Elderly people in cyberspace:

new place for socialization

Celina Dias AzevedoAssistente Técnica da Gerência de Estudos e Programas

da Terceira Idade do SESC São Paulo - Brasil

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socialization

Stockholm – july/2012My name is Celina Azevedo and I’m from Brazil

I’m glad to be here !

My speech is about my master’s degree research:

The elderly person in Cyberspace

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socializationIn this study we indicateCulture - Technology and society as dynamic

interaction plans,In today's world, access and understandability of

new technologies allow different relationship and critical view of reality,

The focus is on the use and approach of technology by the elderlies, not the technology itself.

Based in authors as Manuel Castells and Pierre Levy who understand the cyberspace today, as a space for interaction and communication

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socialization

Social relations in the cyberspace are recent in Brazil. The Internet became

popular in the end of the 20th century only. Researches show us  that email, instant messaging and participation in social networking are major reasons for network access. Among the people who use the Internet for the purpose of communication, the age group above 60is close to the percentage of the range between 16 and 24.

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socialization

The cyberspace as a new place to socialize.

First of allI want to bring the elderly person’s voice who is in virtual world

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socialization“Some years ago I took a computer course at SESC Campinas and today I'm in Cyberspace: blog, Facebook. I write poems and post them on my blog”

http://www.facebook.com/agmoncarlos

http://lirismoacademico.blogspot.com.br/2012/01/menestrel-cibernetico-agmon-carlos-rosa.html 

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socialization“I haven't left the newspaper or books aside (but) I can’t live without cell phone or computer (...) the internet connects me to the world”

http://vovoneuza.blogspot.com/

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socialization

“I've been meeting people in the cyberspace since 2000: ICQ, Orkut, Chats and now, my blogs. My house is a meeting point for lunch every sunday (…) But, I have a lot of friends in the virtual world. In cyberspace, race, religion, age or appearance isn't important. I have great friends who I've never had in real world.”http://poemasepoesiasdeamor.blogspot.com/

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socialization

“The internet is an excellent entertainment. Not to mention

the good friends that I have and the on with people that I will probably never meet personally....the distance between people doesn't mean there's no interaction. There is interaction. However, other ways of interaction” http://clubedamelhoridade.sites.uol.com.br/home.html

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socialization

“On my birthday in december 2006 my grandson, who is very stingy, gave me a blog. I was very depressed. I was feeling lonely. Now, with my blog I have a million of friends. I'm very enthusiastic about the internet. I always say that elderly people must be in the internet , there are a lot of things to learn and know. My life has changed completely.”http://amis95.blogspot.com/

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socialization• Olive Rilleyused to say that for her

the Internet was a window to the world

She was considered the oldest blogger with 108 years old. She was living in wheelchairs.

http//:www.allaboutolive.com.au/

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socializationShe had posted on her blog (...) since 2007, notes about modern life and her experience during the 20th century. She talked through her blog with people from all over the world and enjoyed the notoriety she had acquired because it allowed her to keep an open mind. Olive died in 2008.

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socialization

What’s the importance and how the Internet can contribute to this new socialization ? The cyberspace reinvents the social space and organizes new social relations.

The cyberspace changes the meaning of the words: friendship and relationship

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socialization• “The conscious communication [...] is what makes the

biological specificity of the human species (...) the Internet transforms the way we communicate, our lives are profoundly affected by this new communication technology. On the other hand (...) we transform the Internet itself. A new sociotechnical pattern emerges from this interaction.”(Manuel Castells, 2003)

• We understand that access to information technologies put together the old ways of life and create new patterns in our culture: the elderly must be included in this new way of social contact

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socialization

Knowing how to handle new technologies is one way to access information, knowledge, expansion of social group, especially for frail elderly.

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socialization

“Nowadays in many countries, fragile elderly people can interact with others in different regions by the internet .....some of them make affective networks without the presence of “flesh and blood”

(Denise Bernuzzi Sant’Anna, 2006)

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socialization“In the cyberspace the person is seeking

others to share their interests and affinities. Once in chat rooms (chat) or in virtual communities it's possible to find (...) friendship and relationships (...) On the other hand it's important to mention (...) the people in a virtual community are still "real" even though physically distant and invisible.”

(Danielle Sandri Reule, 2007)

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socialization“The Internet today is the tissue of our lives.

(...) it has the ability to distribute the power of information throughout the domain of human activity (...) the Internet has become the technological basis for the (…) the Information Age: the network”

(Manuel Castells, 2003)

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socialization

“It's not easy to reach a conclusion about the effects of the Internet on sociability [...] the study of sociability in / on / with the Internet should be placed in the context of the transformation of sociability patterns of our society [...] we shouldn't underestimate the importance of the technology, but insert their specific effects on the general development patterns of social interaction.[...]” (Manuel Castells, 2003)

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socialization“Cyberculture, (…) shouldn't be founded on

territorial links, institutional relations or in power relations, but on the meeting (...), common interest and on the sharing of knowledge, (...) the virtual communities are the motors and the actors of the universal urging for connection” (Pierre Levy, 2000)

Elderly people in cyberspace:new place for socialization

Thank you very much for your attention!!!

celinadias@sescsp.org.br