women who participated in the qualitative strand of this study repeatedly characterized
both new and old ICTs as functional. They thought of ‘old’ ICTs, such as radio and TV,
and ‘new’ ICTs, like the cell phone, computer, and Internet, as ‘tool[s]’ (I10) or ‘object[s]
of utility’ (I8). For them, radio and TV are trusted and convenient tools of information.
822 ‘[…] Theories are also stories. Only in this way do they become known and can be understood.
The – convincing – telling of a story is a part of scholarly work.’ (Lüscher and Liegle 2003:238,
translated by the author).
363
While cell phones, computers, and the Internet are also perceived as convenient and efficient,
they are simultaneously characterized as unsafe and problematic tools. In the interviewees’
opinion, they contribute to cultural and social erosion, are risky, time-consuming, complicated,
and present a potential health hazard. Given this overwhelmingly negative evaluation of
new ICTs, why do all the older women interviewed still engage with them (to varying degrees)?
The answer to this question is: Because they want to care for and contribute to their
social networks. Most importantly, this includes their families, but also their larger
social circles, local communities, and professional contexts. Interviewees often use new
(but also old) ICTs to care for their families, especially their grown-up children and
grandchildren. They also use them to document family life and to pass on family memories.
They use new ICTs to provide services to their clients and employers (if they still pursue
part-time work in retirement). They use new ICTs to contribute to their local communities and
clubs through volunteer work. In short, their story of ICT use in retirement is mostly one of
providing services to others. However, there are also differing accounts. Older women also use
both new and old ICTs to pursue more personal interests and self-education or to engage in
“casual leisure” (Stebbins 1997; 2011).
But why do most interviewees foreground ICT use in service of others? Why are there so many
stories of service-oriented ICT use, in the context of family care work, professional activities,
and community engagement? And why are there comparatively fewer stories about
self-oriented, indulging, and individually fulfilling ICT use? The study identified three
influencing factors here. Firstly, interviewees are not only older adults, they are older women,
which is consequential. Secondly, as members of society in general, interviewees build on
and (re-)create its cultural narratives of aging. And thirdly, as members of a cohort,
interviewees are also distinctly located in socio-historical time.
As older women, interviewees are granted less space to “imagine themselves”
(Maierhofer 2019:2) freely, in comparison to men. There are only a few prestigious social roles
available to older women, and among them is the role of “grandmother”
(Calasanti and Slevin 2001:198; Chivers 2003:xlvi; Seidler 2007:198). The often narrow roles
ascribed to older women entail usually not retiring from domestic labor
(Calasanti and Slevin 2001:100; Cruikshank 2013:133; Buse 2009:1152)
or care responsibilities (Backes 2007:167, 2007:172; Calasanti and Slevin 2001:100).
364
As a consequence, they also have less time for leisure in retirement
(Calasanti and Slevin 2001:128). Thus, it is not surprising that, often, interviewees use ICTs
to provide services to their families. ICTs help them to fulfill duties associated with their role
of mother/grandmother. And vice versa, their ICT use also shapes their social roles.
In addition, interviewees foreground their service-oriented use of ICTs in retirement to counter
society’s dominant narrative of aging as decline (Gullette 2004:13) and to instead reproduce
a discourse of ‘active aging’ (for example, see Katz and Calasanti 2015). By emphasizing their
use of ICTs in service of others, the older women interviewed claim their worth for and
contribution to society in general and to their social networks in particular. They react to and
reproduce an imperative of “prescribed busyness” in retirement (Cruikshank 2013:169).
Since contemplation and ‘inactivity’ in retirement are not highly valued in society
(Suopajärvi (2015:121), interviewees are keen on highlighting their considerable social
engagement in the context of their ICT use.
Furthermore, interviewees’ service-oriented use of ICTs reflects their “generation location”
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]) and related current interpretations of ICTs. Throughout their lives,
interviewees have conceived of ICTs as things that are to be used collectively and for collective
purposes. The notion of collectivity has become an integral part of their “inner ‘dialectic’”
(Mannheim 1952 [1927/28]:298) on ICTs. Therefore, also in retirement, the older women
interviewed use ICTs for the benefit of social groups they belong to, their families,
their communities, or professional circles. In addition, throughout substantial parts of
their lives, interviewees have also thought of ICTs as functional tools. This sentiment also
facilitates service-oriented use of ICTs in retirement.
But what about those interviewees who do not tell their story of ICT engagement as one of
service-oriented use but instead emphasize their use of ICTs for the pursuit of personal interests,
self-education, and “casual leisure” (Stebbins 1997, 2011)? How are their lives different from
those of others? The most important factor seems to be the absence of an intergenerational
living situation and the absence of any major family care responsibilities. Those interviewees
who report the largest amounts of self-oriented and individually fulfilling ICT use do not live
in an intergenerational household, but either alone or with a partner, but with no children or
grandchildren. In addition, these interviewees seem to be particularly open to new ideas
and experiences, which is often reflected in biographical re-orientations. Those interviewees
who extensively use ICTs in a self-oriented and individually fulfilling manner seem more eager
to shift their perspectives in various areas of life.
365
The story of older women’s ICT use can be summarized as one of negotiation of and limitation
by traditional gender roles, resistance to and reproduction of cultural narratives of aging,
consequences of socio-historical location and related evaluations, living situation,
and general openness to new ideas and experiences. This is the story which can be told
summarizing the main findings from the qualitative strand of the study.
The quantitative data analyzed from the Austrian data set of wave 1 (2016) of the
ACT Cross-National Longitudinal Study: Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment
(n= 1,281) overall supports the results of the main qualitative strand of the study.
For example, a noteworthy difference between older men and women (aged 60-70,
who use the Internet) identified in the online survey is that more than a third of the women
would use their free time to call friends or family, while only about a fourth of the men
would do so. This resonates with the finding from the qualitative strand that older women often
relate their use of ICTs to family relations.
Another finding of the ACT online survey is in line with the results of the qualitative analysis:
while slightly more than a fourth of Austrian men aged 60-70 would visit websites in their
free time, only about an eight of the women would do so. This resonates with the interviewees’
understanding particularly of new ICTs, such as the Internet, as tools for care work,
and not for leisure. However, this is not only true for new ICTs. As the qualitative study
has shown, old ICTs, such as TV and radio are also often used in the context of
family care work and household chores by older women. Again, this is supported by findings
from the online survey which showed that on average, women aged 60-70 listen to the radio
on a radio set considerably longer than men of the same age range. The interviewees of the
qualitative study explained to listen to the radio while doing household chores. Since some of
these activities, such as cooking, are rather time-consuming, this fits with longer periods
of radio listening.
However, there is one finding from the ACT online survey that, at first, seems not to fit with
the results obtained in the qualitative strand of the study. While in the ACT online survey more
than a third of the women aged 60-70 indicated having played computer games online,
only one interviewee of the qualitative strand stated she plays a digital game (which she also
plays offline). How can we make sense of this, when in the main qualitative strand of the study
interviewees repeatedly foreground their service-oriented use of ICTs and accounts on
indulging and leisurely use of ICTs are much less common? Why do survey participants
indicate playing digital games and why do interviewees barely mention them?
366
The most important reason for the limited occurrence of gaming in the interviews probably is
the relevance of social roles for older women’s engagement with ICTs. As noted,
one of the few social roles for older women that come with a high degree of social acceptance
(Calasanti and Slevin 2001:198; Chivers 2003:xlvi) and long-established cultural legitimacy
(Seidler 2007:198) is the role of grandmother. Thus, it is plausible that in the interviews,
women foreground ICT engagement that relates to their family responsibilities and downplay
media use that is more leisurely. It is likely that interviewees simply discursively downplayed
their leisurely use of ICTs. In addition, this also points to some of the limitations of the
online survey, which primarily focused on leisurely use of ICTs and paid less attention to
care work performed with the help of ICTs. Moreover, these findings highlight the complexity
of older women’s ICT use and the need to use multiple methods of research in order to paint
a full picture of it.
For this reason, the study also aimed at contributing to methods development,
in addition to providing empirical findings on older women’s engagement with ICTs.
This was realized in two ways. Firstly, through the detailed and reflexive description of
the design of its qualitative strand, this study contributes to the discussion of methodological
issues in the still emerging interdisciplinary field of aging studies. Focusing on cultural aspects
of aging and old age, aging studies bring together a variety of disciplines from the humanities
and social sciences. Although this is a sociological project, it was also inspired by approaches
from other disciplines, most importantly literary and cultural studies, particularly Maierhofer’s
(2003, 2004b, 2004a, 2007, 2012) concept of anocriticism. This study thus reflects the
interdisciplinary orientation of aging studies and simultaneously aims at contributing to this
developing field by offering a detailed methodological and practical account of the main
qualitative strand of its empirical design.
Secondly, this study contributes to methods development through exploring what difference the
method of walking interviews in small domestic spaces makes in investigating older women’s
ICT experiences. Over the past two decades, a growing number of studies in the social sciences
and humanities has employed and reflected on the use of different variations of walking
interviews (for example, see Anderson 2004; Jones et al. 2008; Ricketts Hein, Evans, and Jones
2008; Kusenbach 2011; Evans and Jones 2011; Doughty 2013; Holton and Riley 2014; Spinney
2015; Wiederhold 2015). However, often, these walking interviews were conducted outdoors.
367
The use of walking interviews in people’s homes seems to be less common.823
This, Roberts (2014) notes, has resulted in a gap in research literature on the topic.
Thus, this study aimed at contributing to the development of the method by including it in its
empirical design and reflecting on its advantages and disadvantages in the context of
researching older women’s everyday engagement with ICTs.824 In this study,
the indoor walking interviews were designed as loosely structured interviews conducted during
walks led by interviewees through their homes after the completion of a life graph discussion
and guided interview on the same day (also see Ratzenböck 2016b:53–54).
Conclusively, it can be stated that the advantages of walking interviews in small
domestic spaces, as conducted in this study, clearly outweigh the disadvantages.
Two noteworthy challenges encountered in doing walking tours through the older women’s
homes were practicalities in terms of performing multiple tasks simultaneously as
an interviewer, as well as subtle negotiations of privacy and trust on the part of the interviewees
(Ratzenböck 2016b:54). Regarding the latter, it seemed important to repeatedly assure
participants that the interviewer would not judge their lifestyle or housekeeping but was
solely there to learn.
Overall, five distinct advantages of conducting walking interviews in small domestic spaces
to investigate older women’s use of ICTs in everyday life could be identified.
Firstly, the closeness to everyday life helped interviewees foreground family relations in the
context of their everyday ICT use (Ratzenböck 2016b:55), which has ultimately proved to be
a key aspect of their ICT engagement overall. In addition, interviewing at home is potentially
inclusive (Sin 2003:308; Herzog 2005:37; Ratzenböck 2016b:55) and allows people to take
more time for the conversation. The three remaining advantages are related to the movement
through the space of the home while conversing. Moving through the home, researchers can
observe the participants’ interactions with media objects (Ratzenböck 2016b:55, 2017b).
This kind of engagement allows for the expression of non-verbal forms of knowledge,
such as implicit routines (Ratzenböck 2016b:55, 2017b:254). Secondly,
moving through the different rooms allows participants to shift their perspectives.
823 Two noteworthy exceptions are the works of Sarah Pink (2004) and Maria Bakardjieva (2005).
824 For detailed methodological reflections on the use of walking interviews in small domestic spaces
in this project, see Ratzenböck (2016b) and Ratzenböck (2017b).
368
The physical movement through the home and the physical shifting of perspectives supports
reflections and the shifting of contents (Ratzenböck 2016b:56).825 Lastly, the joint movement
of interviewee and interviewees helps reduce asymmetries in power (Anderson 2004:258;
Hall et al. 2006:3; Ratzenböck 2016b:56). Particularly if interviewees take the lead moving
through the home, this increases their agency and allows them to guide the discussion
(Hall et al. 2006:3). It helped that the walking interviews in this study were designed to resemble
a normal tour of a home that might be offered to a regular visitor (Ratzenböck 2016b:56).
Such a tour resembles everyday interaction and is thus arguably less hierarchical than other
interviewing approaches.
In addition to contributing to empirical knowledge about older women’s ICT use –
a topic on which research remains limited to date (also see Gales and Loos 2020, forthcoming;
Ivan and Hebblethwaite 2016:22) – and to methods development, this study adds to
a critical discourse on older women’s ICT engagement in scholarship and society.
Contrary to common misconceptions, older women’s ICT use is multifaceted and complex.
