Cara Redlich
Thesis area:
Ageing, care and technology
I am interested in the co-existence and interaction of ageing, care and technology – in this instance online social networking. This proposed research is timely. The UK is currently said to be an ageing population wherein there are more people aged sixty and above than those aged eighteen and under, and further, projections show that the number of people aged sixty or over is likely to rise by over fifty percent in the next twenty-five years (Age UK, 2012). It has been argued that as people live longer, the likelihood of living with persistent morbidities, co-morbidities and disabilities increases, so too does the potential need for care. Yet how we go about defining and organising care for ageing older people is widely debated. Technology in its varied forms is increasingly turned to in order to provide care in different ways. However little is known about how care is practiced and experienced through social networking, specifically by and for older people.
By using qualitative ethnographic methods, I will explore how care is practiced and experienced in online social networking environments. I intend to focus the research specifically on the practices and experiences of older people and their caring relationships with others. I am particularly interested to understand how both the giving and receiving of care is facilitated by online practices and how this can fit into wider networks of informal care.
Supervisors:
Professor Flis Henwood
Dr Lizzie Ward
Dr David Harley
