From pandemic to post-pandemic: Understanding the digital platform usage experiences of older people

Derya Gül Ünlü; Elif Karakoç Keskin

Makale detayları

From pandemic to post-pandemic: Understanding the digital platform usage experiences of older people

Yazarlar:

Derya Gül Ünlü | Elif Karakoç Keskin

Yayıncı:

Istanbul University

Ana Başlıklar:

İletişim ve Medya Çalışmaları

Dergi:

Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences Issue 66, pp.183-209

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

12/2024

Belge Dili:

İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.):

2001324751

pISSN:

2636-8943

Anahtar kelimeler:

Özet:

 The social isolation experienced during the coronavirus 2019 COVID-19 pandemic period has transformed the daily life practices of individuals of all ages and increased their integration into digital platforms. The adoption of digital technologies by elderly users has accelerated, and the digital environment has assumed an important role in meeting various physical and social needs. Although the mandatory physical isolation after the pandemic period has been replaced by measures taken based on individual preference, it is evident that elderly individuals have become much more active users of digital platforms than before. Based on this understanding, this study aims to make visible how individuals aged 65 and over make sense of their digital platform usage experiences in this new period, also called post-pandemic. A phenomenological approach was adopted to conduct semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 22 participants. As a result of the study, 7 positive and 4 negative sub-themes were identified for the category making sense of digital platforms. Among these, the sub-themes of informative, communication tool, and dangerous came to the fore. The digital platform experience category was divided into 8 positive and 3 negative subthemes. Among the positive sub-themes, receiving news from the environment maintaining relationships was the most common type of experience, and among the negative ones, criticism stood out. Concerning the reflection of digital platform experiences on daily life practices category, 6 positive and 3 negative sub-themes were identified. Increasedaccelerated access to information among the positive themes and a new addiction among the negative themes were the most emphasized.

 The social isolation experienced during the coronavirus 2019 COVID-19 pandemic period has transformed the daily life practices of individuals of all ages and increased their integration into digital platforms. The adoption of digital technologies by elderly users has accelerated, and the digital environment has assumed an important role in meeting various physical and social needs. Although the mandatory physical isolation after the pandemic period has been replaced by measures taken based on individual preference, it is evident that elderly individuals have become much more active users of digital platforms than before. Based on this understanding, this study aims to make visible how individuals aged 65 and over make sense of their digital platform usage experiences in this new period, also called post-pandemic. A phenomenological approach was adopted to conduct semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 22 participants. As a result of the study, 7 positive and 4 negative sub-themes were identified for the category making sense of digital platforms. Among these, the sub-themes of informative, communication tool, and dangerous came to the fore. The digital platform experience category was divided into 8 positive and 3 negative subthemes. Among the positive sub-themes, receiving news from the environment maintaining relationships was the most common type of experience, and among the negative ones, criticism stood out. Concerning the reflection of digital platform experiences on daily life practices category, 6 positive and 3 negative sub-themes were identified. Increasedaccelerated access to information among the positive themes and a new addiction among the negative themes were the most emphasized.

 The social isolation experienced during the coronavirus 2019 COVID-19 pandemic period has transformed the daily life practices of individuals of all ages and increased their integration into digital platforms. The adoption of digital technologies by elderly users has accelerated, and the digital environment has assumed an important role in meeting various physical and social needs. Although the mandatory physical isolation after the pandemic period has been replaced by measures taken based on individual preference, it is evident that elderly individuals have become much more active users of digital platforms than before. Based on this understanding, this study aims to make visible how individuals aged 65 and over make sense of their digital platform usage experiences in this new period, also called post-pandemic. A phenomenological approach was adopted to conduct semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 22 participants. As a result of the study, 7 positive and 4 negative sub-themes were identified for the category making sense of digital platforms. Among these, the sub-themes of informative, communication tool, and dangerous came to the fore. The digital platform experience category was divided into 8 positive and 3 negative subthemes. Among the positive sub-themes, receiving news from the environment maintaining relationships was the most common type of experience, and among the negative ones, criticism stood out. Concerning the reflection of digital platform experiences on daily life practices category, 6 positive and 3 negative sub-themes were identified. Increasedaccelerated access to information among the positive themes and a new addiction among the negative themes were the most emphasized.

 Pandemi dönemiyle yaşanan sosyal izolasyon süreci, her yaştan bireyin günlük yaşam pratiklerini dönüşüme uğratmış, kullanıcıların dijital platformlara entegrasyonunu artırmıştır. Yaşlı kullanıcıların dijital teknolojileri benimseme süreçleri hızlanmış ve dijital ortam çeşitli fiziksel ve sosyal ihtiyaçların karşılanmasında önemli bir rol üstlenmiştir. Pandemi dönemi sonrasında zorunlu fiziki yalıtılmışlıklar yerini bireysel tercihle alınan önlemlere bırakmış olsa da yaşlı bireylerin öncesine nazaran çok daha aktif kullanıcılara dönüştükleri görülmektedir. Söz konusu odak noktasından yola çıkan çalışma kapsamında, post-pandemi olarak da adlandırılan bu yeni dönemde, 65 yaş ve üzeri bireylerin dijital platform kullanım deneyimlerini nasıl anlamlandırdıklarının görünür kılınması amaçlanmaktadır. Fenomenolojik yaklaşımın benimsendiği araştırmada 22 katılımcıyla yarı yapılandırılmış derinlemesine görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışma sonucunda, dijital platformların anlamlandırılma biçimlerine ilişkin 7 olumlu alt temaya, 4 olumsuz alt temaya ulaşılmış; bunlar arasında bilgi verici, haberleşme aracı ve tehlikeli alt teması öne çıkmıştır. Yaşlı kullanıcıların dijital platform deneyimleri 8 olumlu 3 olumsuz alt temaya ayrılmış; olumlular arasında çevreden haber almailişki sürdürme ve olumsuzlar arasında eleştirilme en fazla karşılaşılan deneyim türü olmuştur. Dijital platform deneyimlerinin günlük yaşam pratiklerine yansıma biçimleri için 6 olumlu ve 3 olumsuz alt tema tespit edilmiş; olumlu temalar içinde artanhızlanan bilgiye erişim, olumsuz temalar arasında yeni bir bağımlılık öne çıkmıştır.

Makale detayları

From pandemic to post-pandemic: Understanding the digital platform usage experiences of older people

Yazarlar:

Derya Gül Ünlü | Elif Karakoç Keskin

Yayıncı:

Istanbul University

Ana Başlıklar:

İletişim ve Medya Çalışmaları

Dergi:

Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences Issue 66, pp.183-209

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

12/2024

Belge Dili:

İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.):

2001324751

pISSN:

2636-8943

Aging

digital platform

post-pandemic

phenomenology

digital platform experienceYaşlılık

dijital platform

post-pandemi

fenomenoloji

dijital platform deneyimi

Sayı

Makale detayları

Yazarlar: Derya Gül Ünlü | Elif Karakoç Keskin

Yayıncı: Istanbul University

Ana Başlıklar: İletişim ve Medya Çalışmaları

Dergi: Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences Issue 66, pp.183-209

Belge Tipi: Makale

Yayın Tarihi: 12/2024

Belge Dili: İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.): 2001324751

pISSN: 2636-8943

Sayı

Yazarlar:

Derya Gül Ünlü | Elif Karakoç Keskin

Yayıncı:

Istanbul University

Ana Başlıklar:

İletişim ve Medya Çalışmaları

Dergi:

Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences Issue 66, pp.183-209

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

12/2024

Belge Dili:

İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.):

2001324751

pISSN:

2636-8943