Older women are neither “technophobic” (critical: Neves and Amaro 2012:2,
italics in the original; Suopajärvi 2015:113), nor generally have a limited interest in ICTs
(critical: Sayago and Blat 2010:117). Rather, older women are limited by the ascription of
narrow social roles in their scope of agency, as Maierhofer (2003:40, 2007:113, 2012:99)
has argued early on in her research on cultural representations of older women.
What does this mean in the context of ICT use? The interviewees of this study often were
busy mothers and/or grandmothers. They provided considerable amounts of care work to
their grown-up children and grandchildren, as well as their husbands, other relatives,
and communities. Often, their engagement with new ICTs thus involved a double logic of care.
Either they used new ICTs to care for others (particularly their families) or explained they are
too busy caring for others to engage with new ICTs. Interviewees use new ICTs in service of
others because they care for their families, communities, and professional circles.
Simultaneously, however, they often discursively foregrounded service-oriented use and
downplayed more self-oriented and leisurely use of ICTs because the latter does not fit
the traditional role of an engaged mother and grandmother.
825 This point has been made previously by Anderson (2004:257–58) as well as Ricketts Hein et al. (2008:1277)
regarding the walking interview in general.
369
A similar pattern regarding gender roles has already been found in early studies on Internet
adoption among the general population. In Bakardjieva’s (2005:142) major study, some women
expressed “a kind of identity conflict” regarding the Internet. Such juxtaposition of engaging
with ICTs and performing traditional gender roles also surfaced in this study.
Repeatedly, interviewees did not perceive of new ICTs as supporting them in their performance
of traditional gender roles. However, if new ICTs could be used in the context of performing
these gendered roles, interviewees were often more interested in them. This finding also
resonates with results from an extensive qualitative study by Sawchuk and Crow who,
interviewing 240 Canadian seniors, found that contact with grandchildren was important for
many older women’s use of the cell phone (2012:497), while it was for none of the older men
(2012:503).
In addition to traditional gender roles limiting the scope of their ICT engagement,
the older women interviewed for this study frequently downplayed their ICT skills as well as
their range of use of new ICTs.826 Repeatedly, interviewees portrayed themselves as more
limited users of new ICTs than they were and talked about their own technological
competencies in a self-depreciative manner. On the one hand, these observations raise
the question of whether lower statistical percentages of older women’s Internet use compared
to older men (Statistik Austria 2019) are also related to issues of measurement.
Does older women’s downplaying of their engagement with new ICTs also matter in surveying?
On the other hand, it raises questions about older women’s reasons for downplaying their
ICT skills and the scope of their engagement with new ICTs. It seems plausible that ideas about
traditional gender roles are also a factor here.
Thus, there is a need for critical perspectives on older women’s ICT use that acknowledges
the consequences of cultural and social intersections of age and gender. In addition,
such perspectives acknowledge older women’s expertise regarding new ICTs.
The older women interviewed for this study are acutely aware of cultural and social changes
related to new ICTs and conceptualize them in a complex and differentiated manner.
They critically address important issues regarding society’s increasing digitalization,
such as its impact on local businesses, on interpersonal relationships in everyday life, and on
web security. They also express their critical perspective on new ICTs through their actions.
826 Previous studies on older adults’ ICT use have also identified downplaying of actual ICT skills among
older adults (see Suopajärvi 2015:117, 2015:122; Neves and Amaro 2012:9). Some of these studies have also
particularly pointed to the relevance of gender in this context (see Richardson et al. 2005:227–28;
Comunello et al. 2015: 447–48).
370
They carefully consider pros and cons of new ICTs before using them and they use them for
distinct purposes only. Given their extensive experience, older adults can be considered experts
of media technology change (Östlund 2005:26; Swachuk and Crow 2010: 55.2). However,
this is not usually recognized in scholarly and public discussions of older adults’, and
particularly older women’s, ICT use. This is to the detriment of both scholarship and society
in general. Older women’s voices, their experiences, and their ideas represent an important
contribution to a critical perspective on digitalization.
This study has told the story of older women’s everyday engagement with ICTs in Austria
in the early 21st century. However, one question remains: How will this story continue?
What was beyond the scope of this project? What should be explored further? In addition to
developing a model of older women’s ICT use, contributing to methods development,
and encouraging critical perspectives on older women’s engagement with ICTs,
this study hopes to inspire future research on the topic. For example, it would be crucial
to explore in detail how everyday ICT experiences of older women compare to those of
younger women. Are traditional gender roles relevant for the ICT use of women of all ages or
more relevant for older women? In addition, further qualitative research could take
a comparative look at older women and older men to explore the relevance of gender roles for
ICT use for both genders. As can be seen from these lines of thought, the story of older women’s
ICT use is not yet finished. The present study provides future projects on older women’s ICT
experiences with firmly empirically grounded concepts to build on – such as older women’s
double logic of care with regard to their ICT use – and detailed methodological considerations
on how to conduct such research. In doing so, this study contributes to an interdisciplinary
conversation about the wealth of ICT experiences of older adults and older women in particular.
371
9 Bibliography
ACT Project (Loredana Ivan & Shannon Hebblethwaite). 2019. “Grannies on the Net.”
Actproject.ca. Retrieved November 11, 2019 (https://actproject.ca/act/netnography-of-
grandmothers/).
Alwin, Duane F. 2013. “Who’s Talking About My Generation?” Pp. 133–58 in Kinship and
Cohort in an Aging Society: From Generation to Generation, edited by M. Silverstein and
R. Giarrusso. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.
American Sociological Association. 2019. “What Is Sociology?” Asanet.org.
Retrieved November 8, 2019 (https://www.asanet.org/about-asa/asa-story/what-sociology).
Anderson, Jon. 2004. “Talking Whilst Walking: A Geographical Archaeology of Knowledge.”
Area 36(3):254–61.
APA-OTS. 2019. “20 Jahre A1 Social Impact Studie. Handy entwickelte sich vom
Statussymbol zum ständigen Begleiter. Ots.at Retrieved November 25, 2019
(https://www.a1.net/connectlife/pd/social-impact-studie-2019/).
Avital, Dana. 2017. “Gender Differences in Leisure Patterns at Age 50 and above:
Micro and Macro Aspects.” Ageing and Society 37(01):139–66.
Backes, Gertrud M. 2007. “Geschlechter - Lebenslagen - Altern.” Pp. 151–83
in Altern in Gesellschaft. Ageing - Diversity - Inclusion, edited by U. Pasero, G. M. Backes,
and K. R. Schroeter. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
Bakardjieva, Maria. 2005. Internet Society. The Internet in Everyday Life.
London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: Sage.
Berker, Thomas, Maren Hartmann, Yves Punie, and Katie Ward. 2006. “Introduction.”
Pp. 1–17 in Domestication of Media and Technology, edited by T. Berker, M. Hartmann,
Y. Punie, and K. J. Ward. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Birren, James E., and Kathryn N. Cochran. 2001. Telling the Stories of Life Through Guided
Autobiography Groups. Baltimore, London: John Hopkins University Press.
Blaakilde, Anne Leonora. 2017. “The Becoming of Radio Bodies.” European Journal
of Cultural Studies: 1–15.
372
Bolin, Göran. 2014. “Media Generations: Objective and Subjective Media Landscapes
and Nostalgia among Generations of Media Users.” Participations. Journal of Audience
and Reception Studies 11(2):108–31.
Bolin, Göran. 2017a. “Generational Analysis as a Methodological Approach to Study
Mediatised Social Change.” Pp. 23–36 in Digital Technologies and Generational Identity:
ICT Usage Across the Life Course, edited by S. Taipale, T.-A. Wilska, and C. Gilleard.
London: Routledge.
Bolin, Göran. 2017b. Media Generations. Experience, Identity, and Mediatised Social Change.
New York: Routledge.
Bolin, Göran, and Oscar Westlund. 2009. “Mobile Generations: The Role of Mobile
Technology in the Shaping of Swedish Media Generations.” International Journal of
Communications 3:108–24.
Bosch, Aida. 2010. Konsum und Exklusion. Eine Kultursoziologie der Dinge.
Bielefeld: Transcript.
Braunbeck, Joseph, and Reinhard Schlögl. 2004. “Sturm- und Drangzeiten des Radios.”
Pp. 11–30 in Vom Dampfradio zur Klangtapete. Beiträge zu 80 Jahren Hörfunk in Österreich,
edited by H. Godler, M. Jochum, R. Schlögl, and A. Treiber. Vienna, Cologne, Weimar:
Böhlau.
Bravington, Alison, and Nigel King. 2019. “Putting Graphic Elicitation into Practice: Tools and
Typologies for the Use of Participant-Led Diagrams in Qualitative Research Interviews.”
Qualitative Research 19(5):506–23.
Brennen, Bonnie S. 2013. Qualitative Research Methods for Media Studies: An Introduction.
New York: Routledge.
Brüsemeister, Thomas. 2008. Qualitative Forschung. Ein Überblick. 2nd ed. Wiesbaden:
VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
Bude, Heinz. 2005. “‘Generationen’ im Kontext. Von Den Kriegs- zu den
Wohlfahrtsstaatsgenerationen.” Pp. 28–44 in Generationen. Zur Relevanz eines
wissenschaftlichen Grundbegriffs, edited by U. Jureit and M. Wildt. Hamburg:
Hamburger Edition HIS Verlag.
373
Buse, Christina E. 2009. “When You Retire, Does Everything Become Leisure?
Information and Communication Technology and the Work/Leisure Boundary in Retirement.”
New Media & Society 11(7):1143–61.
Buse, Christina E. 2010. “E-Scaping the Ageing Body? Computer Technologies and
Embodiment in Later Life.” Ageing and Society 30(06):987–1009.
Calasanti, Toni M., and Kathleen F. Slevin. 2001. Gender, Social Inequalities, and Aging.
Walnut Creek: Rowman & Littlefield.
Calasanti, Toni M., Kathleen F. Slevin, and Neal King. 2006. “Ageism and Feminism:
From ‘Et Cetera’ to Center.” NWSA Journal 18(1):13–30.
Castells, Manuel. 2004. “Afterword: Why Networks Matter.” in Network Logic. Who Governs
in an Interconnected World?, edited by H. McCarthy, P. Miller, and P. Skidmore. London:
Demos.
Center for Inter-American Studies. 2019. “Anocriticism. Project: Roberta Maierhofer
(Publication).” Interamerikanistik.uni-graz.at. Retrieved November 8, 2019 (https:
//interamerikanistik.uni-graz.at/en/research/intersectionality-aging-studies/anocriticism/).
Chalmers, Alan F. 1982. What Is This Thing Called Science? An Assessment of the Nature and
Status of Science and its Methods. 2nd ed. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Charmaz, Kathy. 2000. “Grounded Theory. Objectivist and Constructivist Methods.”
in Handbok of Qualitative Research, edited by N. K. Denzin and Y. Lincoln S. Thousand Oaks,
London, New Delhi: Sage.
Charness, Neil, and Walter R. Boot. 2009. “Aging and Information Technology Use:
Potential and Barriers.” Current Directions in Psychological Science 18(5):253–58.
Chivers, Sally. 2003. “Introduction. Situating Old Women: Fields of Inquiry.” Pp. xvii–xlvii
in From Old Woman to Older Women: Contemporary Culture and Women’s Narratives.
Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
Comunello, Francesca, Simone Mulargia, Francesca Belotti, and Mireia Fernández-Ardèvol.
2015. “Older People’s Attitude Towards Mobile Communication in Everyday Life:
Digital Literacy and Domestication Processes.” Pp. 439–50 in Human Aspects of IT
for the Aged Population. Design for Aging. Vol. 9193, edited by J. Zhou and G. Salvendy.
Cham: Springer.
374
Conci, Mario, Fabio Pianesi, and Massimo Zancanaro. 2009. “Useful, Social and Enjoyable:
Mobile Phone Adoption by Older People.” Pp. 63–76 in Human-Computer Interaction –
INTERACT 2009. Vol. 5726, edited by T. Gross, J. Gulliksen, P. Kotzé, L. Oestreicher,
P. Palanque, R. O. Prates, and M. Winckler. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer.
Corbin, Juliet, and Anselm Strauss. 2015. Basics of Qualitative Research. Techniques and
Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. 4th ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Coughlin, Joseph F. 2010. “Understanding the Janus Face of Technology and Ageing:
Implications for Older Consumers, Business Innovation and Society.” 8(2):7.
Creswell, John W., and Vicki L. Plano Clark. 2011. Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods
Research. 2nd ed. Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC: Sage.
