Communication, technology and ageing: elderly, senior citizen groups and interaction process in the information age

Abstract

A computational environment will only change the nature of interactionist activity if the changes that are occurring in methods of communication are looked at, as this should favor cooperative work. In order to develop tools that provide opportunity for building knowledge by means of interaction, it is necessary to be aware of biopsychosocial aspects and understand the liberating potential of the communicative processes that are established when individuals interact while mediated through technology. Beginning with a sociohistorical conception of social interaction, we seek to fill a research space in terms of communicative action and the meaning of social representations regarding communication and information technologies. We analyze the triad of communication, technology and ageing, questions are examined that involve elderly people in a biopsychosocial context. We seek to identify symbolic representations in relation to the technologies and analyze the triggered feelings and the meanings of these experiences encountered with the use of these mechanisms. The processes of appropriation are analyzed along with the meaning of technologies with a group of elderly citizens from the city of Passo Fundo - RS, enrolled in informatics workshops. The research is made up of a cross sectional study descriptive nature and population. To analyze relations among the researched variables, applied analysis of variance, chi squared test, factorial analysis and conglomerate analysis. The data was analyzed on a significance level of 5% (p ≤ 0.05). The results indicate that the elderly participate in the workshops especially with the purpose of maximizing the processes of coexistence.