Age(ism) in Digital Information Provision: The Case of Online Public Services for Older Adults

Abstract

Abstract. This paper draws on an empirical investigation of how older people are represented on the websites providing social care service information in the inner London Boroughs. My research questions follow the work of Loos [1] [2] on the relationship between representations of older age, information accessibility and access to digital services. Mirroring Loos and reflecting the specificities of the fieldwork my investigation found older people were largely invisible as a diverse group of citizens in the emerging cultures of digital public service. The images of older adults were few and lacked diversity. Inner London has an ethnically and culturally diverse population yet older adults were commonly represented though images of frail white women. The paper highlights representational politics of older age in digital public service information provision and their consequences for access and social inclusion; intra-generational diversity; ageism as a prevalent form of social discrimination.Keywords: age, ageism, access, inclusion, digital public service, intragenerational diversity IntroductionThis paper draws on an empirical investigation of digital information provision in local government websites to discuss older age, diversity and inclusion in digital public service. Its broader context is the constant increase of ICT innovation, media use and ageing. As an ever increasing range of interpersonal, professional and civic communication activity is today digitally mediated, access to digital information services for a diverse population is essential to transact with government and market actors. In digital information services such as healthcare, mechanisms that control or facilitate our access to the media-technology interfaces (e.g., navigation systems, website design including the representation of their target users) have an impact on our access to services that support independent living, good life and life in the community etc. Media access and diversity are therefore gaining renewed currency. The 'digital turn' can be seen to increase the relevance of those legacy media policy values as well as the complexity and elusiveness that characterizes their implementation. The ageing turn, which is inscribed in the biological and social logic of ageing in our society [3, pp. 94, 102] further accentuates them. This paper is a contribution to the policy discussion of digital media access for a diverse population of older people [1,2,4, 5] in our ageing and ageist societies. The more specific context of the paper relates UK government's 'digital by default' strategy to deliver public service information online/digital only. According to the 2013 Government Digital Strategy (Government Digital Strategy, December 2013 Update, Executive Summary https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/governmentdigital-strategy/ government-digital-strategy) the UK public sector is now moving from multiple channels to delivery of public service information that is online/digital 1 only. Having committed to a target of digital by de...

Educational Methods Using Intergenerational Interaction to Fight Ageism

“…Students can provide assistance and instructions to seniors in the field of modern technologies, including the use of tablet computers and internet banking (Fig. 23.2), exploring the digital world which can pose problems in terms of accessibility and be ageist in its own way (Sourbati 2015). Both projects showed that the people involved (students, seniors and lecturers) gained insights from the interaction with each other, and that further research was needed as to how seniors could be involved in the educational programme in the most fitting and beneficial way.…”

Professional stakeholders' views of the use of digital technologies in Spanish long-term care

“…Some studies have described this generation gap as merely a temporary phenomenon because today's youth are growing up with nearly universal access to digital technology. For example, in 2013, 50% of people over age 65 in the UK used the Internet (Sourbati, 2015). However, the majority of adults in their 80s have never used the Internet at work.…”

“…Note that doubts about older adults' abilities to learn or to adapt to changes often manifest an ageist stereotype rather than objective facts. As pointed out by Sourbati (2015), older adults are treated as a "residual category" when new media technologies are analyzed. Generally, the only older adults to be depicted on social services Web pages are frail, making it difficult for other, more vibrant older adults to identify with the images they see on these sites.…”

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“…According to Lee et al (2011), the ability to access a computer does not depend principally on age; rather, it is linked to education level, income, and living situation (solitary or shared). Differences between the sexes correlate with education and income, as well as other variables such as ethnicity, and show the diversity in using new technologies Sourbati, 2015). The concept of "age heterogeneity" implies inequalities within the older population, determined by restriction in social space, communication facilities, health, and leisure, among others (Sourbati, 2015).…”