Crow, Barbara, and Kim Sawchuk. 2015. “New and Old, Young and Old. Aging in
the Mobile Imaginary.” Pp. 187–99 in Theories of the Mobile Internet: Materialities
and Imaginaries, Routledge Studies in New Media and Cyberculture, edited by A. Herman,
J. Hadlaw, and T. Swiss. New York: Routledge.
Cruikshank, Margaret. 2013. Learning to Be Old. Gender, Culture, and Aging. 3rd ed.
Lanham, Boulder, New York, Toronto, Plymouth, UK: Rowman & Littlefield.
Davis, Fred D. 1989. “Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and User Acceptance of
Information Technology.” MIS Quarterly 13(3):319–40.
Davis, Fred D., Richard P. Bagozzi, and Paul R. Warshaw. 1989. “User Acceptance of
Computer Technology: A Comparison of Two Theoretical Models.” Management Science
35(8):982–1003.
Denninger, Tina, and Lea Schütze. 2017. “Einleitung. Alte und neue Verhandlungen zu Alter(n)
und Geschlecht.” Pp. 7–22 in Alter(n) und Geschlecht. Neuverhandlungen eines sozialen
Zusammenhangs, Forum Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, edited by T. Denninger and
L. Schütze. Münster: Westfälisches Dampfboot.
Denzin, Norman K., and Yvonna Lincoln S. 2000. “Introduction. The Discipline and Practice
of Qualitative Research.” Pp. 1–28 in Handbook of Qualitative Research, edited by
N. K. Denzin and Y. Lincoln S. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: Sage.
Diekmann, Andreas. 2013. Empirische Sozialforschung. Grundlagen, Methoden,
Anwendungen. 7th ed. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt.
375
Doh, Michael, Laura I. Schmidt, Florian Herbolsheimer, Mario Jokisch,
and Hans-Werner Wahl. 2015. “Patterns of ICT Use among ‘Senior Technology Experts’:
The Role of Demographic Variables, Subjective Beliefs and Attitudes.” Pp. 177–88
in Human Aspects of IT for the Aged Population. Design for Aging. Vol. 9193, edited by
J. Zhou and G. Salvendy. Cham: Springer.
Doh, Michael, Hans-Werner Wahl, and Marina Schmitt. 2005. “Medienverhalten der 1930/32-
Geborenen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Internetnutzung: Befunde der
interdisziplinären Längsschnittstudie des Erwachsenenalters.” SPIEL 24(1):35–66.
Doughty, Karolina. 2013. “Walking Together: The Embodied and Mobile Production of
a Therapeutic Landscape.” Health & Place 24:140–46.
van Dyk, Silke. 2015. Soziologie des Alters. Bielefeld: Transcript.
van Dyk, Silke. 2017. “Zur Interdependenz und Analyse von Alter(n) und Geschlecht.
Theoretische Erkundungen und zeitdiagnostische Überlegungen.” Pp. 24–50
in Alter(n) und Geschlecht. Neuverhandlungen eines sozialen Zusammenhangs,
Forum Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, edited by T. Denninger and L. Schütze. Münster:
Westfälisches Dampfboot.
Ekerdt, David J. 2015. “Possessions as a Material Convoy.” Pp. 313–20 in Routledge Handbook
of Cultural Gerontology, edited by J. Twigg and W. Martin. London: Routledge.
Ekerdt, David J. 2018. “Things and Possessions.” Pp. 29–43 in Ageing in Everyday Life.
Materialities and Embodiements, edited by S. Katz. Bristol, Chicago: Policy Press.
Elwood, Sarah A., and Deborah G. Martin. 2000. “‘Placing’ Interviews: Location and Scales
of Power in Qualitative Research.” The Professional Geographer 52(4):649–57.
Erlinger, Dominik. 2019. “SAFERINTERNET-TIPPS. So werden Jugendliche nicht zu
Smartphone-Zombies.” Kronen Zeitung. Retrieved November 30, 2019
(https://www.krone.at/1856896).
Esser, Hartmut. 2004. Soziologische Anstöße. Frankfurt am Main: Campus.
European Commission, ed. 2011. Older, More Numerous and Diverse Europeans:
Commission Staff Working Document. Ms. compl. in March 2011. Luxembourg: Office for
Official Publ. of the European Communities.
376
European Commission. 2014. “2012 European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between
Generations – Evaluation Report.” Ec.europa.eu. Retrieved December 13, 2019 (https://
ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&newsId=2129&furtherNews=yes).
European Commission, and Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs. 2018.
The 2018 Ageing Report Economic & Budgetary Projections for the 28 EU Member States
(2016-2070). Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
Eurostat. 2018a. “3.4 Childcare and Housework.” Ec.europa.eu. Retrieved June 26, 2018
(http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/infographs/womenmen/bloc-3d.html?lang=en).
Eurostat. 2018b. “Einzelpersonen - Internet-Aktivitäten (Isoc_ci_ac_i).” Ec.europa.eu.
Retrieved June 29, 2018 (http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/digital-economy-and-
society/data/database).
Eurostat. 2018c. “Glossary: Inactive.” Ec.europa.eu. Retrieved June 26, 2018
(http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Glossary:Inactive).
Eurostat. 2018d. “ICT Usage in Households and by Individuals (Isoc_i).” Ec.europa.eu.
Retrieved October 3, 2018 (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/metadata/en/isoc_i_esms.htm).
Eurostat. 2018e. “Inaktive Bevölkerung als Prozentsatz der Gesamtbevölkerung,
nach Geschlecht und Alter (%).” Ec.europa.eu. Retrieved June 26, 2018
(http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/lfs/data/database).
Eurostat. 2018f. “LFS Main Indicators (Lfsi).” Ec.europa.eu. Retrieved October 3, 2018
(https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/lfs/data/database).
Eurostat. 2018g. “RAMON - Reference and Management of Nomenclatures.
Correspondence Table. Degree of Urbanisation (DEGURBA) - Local Administrative Units.”
Ec.europa.eu. Retrieved September 27, 2018 (http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/
miscellaneous/index.cfm?TargetUrl=DSP_DEGURBA).
Eurostat. 2019. “Real GDP per Capita.” Ec.europa.eu. Retrieved November 30, 2019
(https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sdg_08_10/default/bar?lang=en).
Evans, James, and Phil Jones. 2011. “The Walking Interview: Methodology, Mobility
and Place.” Applied Geography 31(2):849–58.
Fairclough, Norman. 2005. Analyzing Discourse. Textual Analysis for Social Research.
London, New York: Routledge.
377
Faulstich, Werner. 2004. “I. MEDIUM.” Pp. 13–102 in Grundwissen Medien, edited by
W. Faulstich. Paderborn: UTB.
Federal Minister for Women and Civil Service at the Federal Chancellery. 2010.
“Equality in the Labour Market. National Action Plan.” Retrieved March 18, 2016
(https://www.bka.gv.at/DocView .axd?CobId=42528).
Feist, Helen, Kelly Parker, Natasha Howard, and Graeme Hugo. 2010. “New Technologies:
Their Potential Role in Linking Rural Older People to Community.” International Journal of
Emerging Technologies and Society 8(2):68–84.
Fernández-Ardèvol, Mireia. 2013. “Deliberate Missed Calls: A Meaningful Communication
Practice for Seniors?” Mobile Media & Communication 1(3):285–98.
Fernández‐Ardèvol, Mireia. 2013. “Interactions with and through Mobile Phone among
the Elders: Replicating Case Studies (Prepared by Mireia Fernández‐Ardèvol for F. Comunello
and S. Mulargia). Case Study Protocol.”
Fernández-Ardèvol, Mireia. 2014a. “Fwd: Older People and Mobile Communication.” E-mail.
Fernández-Ardèvol, Mireia. 2014b. “OUTLINE, INTERVIEWS.” Document.
Fernández-Ardèvol, Mireia, and Loredana Ivan. 2016. “Older People and Mobile
Communication in Two European Contexts.” Romanian Journal of Communication and
Public Relations 15(3):83–98.
Flick, Uwe. 2016. Qualitative Sozialforschung. Eine Einführung. 7th ed. Reinbek bei Hamburg:
Rowohlt.
Fontana, Andrea, and James H. Frey. 2000. “The Interview. From Structured Questions to
Negotiated Text.” Pp. 645–72 in Handbook of Qualitative Research, edited by N. K. Denzin
and Y. Lincoln S. Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi: Sage.
Gales, Alina, and Eugène F. Loos. 2020. “The Impact of The Relationship and Family Status
in Retirement Age on Women’s Incorporation of Technical Devices into Their Everyday Life.”
accepted paper (forthcoming) in Human Aspects of IT for the Aged Population. Design for the
Elderly and Technology. 6th International Confrence, ITAP 2020, held as part of the 22nd HCI
International Conference, HCII 2020, Copenhagen. Proceedings, edited by J. Zhou and Q. Gao.
Cham: Springer.
378
Gatto, Susan L., and Sunghee H. Tak. 2008. “Computer, Internet, and E-Mail Use Among
Older Adults: Benefits and Barriers.” Educational Gerontology 34(9):800–811.
GfK Austria. 2012. “GfK Online Monitor: 4. Quartal 2011.” GfK.Com. Retrieved July 10, 2014
(http://www.e-government.steiermark.at/cms/dokumente/10103295_34808287/b8a4cf27/gfk_
online_monitor_4_qu_ stand_Juni_2012.pdf).
Gilleard, Chris, and Paul Higgs. 2012. “Chapter 23. Consumption and Aging.” Pp. 361–75
in Handbook of Sociology of Aging, edited by R. A. Jr. Settersten and J. L. Angel. New York:
Springer.
Gilleard, Chris, Terhi-Anna Wilska, and Sakari Taipale. 2017. “Conclusion.” Pp. 217–21
in Digital Technologies and Generational Identity: ICT Usage Across the Life Course,
edited by S. Taipale, T.-A. Wilska, and C. Gilleard. London: Routledge.
Glaser, Barney G., and Anselm L. Strauss. 2009. The Discovery of Grounded Theory:
Strategies for Qualitative Research. 4th ed. New Brunswick: Aldine.
Godler, Heimo, Manfred Jochum, Reinhard Schlögl, and Alfred Treiber. 2004. “Zeittafel.”
Pp. 247–60 in Vom Dampfradio zur Klangtapete. Beiträge zu 80 Jahren Hörfunk in Österreich,
edited by H. Godler, M. Jochum, R. Schlögl, and A. Treiber. Vienna, Cologne, Weimar:
Böhlau.
Goodwin, Cynthia L. 2013. “Use of the Computer and the Internet by Well Older Adults.”
Activities, Adaptation & Aging 37(1):63–78.
Gray, Ann. 1992. Video Playtime. The Gendering of a Leisure Technology. London, New York:
Routledge.
Grissemann, Ernst. 2004. “Das Vorbild der alten Tante BBC.” Pp. 71–76 in Vom Dampfradio
zur Klangtapete. Beiträge zu 80 Jahren Hörfunk in Österreich, edited by H. Godler, M. Jochum,
R. Schlögl, and A. Treiber. Vienna, Cologne, Weimar: Böhlau.
Gullette, Margaret Morganroth. 2004. Aged by Culture. Chicago, London: University of
Chicago Press.
Gullette, Margaret Morganroth. 2011. Agewise. Fighting the New Ageism in America. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
Haddon, Leslie. 2006a. “Empirical Studies Using the Domestication Framework.” Pp. 103–22
in Domestication of Media and Technology, edited by T. Berker, M. Hartmann, Y. Punie,
and K. Ward. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
379
Haddon, Leslie. 2006b. Information and Communication Technologies in Everyday Life.
A Concise Introduction and Research Guide. Oxford, New York: Berg.
Haddon, Leslie. 2017. “Generational Analysis of People’s Experience of ICTs.” Pp. 37–51
in Digital Technologies and Generational Identity: ICT Usage Across the Life Course,
edited by S. Taipale, T.-A. Wilska, and C. Gilleard. London: Routledge.
Haddon, Leslie, Roger Silverstone, University of Sussex, Centre for Information and
Communication Technologies, University of Sussex, and Science Policy Research Unit. 1996.
Information and Communication Technologies and the Young Elderly: A Report of the
ESRC/PICT Study of the Household and Information and Communication Technologies.
Brighton: Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex.
Hall, Tom, Brett Lashua, and Amanda Coffey. 2006. “Stories as Sorties.”
Qualitative Researcher 3:2–4.
Hallmann, Heidi L. 2019. “Community-Based Field Experiences in Teacher Education:
Theory and Method.” Pp. 348–66 in Handbook of Research on Field-Based Teacher Education,
edited by T. E. Hodges and A. C. Baum. Hershey: IGI Global.
Hardill, Irene, and C. Wendy Olphert. 2012. “Staying Connected: Exploring Mobile Phone Use
amongst Older Adults in the UK.” Geoforum 43(6):1306–12.
Heilmann, Till A. 2012. Textverarbeitung. Eine Mediengeschichte des Computers als
Schreibmaschine. Bielefeld: Transcript.
Helfferich, Cornelia. 2009. Die Qualität qualitativer Daten: Manual für die Durchführung
qualitativer Interviews. 3rd ed. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
Helfferich, Cornelia. 2017. “Alter vollendet Männlichkeit und tilgt Weiblichkeit:
Sozialtheoretische Betrachtungen zur Überlagerung von Geschlechter- und Altershierarchie.”
Pp. 90–106 in Alter(n) und Geschlecht. Neuverhandlungen eines sozialen Zusammenhangs,
Forum Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung, edited by T. Denninger and L. Schütze. Münster:
Westfälisches Dampfboot.
380
Herczeg, Petra, and Rainer Rosenberg. 2004. “Welpen aller Rassen und Kreuzungen.
Von der Radiofee, dem Bastelonkel, dem Traummännlein, dem weißen Elefanten und einem
Hund namens Rudi - Eine kurze Reise durch die Welt des Kinderradios.” Pp. 57–70
in Vom Dampfradio zur Klangtapete. Beiträge zu 80 Jahren Hörfunk in Österreich,
edited by H. Godler, M. Jochum, R. Schlögl, and A. Treiber. Vienna, Cologne, Weimar:
Böhlau.
Herzog, Hanna. 2005. “On Home Turf: Interview Location and Its Social Meaning.”
Qualitative Sociology 28(1):25–47.
Hill, Rowena, Lucy R. Betts, and Sarah E. Gardner. 2015. “Older Adults’ Experiences and
Perceptions of Digital Technology: (Dis)Empowerment, Wellbeing, and Inclusion.”
Computers in Human Behavior 48:415–23.
Hilt, Michael L., and Jeremy H. Lipschultz. 2004. “Elderly Americans and the Internet: E-Mail,
TV News, Information and Entertainment Websites.” Educational Gerontology 30(1):57–72.
Holton, Mark, and Mark Riley. 2014. “Talking on the Move: Place-Based Interviewing with
Undergraduate Students: Talking on the Move.” Area 46(1):59–65.
Hopf, Christel. 2013. “Qualitative Interviews - Ein Überblick.” Pp. 349–60 in
Qualitative Forschung. Ein Handbuch, edited by U. Flick, E. von Kardorff, and I. Steinke.
Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt.
Howell, Rachel. 2014.“Are Graphical Representations of Practices Over an Individual’s
Lifecourse a Useful Methodological Tool in Representing the Impact of Lifecourse Transitions
on Sustainability?” Presented at the Lifecourse Transitions: Opportunities for Sustainable
Lifestyles?, July 15, University of Surrey.
Hüffel, Clemens. 2004. “Zur Geschichte der ‘klassischen’ Medien Zeitung, Radio und
Fernsehen.” Pp. 7–15 in Medienpioniere erzählen... 50 Jahre österreichische Mediengeschichte
- von den alten zu den neuen Medien, edited by C. Hüffel and A. Reiter. Vienna: Braumüller.
Hugger, Kai-Uwe. 2008. “Uses-and-Gratification Approach Und Nutzenansatz.” Pp. 173–78
in Handbuch Medienpädagogik, edited by U. Sander, F. van Gross, and K.-U. Hugger.
Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
Institut für Volkskunde und Kulturanthropologie. Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz. n.d.
“Regeln Zur Transkription Qualitativer Interviews.” Document.
381
Ivan, Loredana, and Mireia Fernández-Ardèvol. 2017. “Older People, Mobile Communication
and Risks.” Societies 7(2):n.p.
Ivan, Loredana, and Shannon Hebblethwaite. 2016. “Grannies on the Net: Grandmothers’
Experiences of Facebook in Family Communication.” Romanian Journal of Communication
and Public Relations 18(1):11–25.
Jäckel, Michael. 2010. “Mediensoziologie.” Pp. 277–94 in Handbuch Spezielle Soziologien,
edited by G. Kneer and M. Schroer. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
Johnson, R. Burke, Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie, and Lisa A. Turner. 2007. “Toward a Definition
of Mixed Methods Research.” Journal of Mixed Methods Research 1(2):112–33.
Jones, Phil, Griff Bunce, James Evans, Hannah Gibbs, and Jane Ricketts Hein. 2008.
“Exploring Space and Place with Walking Interviews.” Journal of Rsearch Practice 4(2/D2):9.
Jureit, Ulrike, and Michael Wildt. 2005. “Generationen.” Pp. 7–26 in Generationen.
Zur Relevanz eines wissenschaftlichen Grundbegriffs, edited by U. Jureit and M. Wildt.
Hamburg: Hamburger Edition HIS Verlag.
Karagiannidis, Vicky. 2017. “AW: Summarizing the Data Collection Process.” E-mail.
Karagiannidis, Vicky. 2018a. “AW: Nachfrage.” E-mail.
Karagiannidis, Vicky. 2018b. “Kurze Frage Zu Sample ACT-Panelstudie.” E-mail.
Käsler, Dirk. 1988. Max Weber. An Introduction to his Life and Work. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Katz, Elihu, Jay G. Blumler, and Michael Gurevitch. 1974. “Uses and Gratifications Research.”
The Public Opinion Quarterly 37(4):509–23.
Katz, Stephen. 1996. Disciplining Old Age: The Formation of Gerontological Knowledge.
Charlottesville, London: University of Virginia Press.
Katz, Stephen. 2005a. “Busy Bodies: Activity, Aging, and the Management of Everyday Life.”
Pp. 85–100 in Cultural Aging. Life Course, Lifestyle, and Senior Worlds, edited by S. Katz.
Peterborough: Broadview.
Katz, Stephen. 2005b. “Charcot’s Older Women: Bodies of Knowledge at the Interface of
Aging Studies and Women’s Studies.” Pp. 37–52 in Cultural Aging. Life Course, Lifestyle,
and Senior Worlds, edited by S. Katz. Peterborough: Broadview.
382
Katz, Stephen. 2005c. “Critical Gerontological Theory: Intellectual Fieldwork and the Nomadic
Life of Ideas.” Pp. 85–100 in Cultural Aging. Life Course, Lifestyle, and Senior Worlds,
edited by S. Katz. Peterborough: Broadview.
Katz, Stephen. 2005d. “Introduction.” Pp. 11–20 in Cultural Aging. Life Course, Lifestyle,
and Senior Worlds, edited by S. Katz. Peterborough: Broadview.
Katz, Stephen, and Toni Calasanti. 2015. “Critical Perspectives on Successful Aging:
Does It ‘Appeal More Than It Illuminates’?” The Gerontologist 55(1):26–33.
Katz, Stephen, and Barbara L. Marshall. 2018. “Tracked and Fit: FitBits, Brain Games,
and the Quantified Aging Body.” Journal of Aging Studies 45:63–68.
Keegan, Sheila. 2008. “Projective Techniques” edited by L. M. Given. The SAGE Encyclopedia
of Qualitative Research Methods 2:686–88.
Keegan, Sheila. 2009. Qualitative Research. Good Decision Making Through Understanding
People, Cultures and Markets. London, Philadelphia: Kogan Page.
Kelle, Udo, and Susann Kluge. 2010. Vom Einzelfall zum Typus: Fallvergleich und
Fallkontrastierung in der qualitativen Sozialforschung. 2nd ed. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag
für Sozialwissenschaften.
Keller, Reiner. 2006. “Wissensoziologische Diskursanalyse.” Pp. 115–46
in Handbuch Sozialwissenschaftliche Diskursanalyse. Vol. 1: Theorien und Methoden,
edited by R. Keller, A. Hierseland, W. Schneider, and W. Viehöfer. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag
für Sozialwissenschaften.
Keller, Reiner. 2012. Das interpretative Paradigma: eine Einführung. Wiesbaden:
Springer VS.
King, Nigel, Christine Horrocks, and Joanna Brooks. 2019. Interviews in Qualitative Research.
2nd ed. Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC, Melbourne: Sage.
Kircher, Martin. 2017. “Frühes Frauenpensionsalter: Falle, nicht Privileg. Position Der WKÖ.”
Wko.at. Retrieved June 26, 2018 (https://news.wko.at/news/oesterreich/position_
frauenpensionsalter.html).
Knoblauch, Hubert. 2006. “Diskurs, Kommunikation und Wissenssoziologie.” Pp. 209–62
in Handbuch Sozialwissenschaftliche Diskursanalyse. Vol. 1: Theorien und Methoden,
edited by R. Keller, A. Hierseland, W. Schneider, and W. Viehöfer. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag
für Sozialwissenschaften.
383
Knoblauch, Hubert. 2011. “Transkription.” Pp. 159–60 in Hauptbegriffe Qualitativer
Sozialforschung., edited by R. Bohnsack, W. Marotzki, and M. Meuser. Opladen,
Farmington Hills: Verlag Barbara Budrich.
Kohli, Martin. 2009. “Ungleichheit, Konflikt und Integration - Anmerkungen zur Bedeutung
des Generationenkonzepts für die Soziologie.” Pp. 229–36 in Generationen: multidisziplinäre
Perspektiven; [Martin Kohli zum 65. Geburtstag], edited by H. Künemund and M. Szydlik.
Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
Kolar, Kat, Farah Ahmad, Linda Chan, and Patricia G. Erickson. 2015. “Timeline Mapping in
Qualitative Interviews: A Study of Resilience with Marginalized Groups.”
International Journal of Qualitative Methods 14(3):13–32.
Kowal, Sabine, and Daniel C. O’Connell. 2013. “5.9 Zur Transkription von Gesprächen.”
Pp. 437–47 in Qualitative Forschung. Ein Handbuch, edited by U. Flick, E. von Kardorff,
and I. Steinke. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt.
Krekula, Clary. 2007. “The Intersection of Age and Gender: Reworking Gender Theory and
Social Gerontology.” Current Sociology 55(2):155–71.
Krotz, Friedrich. 2007. Mediatisierung: Fallstudien zum Wandel von Kommunikation.
Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
Kuckartz, Udo. 2018. Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse. Methoden, Praxis, Computerunterstützung.
4th ed. Weinheim, Basel: Beltz Juventa.
Künemund, Harald, and Klaus R. Schröter. 2014. “Alterssoziologie” edited by G. Endruweit,
G. Trommsdorff, and N. Burzan. Wörterbuch der Soziologie, 16–22.
Künemund, Harald, and Marc Szydlik. 2009. “Generationen aus Sicht der Soziologie.”
Pp. 7–21 in Generationen: multidisziplinäre Perspektiven; [Martin Kohli zum 65. Geburtstag],
edited by H. Künemund and M. Szydlik. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
Kurniawan, Sri. 2006. “An Exploratory Study of How Older Women Use Mobile Phones.”
Pp. 105–22 in UbiComp 2006: Ubiquitous Computing. Vol. 4206, edited by P. Dourish and
A. Friday. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer.
Kusenbach, Margarethe. 2011. “Street Phenomenology: The Go-Along as Ethnographic
Research Tool.” Pp. 177–204 in Sage Qualitative Research Methods. Vol. 2, Sage Benchmarks
in Social Research Methos, edited by P. Atkinson and S. Delamont. London: Sage.
384
Kvale, Steinar. 2007. Doing Interviews. Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore: Sage.
Kvale, Steinar, and Svend Brinkmann. 2009. InterViews. Learning the Craft of Qualitative
Research Interviewing. 2nd ed. Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore: Sage.
Lachnit, Peter. 2017. “Diagonal zum Jahr 1967. Als alles begann.” Oe1.orf.at.
Retrieved May 27, 2018 (https://oe1.orf.at/artikel/629369).
Lamnek, Siegfried. 2010. Qualitative Sozialforschung: Lehrbuch. 5th ed. Weinheim,
Basel: Beltz.
Larsson, Ellinor, Maria Larsson-Lund, and Ingeborg Nilsson. 2013. “Internet Based Activities
(IBAs): Seniors’ Experiences of the Conditions Required for the Performance of and the
Influence of These Conditions on Their Own Participation in Society.”
Educational Gerontology 39(3):155–67.
Latour, Bruno. 1993. We Have Never Been Modern. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard
University Press.
Latour, Bruno. 1996. “On Actor-Network Theory: A Few Clarifications.” Soziale Welt
47(4):369–81.
Lenhart, Amanda, and John B. Horrigan. 2003. “Re-Visualizing the Digital Divide as a
Digital Spectrum.” IT & Society 1(5):23–39.
Livingstone, Sonia. 1994. “The Meaning of Domestic Technologies. A Personal Construct
Analysis of Familial Gender Relations.” Pp. 113–30 in Consuming Technologies.
Media and Information in Domestic Spaces, edited by R. Silverstone and Eric Hirsch. London,
New York: Routledge.
Loe, Meika. 2010. “Doing It My Way: Old Women, Technology and Wellbeing.”
Sociology of Health & Illness 32(2):319–34.
Loos, Eugène. 2012. “Senior Citizens: Digital Immigrants in Their Own Country?”
Observatorio (OBS*) 6(1):001–023.
Loos, Eugène, Leslie Haddon, and Enid Mante-Meijer. 2012. “Introduction.” Pp. 1–9
in Generational Use of New Media, edited by E. Loos, L. Haddon, and E. Mante-Meijer.
Farnham: Ashgate.
385
Loos, Eugène, Galit Nimrod, and Mireia Fernández Ardèvol. 2018. Older Audiences in the
Digital Media Environment: A Cross-National Longitudinal Study. Wave 1 Report 1.0.
Montreal: ACT Project.
Lüscher, Kurt, and Ludwig Liegle. 2003. Generationenbeziehungen in Familie und
Gesellschaft. Konstanz: UVK.
Mahr, Christiane. 2016. “Alter” und “Altern” - Eine begriffliche Klärung mit Blick auf die
gegenwärtige wissenschaftliche Debatte. Bielefeld: Transcript.
Maierhofer, Roberta. 1999. “Desperately Seeking the Self: Gender, Age, and Identity in
Tillie Olsen’s ‘Tell Me a Riddle’ and Michelle Herman’s ‘Missing.’” Educational Gerontology
25(2):129–41.
Maierhofer, Roberta. 2003. Salty Old Women: Frauen, Alter und Identität in der
Amerikanischen Literatur. Essen: Die Blaue Eule.
Maierhofer, Roberta. 2004a. “The Old Woman as Prototypical American.” Pp. 319–36
in What is American? New Identities in U.S. Culture. Festschrift für Arno Heller,
edited by W. Hölbling and K. Rieser. Münster: LIT.
Maierhofer, Roberta. 2004b. “Third Pregnancy: Women, Ageing, and Identity in American
Culture. An Anocritical Approach.” Pp. 155–71 in Old Age and Ageing in British and American
Culture and Literature. Vol. 16, Studien zur englischen Literatur, edited by C. Jansohn.
Münster: LIT.
Maierhofer, Roberta. 2007. “Der gefahrliche Aufbruch zum Selbst: Frauen, Altern und Identitat
in der amerikanischen Kultur. Eine anokritische Einfiihrung.” Pp. 111–27
in Altern in Gesellschaft. Ageing - Diversity - Inclusion, edited by Ursula Pasero, Gertrud M.
Backes, and Klaus R. Schroeter. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
Maierhofer, Roberta. 2012. “Das Leben als narrativer Akt: Altern als Erzählen.” Pp. 97–111
in Moderne. Kulturwissenschaftliches Jahrbuch 6 (2010/11). Themenschwerpunkt: Alter(n),
edited by H. Mitterbauer and K. Scherke. Innsbruck, Vienna, Bolzano: Studien Verlag.
Maierhofer, Roberta. 2019. “Feminism and Aging in Literature.” Pp. 1–8 in Encyclopedia of
Gerontology and Population Aging, edited by D. Gu and M. E. Dupre. Cham: Springer.
Mannheim, Karl. 1952 [1927/28]. “The Problem of Generations.” Pp. 276–322 in
Karl Mannheim: Essays, edited by P. Kecskemeti. London: Routledge.
386
Marshall, Victor W., and Vern L. Bengtson. 2012. “Theoretical Perspectives on the Sociology
of Aging.” Pp. 17–33 in Handbook of Sociology of Aging, edited by R. A. Jr. Settersten and
J. L. Angel. New York: Springer.
Matthes, Joachim. 1985. “Karl Mannheims ‘Das Problem der Generationen,’ neu gelesen.
‘Generationen-Gruppen’ oder ‘gesellschaftliche Regelung von Zeitlichkeit’?”
Zeitschrift für Soziologie 14(5):363–72.
Mecheril, Paul, and Nadine Rose. 2012. “Qualitative Migrationsforschung -
Standordbestimmung zwischen Politik, Reflexion und (Selbst-)Kritik.” Pp. 115–34
in Qualitatives Forschen in der Erziehungswissenschaft, edited by F. Ackermann, T. Ley,
C. Machold, and M. Schrödter. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
Merkens, Hans. 2013. “4.4. Auswahlverfahren, Sampling, Fallkonstruktion.” Pp. 286–99
in Qualitative Forschung. Ein Handbuch, edited by U. Flick, E. von Kardorff, and I. Steinke.
Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt.
Merton, Robert K. 1987. “Three Fragments from a Sociologist’s Notebooks: Establishing
the Phenomenon, Specified Ignorance, and Strategic Research Materials.” Annual Review of
Sociology 1:1–28.
Miller, Daniel. 2001. “Behind Closed Doors.” Pp. 1–29 in Home Possessions. Material Culture
Behind Closed Doors, edited by D. Miller. Oxford, New York: Berg.
Mitzner, Tracy L., Julie B. Boron, Cara Bailey Fausset, Anne E. Adams, Neil Charness,
Sara J. Czaja, Katinka Dijkstra, Arthur D. Fisk, Wendy A. Rogers, and Joseph Sharit. 2010.
“Older Adults Talk Technology: Technology Usage and Attitudes.” Computers in Human
Behavior 26(6):1710–21.
Morley, David. 2006. “What’s ‘Home’ Got to Do with It? Contradictory Dynamics in the
Domestication of Technology and the Dislocation of Domesticity.” Pp. 21–39 in Domestication
of Media and Technology, edited by T. Berker, M. Hartmann, Y. Punie, and K. Ward.
Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Müller, Hans-Peter. 2007. Max Weber. Eine Einführung in sein Werk. Cologne, Weimar,
Vienna: Böhlau.
Neves, Barbara Barbosa, and Fausto Amaro. 2012. “Too Old for Technology? How the Elderly
of Lisbon Use and Perceive ICT.” The Journal of Community Informatics 8(1):1–11.
387
Nimrod, Galit. 2007. “Expanding, Reducing, Concentrating and Diffusing: Post Retirement
Leisure Behavior and Life Satisfaction.” Leisure Sciences 29(1):91–111.
Nimrod, Galit. 2010. “Seniors’ Online Communities: A Quantitative Content Analysis.”
The Gerontologist 50(3):382–92.
Nimrod, Galit. 2011. “The Fun Culture in Seniors’ Online Communities.” The Gerontologist
51(2):226–37.
Nimrod, Galit. 2017. “Older Audiences in the Digital Media Environment.” Information,
Communication & Society 20(2):233–49.
OeNB. Oesterreichische Nationalbank. 2020. “Schilling Umtauschen.” Oenb.at. Retrieved
January 21, 2020 (https://www.oenb.at/Barrierefreiheit/leicht-lesen/schilling-umtauschen.
html).
O’Regan, Gerard. 2016. Introduction to the History of Computing. A Computing
History Primer. Basel: Springer.
Östlund, Britt. 2005. “Design Paradigms and Misunderstood Technology: The Case of
Older Users.” Pp. 25–39 in Young Technologies in Old Hands: an International View on Senior
Citizen’s Utilization of ICT, edited by B. Jæger. Copenhagen: DJØF Forlag.
Patton, Michael Quinn. 2015. Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods. Integrating Theory
and Practice. 4th ed. Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC: Sage.
Pensold, Wolfgang. 1999. Die Welt aus erster Hand. Als das Fernsehen nach Ottakring kam.
Vol. 1. Vienna: Literas Universitätsverlag.
Pensold, Wolfgang. 2018. Zur Geschichte des Rundfunks in Österreich. Programm für
die Nation. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
Pickard, Susan. 2016. Age Studies. A Sociological Examination of How We Age and Are Aged
Through the Life Course. Los Angeles: Sage.
Pierson, Jo. 2006. “Domestication at Work in Small Businesses.” Pp. 205–26 in Domestication
of Media and Technology, edited by T. Berker, M. Hartmann, Y. Punie, and K. J. Ward.
Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Pilcher, Jane. 1994. “Mannheim’s Sociology of Generations: An Undervalued Legacy.”
The British Journal of Sociology 45(3):481–95.
388
Pink, Sarah. 2004. “Home Truths. Gender, Domestic Objects, and Everyday Life.” Oxford,
New York: Berg.
Quadrello, Tatiana, Helena Blažun Hurme, Johanna Menzinger, Peter K. Smith,
Marika Veisson, Sandra Vidal, and Susanne Westerback. 2005. “Grandparents Use of New
Communication Technologies in a European Perspective.” European Journal of Ageing
2(3):200–207.
Quan-Haase, Anabel, Kim Martin, and Kathleen Schreurs. 2016. “Interviews with Digital
Seniors: ICT Use in the Context of Everyday Life.” Information, Communication & Society
19(5):691–707.
Ratzenböck, Barbara. 2013. “Schreiben Als Arbeit. Prozesse und Strategien des literarischen
Schreibens von österreichischen SchriftstellerInnen der Gegenwart. Eine explorative Studie
über Schreibarbeit österreichischer Schriftstellerinnen.”
Ratzenböck, Barbara. 2016a. “Examining the Experiences of Older Women with ICTs.
Interrelations of Generation-Specific Media Practices and Individual Media Biographies.”
Nordicom Review 37:57–70.
Ratzenböck, Barbara. 2016b. “‘Let’s Take a Look Together’: Walking Interviews in Domestic
Spaces as a Means to Examine ICT Experiences of Women 60+.” Romanian Journal of
Communication and Public Relations 18(1):49.
Ratzenböck, Barbara. 2017a. “Everyday Life Interactions of Women 60+ with ICTs:
Creations of Meaning and Negotiations of Ldentity.” Pp. 25–37 in Human Aspects of IT for the
Aged Population. Aging, Design and User Experience. Conference Proceedings ITAP 2017.
Vol. 10297, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, edited by J. Zhou and G. Salvendy.
Cham: Springer.
Ratzenböck, Barbara. 2017b. “Recycelte Fernseher und ‘abgestochene’ Computer. Zur
Erforschung von Medienerfahrungen von Frauen 60+ durch Interaktionen mit Medienobjekten
während ‘Walking Interviews’ in Wohnräumen.” Pp. 245–64 in Alter(n) als soziale und
kulturelle Praxis. Ordnungen - Beziehungen - Materialitäten. Vol. 10, Aging Studies,
edited by C. Endter and S. Kienitz. Bielefeld: Transcript.
389
Ratzenböck, Barbara. 2017c. “Shifting Perspectives: How Older Women Produce
Generationally or Individually Framed Narratives about Media Technologies in
Qualitative Interview Situations.” Presented at the Ageing and Everyday Life with Media
Conference at the University of Copenhagen, February 22, Copenhagen.
Reichertz, Jo. 2016. Qualitative und interpretative Sozialforschung: Eine Einladung.
Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien.
Richardson, Margaret, C. Kay Weaver, and Theodore E. Zorn. 2005. “‘Getting on’:
Older New Zealanders’ Perceptions of Computing.” New Media & Society 7(2):219–45.
Ricketts Hein, Jane, James Evans, and Phil Jones. 2008. “Mobile Methodologies:
Theory, Technology and Practice.” Geography Compass 2(5):1266–85.
Ringler, Paul, Peter Parycek, Judith Schossböck, Daniel Schönherr, Florian Oberhuber,
and Evelyn Hacker. 2013. Internet und Demokratie in Österreich. Grundlagenstudie. Wien:
SORA – Institute for Social Research and Consulting.
Roberts, Thomas. 2014. “RE: Walking Interviews.” E-mail.
Roth, Ulrike, and Jutta Röser. 2019. “Mediatisierungs- und Domestizierungsansatz: Geschlecht
im mediatisierten Zuhause.” Pp. 1385–93 in Handbuch Interdisziplinäre
Geschlechterforschung. Vol. 65, edited by B. Kortendiek, B. Riegraf, and K. Sabisch.
Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien.
Russell, Cherry, Andrew Campbell, and Ian Hughes. 2008. “Research: Ageing, Social Capital
and the Internet: Findings from an Exploratory Study of Australian ‘Silver Surfers’:
Ageing, Social Capital and the Internet.” Australasian Journal on Ageing 27(2):78–82.
Sackmann, Reinhold, and Oliver Winkler. 2013. “Technology Generations Revisited:
The Internet Generation.” Gerontechnology 11(4):493–503.
Sawchuk, Kim. 2018. “Afterword. Relational Entanglements: Ageing, Materialities and
Embodiments.” Pp. 2015–2224 in Ageing in Everyday Life: Materialities and Embodiments,
edited by S. Katz. Bristol, Chicago: Policy Press.
Sawchuk, Kim, and Barbara Crow. 2010. “Talking ‘Costs’. Seniors, Cell Phones and the
Personal and Political Economy of Telecommunications in Canada.” Telecommunications
Journal of Australia 60(4):55.1-55.11.
390
Sawchuk, Kim, and Barbara Crow. 2012. “‘I’m G-Mom on the Phone’:
Remote Grandmothering, Cell Phones and Inter-Generational Dis/Connections.”
Feminist Media Studies 12(4):496–505.
Sayago, Sergio, and Josep Blat. 2010. “Telling the Story of Older People E-Mailing:
An Ethnographical Study.” International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 68(1–2):
105–20.
Sayago, Sergio, Andrea Rosales, Valeria Righi, Susan M. Ferreira, Graeme W. Coleman,
and Josep Blat. 2016. “On the Conceptualization, Design, and Evaluation of Appealing,
Meaningful, and Playable Digital Games for Older People.” Games and Culture 11(1–2):
53–80.
Scannell, Paddy. 1996. Radio, Television, and Modern Life. Oxford: Blackwell.
Schäffer, Burkhard. 2003. Generationen — Medien — Bildung. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag
für Sozialwissenschaften.
Schäffer, Burkhard. 2007. “Generationsspezifische Medienpraxiskulturen und Macht.”
Pp. 155–67 in Medien - Macht - Gesellschaft. Vol. 4, Medienbildung und Gesellschaft,
edited by J. Fromme and B. Schäffer. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
Schäffer, Burkhard. 2009. “Mediengenerationen, Medienkohorten und generationsspezifische
Medienpraxiskulturen. Zum Generationenansatz in der Medienforschung.” Pp. 31–50
in Medien und höheres Lebensalter. Theorie - Forschung - Praxis, edited by B. Schorb,
A. Hartung, and W. Reissmann. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
Scherke, Katharina. 2012. “Einleitung.” Pp. 9–16 in Moderne. Kulturwissenschaftliches
Jahrbuch 6 (2010/11). Themenschwerpunkt: Alter(n), edited by H. Mitterbauer and K. Scherke.
Innsbruck, Vienna, Bolzano: Studien Verlag.
Schindelar, Veronika. 2014. “40 Jahre Mobilfunkgeschichte in Österreich.” T-Mobile.at.
Retrieved August 27, 2018 (https://businessblog.t-mobile.at/mobilfunkgeschichte/).
Schulz-Schaeffer, Ingo. 2009. “Die Frage nach der Handlungsträgerschaft von Technik und das
Konzept gradualisierten Handelns.” Pp. 37–59 in Das Tätigsein der Dinge. Beiträge zur
Handlungsträgerschaft von Technik. Vol. 58, Technik- und Wissenschaftsforschung, edited by
W. Berger and G. Getzinger. Munich, Vienna: Profil.
Scott, Susie. 2015. Negotiating Identity. Symbolic Interactionist Approaches to Social Identity.
Cambridge, UK, Malden, USA: Polity Press.
391
Seidler, Miriam. 2007. “Zwischen Demenz und Freiheit. Überlegungen zum Verhältnis von
Alter und Geschlecht in der Gegenwartsliteratur.” Pp. 195–212 in Graue Theorie.
Die Kategorien Alter und Geschlecht im kulturellen Diskurs, edited by H. Hartung,
D. Reinmuth, C. Streubel, and A. Uhlmann. Cologne: Böhlau.
Selwyn, Neil. 2004. “The Information Aged: A Qualitative Study of Older Adults’ Use of
Information and Communications Technology.” Journal of Aging Studies 18(4):369–84.
Settersten, Richard A. Jr., and Jacqueline L. Angel. 2012. “Chapter 1. Trends in the Sociology
of Aging: Thirty Year Observations.” Pp. 3–13 in Handbook of Sociology of Aging, edited by
R. A. Jr. Settersten and J. L. Angel. New York: Springer.
Shove, Elizabeth. n.d. “The Shower-Bath-Path. Even Private Habits Are Shared.” University of
Lancaster (“Transitions in Practice” Project). Retrieved July 30, 2014
(https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/staff/shove/exhibits/showerv2.pdf).
Silverman, David. 1997. Interpreting Qualitative Data. Methods for Analysing Talk, Text and
Interaction. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: Sage.
Silverstone, Roger. 1996. “Future Imperfect: Information and Communication Technologies in
Everyday Life.” Pp. 217–31 in Information and Communication Technologies. Visions and
Realities, edited by W. H. Dutton. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.
Silverstone, Roger. 2006. “Domesticating Domestication. Reflections on the Life of
a Concept.” Pp. 229–48 in Domestication of Media and Technology, edited by T. Berker,
M. Hartmann, Y. Punie, and K. Ward. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Silverstone, Roger, Eric Hirsch, and David Morley. 1994. “Information and Communication
Technologies and the Moral Economy of the Household.” Pp. 15–31 in Consuming
Technologies. Media and Information in Domestic Spaces, edited by R. Silverstone and
E. Hirsch. London, New York: Routledge.
Sin, Chih Hoong. 2003. “Interviewing in ‘Place’: The Socio-Spatial Construction of
Interview Data.” Area 35(3):305–12.
Sontag, Susan. 1972. “The Double Standard of Aging.” Saturday Review of The Society,
September 23, 29–38.
Spinney, Justin. 2015. “Close Encounters? Mobile Methods, (Post)Phenomenology
and Affect.” Cultural Geographies 22(2):231–46.
392
STATcube – Statistische Datenbank von Statistik Austria. 2018a. “Bevölkerung zu
Jahresbeginn ab 2002 (Einheitlicher Gebietsstand 2017). (Q). Jahr nach Fallzahl, Alter in
Einzeljahren und Geschlecht.” Statistik.at. Retrieved June 27, 2018 (https://www.statistik.at
/web_de/statistiken/menschen_und_gesellschaft/bevoelkerung/bevoelkerungsstand_und_vera
enderung/index.html).
STATcube – Statistische Datenbank von Statistik Austria. 2018b. “Mikrozensus-
Arbeitskräfteerhebung Jahresdaten (Q), Jahr nach Personen in Tausend, Urbanisierungsgrad,
Alter in 10-Jahresgruppen und Geschlecht.” Statistik.at. Retrieved September 27, 2018
(http://statcube.at/statistik.at/ext/statcube/jsf/tableView/tableView.xhtml#).
Statista Research Department. 2019. “Durchschnittliche Anzahl der Leser von Tageszeitungen
in Österreich von 2016 bis 2018.” Statista.at. Retrieved November 30, 2019
(https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/307114/umfrage/tageszeitungen-in-oesterreich-
nach-anzahl-der-leser/).
Statistik Austria. 2012. “IKT Einsatz in Haushalten. Einsatz von Informations- und
Kommunikationstechnologien in Haushalten 2012.” Statistik.at. Retrieved July 1, 2014
(http://www.statistik.at/web_de/statistiken/energie_umwelt_innovation_mobilitaet/informatio
nsgesellschaft/ikt-einsatz_in_haushalten/index.html).
Statistik Austria. 2017a. “Bildungsstand der Bevölkerung ab 15 Jahren 2015 nach
Altersgruppen und Geschlecht.” Statistik.at. Retrieved June 12, 2018 (http://www.statistik.at/
web_de/statistiken/menschen_und_gesellschaft/bildung_und_kultur/bildungsstand_der_bevoe
lkerung/113112.html).
Statistik Austria. 2017b. “Brutto- und Nettojahreseinkommen der Pensionistinnen und
Pensionisten 1997 bis 2016.” Statistik.at. Retrieved June 11, 2018 (http://www.statistik.at
/web_de/statistiken/menschen_und_gesellschaft/soziales/personeneinkommen/jaehrliche_pers
onen_einkommen/020056.html).
Statistik Austria. 2017c. “Online-Shopper 2017.” Statistik.at. Retrieved June 29, 2018
(https://www.statistik.at/web_de/statistiken/energie_umwelt_innovation_mobilitaet/informati
onsgesellschaft/ikt-einsatz_in_haushalten/022211.html).
Statistik Austria. 2017d. “Personen mit Internetnutzung für folgende private Zwecke 2017.”
Statistik.at. Retrieved June 27, 2018 (https://www.statistik.at/web_de/statistiken/energie_um
welt_innovation_mobilitaet/informationsgesellschaft/ikt-einsatz_in_haushalten/024571.html).
393
Statistik Austria. 2017e. “Personen nutzen Laptops, Tablets oder Smartphones für den
Internetzugang unterwegs 2017.” Statistik.at. Retrieved June 29, 2018
(https://www.statistik.at/web_de/statistiken/energie_umwelt_innovation_mobilitaet/informati
onsgesellschaft/ikteinsatz_in_haushalten/022210.html).
Statistik Austria. 2018a. “Bevölkerung zu Jahresbeginn seit 1952 nach Bundesland.”
Statistik.at. Retrieved June 27, 2018 (https://www.statistik.at/web_de/statistiken/menschen_
und_gesellschaft/bevoelkerung/bevoelkerungsstand_und_veraenderung/bevoelkerung_zu_jah
res-_quartalsanfang/031770.html).
Statistik Austria. 2018b. “Lebensformen nach Geschlecht und Alter - Jahresdurchschnitt 2017.”
Statistik.at. Retrieved June 11, 2018 (https://www.statistik.at/web_de/statistiken/
menschen_und_gesellschaft/bevoelkerung/haushalte_familien_lebensformen/lebensformen/02
3305.html).
Statistik Austria. 2019. “Internetnutzerinnen oder Internetnutzer 2002 Bis 2019.” Statistik.at.
Retrieved November 8, 2019 (https://www.statistik.at/web_de/statistiken/energie_umwelt_
innovation_mobilitaet/informationsgesellschaft/ikt-einsatz_in_haushalten/053946.html).
Stebbins, Robert A. 1997. “Casual Leisure: A Conceptual Statement.” Leisure Studies
16(1):7–25.
Stebbins, Robert A. 2011. “The Semiotic Self and Serious Leisure.” The American Sociologist
42(2):238–48.
Steiermark.orf.at. 2017. “Das Traummännlein ist wieder da.” Steiermark.orf.at. Retrieved
May 27, 2018 (http://steiermark.orf.at/news/stories/2834314/).
Steinke, Ines. 2007. “Qualitätssicherung in der qualitativen Forschung.” Pp. 176–87
in Qualitative Datenanalyse: Computergestützt, edited by U. Kuckartz, H. Grunenberg, and
T. Dresing. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
Suopajärvi, Tiina. 2015. “Past Experiences, Current Practices and Future Design.”
Technological Forecasting and Social Change 93:112–23.
Taipale, Sakari, Terhi-Anna Wilska, and Chris Gilleard. 2017. “Introduction.” Pp. 1–8
in Digital Technologies and Generational Identity: ICT Usage Across the Life Course,
edited by S. Taipale, T.-A. Wilska, and C. Gilleard. London: Routledge.
Tracy, Sarah J. 2013. Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis,
Communicating Impact. Chicester: Wiley-Blackwell.
394
Tsai, Hsin-yi Sandy, Ruth Shillair, Shelia R. Cotten, Vicki Winstead, and Elizabeth Yost. 2015.
“Getting Grandma Online: Are Tablets the Answer for Increasing Digital Inclusion for
Older Adults in the U.S.?” Educational Gerontology 41(10):695–709.
Turkle, Sherry. 2008. “Inner History.” Pp. 2–29 in The Inner History of Devices, edited by
S. Turkle. Cambridge, Massachusetts, London: MIT Press.
UNDP Evaluation Office. 2001. “Information and Communication Technology for
Development.” Retrieved July 9, 2014 (http://web.undp.org/evaluation/documents
/essentials_5.pdf).
Venkatesh, Viswanath, and Fred D. Davis. 2000. “A Theoretical Extension of the Technology
Acceptance Model: Four Longitudinal Field Studies.” Management Science 46(2):186–204.
Venkatesh, Viswanath, Michael G. Morris, Gordon B. Davis, and Fred D. Davis. 2003.
“User Acceptance of Information Technology: Toward a Unified View.” MIS Quarterly
27(3):425.
Venn, Susan, Kate Davidson, and Sara Arber. 2012. “Gender and Aging.” Pp. 71–81
in Handbook of Sociology of Aging, edited by R. A. Jr. Settersten and J. L. Angel. New York:
Springer.
Verplanken, Bas, Deborah Roy, and Lorraine Whitmarsh. 2018. “Cracks in the Wall:
Habit Discontinuities as Vehicles for Behaviour Change.” Pp. 189–205 in The Psychology of
Habit, edited by B. Verplanken. Cham: Springer.
Verplanken, Bas, Ian Walker, Adrian Davis, and Michaela Jurasek. 2008. “Context Change and
Travel Mode Choice: Combining the Habit Discontinuity and Self-Activation Hypotheses.”
Journal of Environmental Psychology 28(2):121–27.
Voigts-Virchow, Eckart. 2005. Introduction to Media Studies. Barcelona, Belgrad, Budapest,
Ljubljana, London, Posen, Prag, Sofia, Stuttgart, Zagreb: Klett.
Vollbrecht, Ralf. 2009. “Der Medienbiographische Ansatz in der Altersmedienforschung.”
Pp. 21–30 in Medien und höheres Lebensalter. Theorie - Forschung - Praxis, edited by
B. Schorb, A. Hartung, and W. Reissmann. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
Wajcman, Judy. 2007. “From Women and Technology to Gendered Technoscience.”
Information, Communication & Society 10(3):287–98.
Weber, Heike. 2008. Das Versprechen mobiler Freiheit. Zur Kultur- und Technikgeschichte
von Kofferradio, Walkman und Handy. Bielefeld: Transcript.
395
Wheelock, Jane. 1994. “Personal Computers, Gender and an Institutional Model of
the Household.” Pp. 97–112 in Consuming Technologies. Media and Information in Domestic
Spaces, edited by R. Silverstone and E. Hirsch. London, New York: Routledge.
White, David S., and Alison Le Cornu. 2011. “Visitors and Residents: A New Typology for
Online Engagement.” First Monday 16(9): n.p.
Wiederhold, Anna. 2015. “Conducting Fieldwork at and Away from Home:
Shifting Researcher Positionality with Mobile Interviewing Methods.” Qualitative Research
15(5):600–615.
Witzel, Andreas. 1985. “Das Problemzentrierte Interview.” Pp. 227–55 in
Qualitative Forschung in der Psychologie: Grundfragen, Verfahrensweisen,
Anwendungsfelder, edited by G. Jüttemann. Weinheim: Beltz.
Wolff, Stephan. 2013. “5.1 Wege ins Feld und ihre Varianten.” Pp. 334–49 in
Qualitative Forschung. Ein Handbuch, edited by U. Flick, E. von Kardorff, and I. Steinke.
Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt.
Woodward, Kathleen M. 1999. “Introduction.” in Figuring Age. Women, Bodies, Generations,
edited by K. M. Woodward. Bloomington, Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
Yoon, Jongsoo, Tom E. Yoon, and Joey F. George. 2011. “Anticipating Information Needs for
Senior Portal Contents.” Computers in Human Behavior 27(2):1012–20.
Yuan, Shupei, Syed A. Hussain, Kayla D. Hales, and Shelia R. Cotten. 2016. “What Do They
Like? Communication Preferences and Patterns of Older Adults in the United States:
The Role of Technology.” Educational Gerontology 42(3):163–74.
Zeissig, Eva-Maria, Chantal Lidynia, Luisa Vervier, Andera Gadeib, and Martina Ziefle. 2017.
“Online Privacy Perceptions of Older Adults.” Pp. 181–200 in Human Aspects of IT for the
Aged Population. Applications, Services and Contexts: Conference Proceedings
ITAP 2017, Part II. Vol. 10298. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, edited by J. Zhou and
G. Salvendy. Cham: Springer.
Ziemann, Andreas. 2011. Medienkultur und Gesellschaftsstruktur. Soziologische Analysen.
Wiesbaden: VS Verlag.
Ziemann, Andreas. 2012. Soziologie der Medien. 2nd ed. Bielefeld: Transcript.
396
10 Appendix
10.1 Template Life Graph
Sehr geehrte Interviewpartnerin,
vielen herzlichen Dank, dass Sie sich die Zeit nehmen, sich vor unserem Gespräch ein paar Gedanken zu Ihrer Mediennutzung (besonders Radio, Fernsehen und
Internet) zu machen! Mich interessiert, wie Sie im Verlauf Ihres bisherigen Lebens verschiedene Medien, besonders Radio, Fernsehen und Internet verwendet
haben.
Die Mediengraphik dient nur als „Stichwortzettel“ für unser späteres gemeinsames Gespräch. Darüber hinaus kann sie eine Vorbereitung für Sie sein, um zu
überlegen, welche Rolle verschiedene Medien (besonders Radio, Fernsehen und Internet) für Sie im bisherigen Verlauf Ihres Lebens gespielt haben (oder nicht
gespielt haben).
Zur leichteren Verständlichkeit habe ich auf Seite 2 (Punkt 1) ein Beispiel einer Mediengraphik eingefügt. Ich habe hier Beispiele aus meinem eigenen Leben
verwendet. Wie gesagt können Sie Ihre eigene Mediengraphik ganz frei gestalten, sie kann dem Beispiel ähnlich sein, aber auch ganz anders aussehen! Sie können
beispielsweise natürlich gerne andere oder gar keine Farben verwenden und den Zettel natürlich auch gerne handschriftlich ausfüllen. – Alles ist erlaubt!
Für meine Untersuchung würde ich Sie bitten, in die Grafik auf Seite 3 (Punkt 2) einzutragen, wann Sie in Ihrem Leben (als Kind, Jugendliche, Erwachsene . . .)
welche Medien, wie viel genutzt haben:
• Auf der horizontalen Linie der Grafik auf Seite 3 können Sie eintragen, wie alt Sie bei bestimmten Ereignissen, beispielsweise der Anschaffung des
ersten Fernsehers, Computers oder Radios waren.
• Auf der vertikalen Linie können Sie eintragen, wie viel Sie diese Medien genutzt haben oder auch nicht
genutzt haben. In der Tabelle unter der Grafik können Sie wichtige Zusatzinformationen eintragen oder
auch weitere Hinweise sowie Gefühle, Meinungen und Erinnerungen, die Ihnen zu Ihren eingetragenen
Punkten einfallen.
• Sie können Ihre eigene Mediengraphik ganz frei gestalten! – Falls Sie lieber nur schreiben und nichts
in die Grafik einzeichnen möchten, ist das auch in Ordnung. – Es gibt kein Richtig oder Falsch!
Falls Sie Fragen haben, können Sie mich natürlich gerne telefonisch oder per E-Mail kontaktieren!
Ich bedanke mich erneut ganz herzlich für Ihre Unterstützung, die für diese Studie sehr wichtig ist!
Ich freue mich bereits auf unser gemeinsames Gespräch!
Kontakt Barbara Ratzenböck, MA Zentrum für Inter-Amerikanische Studien Universität Graz Merangasse 18/II 8010 Graz Telefon: 0316 380 8214 E-mail: [email protected]
397
398
399
10.2 General Research Process Protocol
Ablauf Befragung: Formen weiblicher Medienpraxis im Alter
1. Einstieg: Diskussion Life Graph
• Vorab: Danke, dass Sie sich für dieses Gespräch Zeit genommen haben! (Zusicherung von Anonymität; Bitte darum, Aufnahmegerät einschalten zu dürfen.)
• Einstiegsfrage: Ich interessiere mich dafür, wie Frauen Ihrer Generation verschiedene Medien – zum Beispiel Radio, Fernsehen, Computer und das Internet – nutzen und in der Vergangenheit genutzt haben. Ich habe Sie vorab ja gebeten, ein bisschen Ihre Medienbiographie aufzuschreiben. Ich würde Sie nun bitten, mir zu erzählen, was Sie da aufgeschrieben/gezeichnet haben.
2. Leitfadeninterview
• Interview lt. Leitfaden, Fragen in Reihenfolge flexibel stellen
• Pause: wenn gewünscht bzw. passend
3. Walking Interview
• Im Anschluss an das Gespräch durchzuführen
• Einstieg: Wären Sie damit einverstanden, wenn wir uns nun noch gemeinsam anschauen, was Sie alles an Mediengeräten (Computer, Fernseher, Radio, Festnetztelefon, Handy, …) haben?
• Von Raum zu Raum gehen
• Interviewpartnerin fragen, ob es in Ordnung wäre, Fotos von den Geräten zu machen
• Interviewpartnerin um Kommentar/Beschreibung bitten: - Wo steht das Gerät? - Wie sieht es aus?
• Interviewpartnerin bitten, es einmal einzuschalten: - Was machen Sie normalerweise damit?
4. Kurzfragebogen
• Kurzfragebogen von Gesprächsteilnehmerin ausfüllen lassen/ gemeinsam ausfüllen
• Bedanken und versichern, dass Beitrag für Studie wichtig ist!
400
10.3 Question Guide
Leitfaden: Formen weiblicher Medienpraxis im Alter Vorab: Danke, dass Sie sich für dieses Gespräch Zeit genommen haben! (Zusicherung von Anonymität; Bitte darum, Aufnahmegerät einschalten zu dürfen.)
Einstieg Life Graphs/ Medienbiographien
Ich interessiere mich dafür, wie Frauen Ihrer Generation verschiedene Medien – zum Beispiel Radio, Fernsehen, Computer und das Internet – nutzen und in der Vergangenheit genutzt haben. Ich habe Sie vorab ja gebeten, ein bisschen Ihre Medienbiographie aufzuschreiben. Ich würde Sie nun bitten, mir zu erzählen, was Sie da aufgeschrieben/gezeichnet haben.
Medienbiographie Kindheit/Jugend Heute/Alltag Lebensverlauf/ Brüche
Wenn Sie sich an Ihre Kindheit zurück erinnern, was gab es denn da für Mediengeräte (zB Radio) im Haus? Wie war das damals? (Regeln im Umgang mit Dingen in der Kindheit/Jugend, Anschaffungen/Verzicht, Gender-Unterschiede …) Wenn Sie an einen normalen Tag heute denken, welche Medien nutzen Sie da im Lauf des Tages? (Also Sie stehen auf und dann…) Was waren Momente, wo sie ein Medium genutzt haben, das Sie vorher noch nie genutzt hatten? Also: Wie war das, wie Sie zB den 1. Fernseher/den 1. Computer/das 1. Handy bekommen haben? (Veränderungen: Beruf, Pensionierung, Gesundheit, Haushaltszusammensetzung, Intergenerationalität …) Was waren Momente, wo sie Medien einmal anders genutzt haben als Sie es vielleicht früher getan haben? (zB mehr/weniger fernsehen …) (Veränderungen: Beruf, Pensionierung, Gesundheit, Haushaltszusammensetzung, Intergenerationalität …) Wie war/ist das im Beruf, was haben Sie da für Medien genutzt? (v.a. Computer und Internet) Wie ist das jetzt in der Pension, wie nutzen Sie da verschiedene Medien im Alltag? (Zeitstrukturierung, Rituale …)
401
Computer827 Häufigkeit/Art der Nutzung Relevanz
Wie oft nutzen Sie den Computer? Wo nutzen Sie den Computer? (Zuhause (Räume!), bei Familie/FreundInnen, SeniorInnenzentrum …) Wofür nutzen Sie Ihren Computer? (zB Office Programme, Spiele, Internet …) Nutzt jemand außer Ihnen auch Ihren Computer? (Haushaltsangehörige, Intergenerationalität …) Bitten Sie manchmal andere, für Sie etwas am Computer zu erledigen? Was? (Familienangehörige, FreundInnen, andere HelferInnen …) Würden Sie auch ohne einen Computer auskommen? Wie sind Sie zu Ihrem ersten Computer gekommen? (WANN, Motivation, zB Ratschlag von Verwandten, Beruf …) Was finden Sie gut an Computern, was weniger? (Probleme: Nutzung, ökonomisch – teuer, ideologisch – Konsum, Gesundheit …) (Vorzüge: Wissen, Spaß …)
827 Wesentlicher Ausgangspunkt für zahlreiche Fragen in den Bereichen „Computer”, „Internet“, „Handy“, „Fernseher“ und „Radio“ war ein Leitfaden für semi-strukturierte
Interviews, der von Mireia Fernández-Ardèvol im Zusammenhang mit einer Reihe von case studies zur Nutzung von Mobiltelefonen durch ältere Menschen zum Einsatz kam
(Fernández-Ardèvol, Mireia. 2014. “OUTLINE, INTERVIEWS”, geteilt in: Fernández Ardèvol, Mireia. 2014. “Fwd: Older People and Mobile Communication“).
Für die Dokumentation der genannten case studies siehe zB: Fernández-Ardèvol, Mireia. 2014. “Mobile Phones, Restrictions and Discontinuities.” Pp. 119–30 in Proceedings
of 4th International Conference on M4D Mobile Communication for Development M4D 2014, edited by I. Niang and C. Scharff. Karlstad: Karlstad University Studies.
402
Nur Nicht-Nutzerin
Nutzen Sie manchmal bei anderen den Computer? Was sind aus Ihrer Sicht die Vor- und Nachteile, wenn man keinen Computer hat? (Reaktionen aus dem Umfeld? Inklusion/Exklusion) Hätten Sie manchmal gerne einen Computer?
Internet Häufigkeit/Art der Nutzung Relevanz
Wie oft nutzen Sie das Internet? Wo nutzten Sie das Internet? (Computer, Laptop, Handy – Zuhause, bei Familie/FreundInnen …) Wofür nutzen Sie das Internet? (E-Mail, Skype, Nachrichten und Wetter, Einkaufen, Routenplaner, Surfen (Google) …) Mit wem kommunizieren Sie über das Internet? (zB Familie, FreundInnen, KollegInnen, Fremde …) Was für Art von Kommunikation findet durch das Internet statt? (zB kurze/lange E-mails, Blogs, Chats, Facebook, Amazon-Rezensionen…) Bitten Sie manchmal andere, für Sie etwas im Internet zu erledigen? Was? (Familienangehörige, FreundInnen, andere HelferInnen …) Würden Sie auch ohne das Internet auskommen? Denken die Leute in ihrer Umgebung ähnlich über das Internet? Was finden Sie gut am Internet, was weniger? (Probleme: Nutzung, ökonomisch – teuer, ideologisch – Konsum, Gesundheit …) (Vorzüge: Wissen/Information, Spaß, Austausch …)
403
Nur Nicht-Nutzerin
Es gibt heutzutage auch bereits Internetseiten, die speziell für ältere Menschen gemacht werden. – Was halten Sie davon? Nutzen Sie manchmal bei anderen das Internet? Was sind aus Ihrer Sicht die Vor- und Nachteile, wenn man kein Internet hat? (zB Reaktionen aus dem Umfeld? Inklusion/Exklusion) Hätten Sie manchmal gerne Internet?
Handy Häufigkeit/Art der Nutzung
Wie oft nutzen Sie Ihr Handy? (auch im Vergleich zum Festnetz) Wo nutzten Sie Ihr Handy? (zB immer mit, Auto, zuhause, auf der Straße …) Wofür nutzen Sie Ihr Handy? (Anrufe, SMS, MMS, Apps, zB WhatsApp, Internet, E-Mail, Alarm, Uhr, Spiele, Musik, Radio … verschiedene Nutzung mit verschiedenen Personen?) Mit wem sprechen Sie am Handy? – Wer ruft Sie an bzw. wen rufen Sie vom Handy an? (zB Familie, FreundInnen, KollegInnen, ÄrztInnen … auch Vergleich mit Festnetz) Welche Art von Gesprächen führen Sie am Handy? (zB lange/kurze Gespräche, Mikrokoordination – zB Bin hier und da, treffen wir uns dort …) Bitten Sie manchmal andere, für Sie etwas an Ihrem Handy zu machen/einzustellen? Was? (Familienangehörige, FreundInnen, andere HelferInnen …)
404
Relevanz Nur Nicht-Nutzerin
Würden Sie auch ohne Ihr Handy auskommen? Denken die Leute in ihrer Umgebung ähnlich über Handys? Was finden Sie gut am Handy, was weniger? (Probleme: Nutzung, ökonomisch – teuer, ideologisch – Konsum, Gesundheit …) (Vorzüge: mobile Kommunikation, Austausch, Notfälle …) Es gibt heutzutage auch Handys, die speziell für ältere Menschen gemacht werden. – Was halten Sie davon? Nutzen Sie manchmal das Handy von jemand anderem? Was sind aus Ihrer Sicht die Vor- und Nachteile, wenn man kein Handy hat? (zB Reaktionen aus dem Umfeld? Inklusion/Exklusion) Hätten Sie manchmal gerne ein Handy?
Fernseher Häufigkeit/Art der Nutzung
Wie oft schauen Sie fern? (zB bestimmte Sendungen, dauernd/oft im Hintergrund, jeden Abend, zB Nachrichten (ZIB) …) Wo schauen Sie fern? (Zuhause (Räume!), bei Familie/FreundInnen, SeniorInnenzentrum …) Wofür nutzen Sie Ihren Fernseher? (zB verschiedene Sendungen, Hintergrundbeschallung, Musik, Teletext …) Nutzt jemand außer Ihnen auch Ihren Fernseher? (Haushaltsangehörige, Intergenerationalität … auch gemeinsame Nutzung!) Bitten Sie manchmal andere, für Sie etwas am Fernseher einzustellen? Was? (Familienangehörige, FreundInnen, andere HelferInnen …)
405
Relevanz Nur Nicht-Nutzerin
Würden Sie auch ohne einen Fernseher auskommen? Wie sind Sie zu Ihrem ersten Fernseher gekommen? (WANN, Motivation …) Was finden Sie gut am Fernseher, was weniger? (Probleme: Nutzung, ökonomisch – teuer, ideologisch – Konsum, Gesundheit …) (Vorzüge: Wissen, Spaß …) Schauen Sie manchmal bei anderen fern? Was sind aus Ihrer Sicht die Vor- und Nachteile, wenn man keinen Fernseher hat? (Reaktionen aus dem Umfeld? Inklusion/Exklusion) Hätten Sie manchmal gerne einen Fernseher?
Radio Häufigkeit/Art der Nutzung
Wie oft hören Sie Radio? (zB bestimmte Programme, Nachrichten, Wetter …) Wo hören Sie Radio? (Zuhause (Räume!), bei Familie/FreundInnen, unterwegs, zB Auto …) Wofür nutzen Sie Ihr Radio? (zB verschiedene Sendungen, Hintergrundbeschallung, Musik, Nachrichten, Wetter …) Hören Sie manchmal mit anderen gemeinsam Radio? (Haushaltsangehörige, Intergenerationalität …) Bitten Sie manchmal andere, für Sie etwas am Radio einzustellen? Was? (Familienangehörige, FreundInnen, andere HelferInnen …)
406
Relevanz Nur Nicht-Nutzerin
Würden Sie auch ohne einen Radio auskommen? Wie sind Sie zu Ihrem ersten Radio gekommen? (WANN, Motivation …) Was finden Sie gut am Radio, was weniger? (Probleme: Nutzung, ideologisch – Dauerbeschallung, Werbung …) (Vorzüge: Wissen, Spaß, Unterhaltung, Hintergrundbeschallung …) Hören Sie manchmal auch bei anderen Radio, zB im Auto? Was sind aus Ihrer Sicht die Vor- und Nachteile, wenn man nicht Radio hört/kein Radio hat? (Reaktionen aus dem Umfeld? Inklusion/Exklusion) Hätten Sie manchmal gerne einen Radio?
Nutzungsstrategien Wissensaneignung Try & error vs. Überlegen Multitasking Intergenerationalität
Woher haben Sie sich im Lauf Ihres Lebens Wissen über den Umgang mit verschiedenen Mediengeräten und -programmen geholt? (Familie, Ausbildung, Fortbildung, Freundeskreis …) Woher holen Sie sich heute Wissen über den Umgang mit verschiedenen Mediengeräten und -programmen? (va. Computer, Internet, Handy) Wenn Sie ein neues Gerät oder Programm bedienen, das Sie vorher noch nicht genutzt haben, wie gehen Sie da vor? (Try and error vs. sorgfältiges Überlegen) Kommt es manchmal vor, dass Sie verschiedene Medien gleichzeitig benutzen? Wie sieht das aus? (zB Fernseher u. Radio zugleich/telefonieren oder surfen beim Fernsehen) Gibt es etwas im Zusammenhang mit Medien, das Sie gerne an die nächste Generation weitergeben möchten? (zB bestimmte Sendungen, Regeln im Umgang mit Medien, Umgang mit Technik …)
407
Einschätzung Alte ICT/neue ICT Gender
Was halten Sie generell von sogenannten „alten Medien“ wie dem Fernsehen, dem Radio oder dem Festnetztelefon? (Vertrautheit vs. Fremdheit, Nähe vs. Distanz) Was halten Sie generell von sogenannten „neuen Medien“ wie dem Computer, Internet oder dem Handy? (Vertrautheit vs. Fremdheit, Nähe vs. Distanz) Gibt es, glauben Sie, Unterschiede zwischen Männern und Frauen im Umgang mit Medien? Gibt es, glauben Sie, Unterschiede zwischen Männern und Frauen im Umgang mit Technik?
Abschluss Erzählen Sie mir zum Schluss doch noch kurz, ob es etwas gibt, das Sie sich in Bezug auf neue Medien wie Computer, Handy oder das Internet wünschen würden.
408
10.4 Short Questionnaire
Kurzfragebogen828 für die Studie „Formen weiblicher Medienpraxis im Alter“
Bitte beantworten Sie abschließend noch die untenstehenden kurzen Fragen zu Ihrer Person. Sie leisten damit einen wertvollen Beitrag zur Studie „Formen weiblicher Medienpraxis im Alter“! VIELEN HERZLICHEN DANK für Ihre Unterstützung!
1. Alter:
2. Geburtsort:
3. Wo wohnen Sie?
(zB Stadtteil, Bezirk …):
4. Leben Sie alleine?
JA
NEIN
828 Motivation und Ausgangspunkt für diesen Kurzfragebogen war ein Fragebogen, der von Mireia Fernández-Ardèvol im Zusammenhang mit einer Reihe von case studies zur
Nutzung von Mobiltelefonen durch ältere Menschen zum Einsatz kam. (Fernández-Ardèvol, Mireia. 2014. “OUTLINE, INTERVIEWS”, geteilt in: Fernández Ardèvol, Mireia.
2014. “Fwd: Older People and Mobile Communication“).
Für die Dokumentation der genannten case studies siehe zB: Fernández-Ardèvol, Mireia. 2014. “Mobile Phones, Restrictions and Discontinuities.” Pp. 119–30 in Proceedings
of 4th International Conference on M4D Mobile Communication for Development M4D 2014, edited by I. Niang and C. Scharff. Karlstad: Karlstad University Studies.
Mit wem leben Sie zusammen?
409
5. Was ist Ihre höchste abgeschlossene Ausbildung? j
Volksschule
Hauptschule
Lehre/BMS
Gymnasium/BHS
Studium
Anders und zwar:
6. Wo wohnen Ihre Familie und Ihre Freundinnen und Freunde? (wichtige Bezugspersonen)
7. Sind Sie in Pension?
JA
NEIN
8. Wären Sie daran interessiert, auch in der Zukunft wieder an einer ähnlichen Studie teilzunehmen?
JA
NEIN
9. Platz für Ihre Anmerkungen, Kommentare oder Wünsche:
Was machen Sie beruflich?
Wie lange sind Sie schon in Pension?
Was haben Sie davor gemacht?
410
10.5 Recording Sheets
Protokollbögen829
1. Protokollbogen für Leitfadeninterview
Kontaktaufnahme
Teilnahmemotivation
Personale Beziehung
Ort
Interviewatmosphäre
829 In Anlehnung an Helfferich, Cornelia. 2009. Die Qualität qualitativer Daten: Manual für die Durchfü hrung qualitativer Interviews. 3., überarb. Aufl. Wiesbaden:
VS, Verl. für Sozialwiss. Pp.193; 201.
411
Schwierigkeiten, Irritationen
Weitere Beobachtungen
2. Protokollbogen für Walking Interview
Interviewatmosphäre
Schwierigkeiten, Irritationen
412
Ablauf (Raum 1 -> Raum 2 …)
Interaktion mit Mediengegenständen
Weitere Beobachtungen
413
10.6 Transcription Scheme
Verwendete Transkriptionskonventionen830
(2) = Pause in Sekunden
(-) = Pausen von oder unter einer Sekunde
'leise' = leise gesprochen
!betont! = betont gesprochen
*be tont = auffällig betonte Silbe
ge :: dehnt = gedehnt gesprochen
abge- = abgebrochenes Wort
=schnell = schneller Anschluss
(mal) = unsichere Transkription
((etc.)) = ((Anmerkung bei der Transkription))
/Handlung/ = Beginn bzw. Ende eines nonverbalen Akts
830 Adapted with minor variations from Knoblauch (2011:160).
414
Related Documents
