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Aging or what we also refer to as getting older is a inevitable journey for almost everyone and this means we will all need some assistance at some point down that road. What happens is we enter a dependency stage towards the end of our life due to the fact that our bodies and mind go through changes that make it harder for us to be alone. There are many persistent myth surrounding aging and one of those is that it leads to loneliness. Now this might not be the case all the time there is definitely a societal sense to take care of the elderly. But because there are constant advancements in different fields in society many older adults now have a big resource to lean on: technology. As one CNN Business article reports technology can go beyond tracking physical developments it can also ward off loneliness because social isolation can increase the risk of dying earlier, research suggests. It continues to state that to help the use of technology in the form of robots as ‘companions’ , include Paro a plush Japanese robot that looks like a seal and mimics the movements of a living creature which claim to offer comfort and company (Kelly, 2019).
There is a misconception that new advanced technology isn’t for older adults but they are indeed following in with the times. Data provided by the Pew Research Center points to that even though older adults are the lowest rate of users of technology they are using it more than ever. This is reflected by the fact some groups of seniors such as those who are younger, more affluent and more highly educated report owning and using various technologies at rates similar to adults under the age of 65 (Anderson and Perrin, 2017). When we talk about technology this includes smartphones, computers, tablets, monitoring devices, the internet and so on. We have to take into account manufacturers take that these technologies aren’t supposed to replace in person time with others but automate some of the more stressful interactions.
Cell phone ownership for example in the U.S. is huge everyone we know owns one it’s rare to find someone without it especially in a first world country. Smartphone ownership which refers to a class of mobile phones and of multi-purpose mobile computing devices. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems has more than doubling in the past five years, Americans we know are embracing mobile technology at a rapid pace and while adoption rates among seniors continue to trail those of the overall population, the share of adults ages 65 and up who own smartphones has risen 24 percentage points (from 18% to 42%) since 2013. Today, roughly half of older adults who own cell phones have some type of smartphone; in 2013, that share was just 23%. (Anderson and Perrin, 2017). These statistics back the growing facts that older adults are getting into technology and it doesn’t seem to stop anytime soon.
To understand these claims better we can turn to a study conducted by Shima Sum, Mark Mathews, Ian Hughes, and Andrew Campbell titled, Internet Use and Loneliness in Older Adults , they talk about the impacts of technology on older adults and loneliness. There have been many different arguments about the benefits of technology and its drawbacks as well. The study explains it use of Weisss theory of loneliness to help clarify the relationship between Internet use and seniors loneliness. They present the central question in the study as How does Internet use impact seniors loneliness?. The researchers are trying to understand if there are more positive or negative effects for older adults and there social connections based on there internet usage. Social connections for older adults is important we know and it might be a big factor in successful aging.
The authors I believe are using the successful aging theoretical perspective in there paper to illustrate the core components that make up successful aging such as positive physical and cognitive functioning, low probability of disease-related disability and social engagement. As Rowe and Kahn write in there 1998 book about successful aging they describe that it, can be attained through individual choice and effort this being the well-being, as low probability of disease , and disability, as high cognitive and physical & capacity, and active engagement with life for older adults. When we talk about successful aging we are looking at questions about aging like, What does it mean to age successfully? What can each of us do to be successful at this most important life task? What changes in American society enable more men and women to age successfully? . In my view there is a focus on the domain of individual action as the primary motivational principle for the achievement of successful aging. Much that has to do with successful aging is individual action that determines ones future as a successful older person. In this case the authors central question in their study revolves around technology use impacting loneliness and we need to realize that technology use is an individual choice very often and that choice affects well being. The authors also bring about the detail of social functioning in this case with technology and how it affects levels of ability in social role functioning, positive interactions, relationships with others, and social integration. Technology is a result of society and therefore continuation of social functioning is a commonly proposed domain of successful aging which has to do with social factors. The article report also goes ahead and suggests that it is right thing to inform older adults to the different effects of the Internet and lead them to the using only specific functions of it with the goal to reduce the feeling of loneliness in order to increase well-being which is promoting successful aging.
This was a quantitative study the data was collected online between February and July 2006 from 222 Internet users in Australia aged 55 years or older according to the authors. The majority of respondents were female 62% and most respondents a 64.4% lived with a spouse or partner; however, 27.9% lived alone. Participants completed a five-part online survey housed on a University of Sydney Website which included a general set of demographic variables, an extroversion scale (the Big Five Personality Test) and a self-perception of health (the Psychological Self- Perception of Health Measurement) which were treated as control variables because they have been associated with both Internet use and social participation. The frequency of Internet use was measured by responses to two survey items first hours spent on the Internet and history of Internet use. The major findings found respondents primarily used the Internet for communication, seeking information, and commercial purposes. The results showed negative correlations between loneliness and well-being meaning as the value of one variable increases, the other decrease. The analyses also revealed the authors state that greater use of the Internet as a communication tool was associated with a lower level of social loneliness. In contrast, greater use of the Internet to find new people was associated with a higher level of emotional loneliness.
I believe the quality of the article was strong because of its use quantitative research data which presets strong data that we can use to make better decisions in this case towards successful aging. The authors data holds value I believe because it can lead older adults who arent necessarily convinced of technology usage can help them. The article helps understand the relationship between technology and aging and how not only is internet usage important but also how much time we are on it that really makes a difference. What also makes their article strong is that they acknowledge that few studies have investigated the relationship between internet use and loneliness in older adults and due to several arguments about online communication being essentially impersonal, shallow, and even unfriendly put there propose work to be thought about heavily . In my opinion this helps validate there work even more because they are presenting all the facts not just what they want to.
An alternative perspective I might of also taken would be that of continuity theory this involves older adults making specific choices to maintain consistency in both internal and external structures, for example personality structures and relationships. They remain active and involved throughout their older years in this case with technology which is engraved in current society. This is an effort to preserve social equilibrium and ways of doing things by making their future decisions on the basis of already developed social roles. Compared to my other alternative resource data the article study data is backed up regarding technology now being used by older adults more than previously seen and most of is for communication purposes. This definite adoption of technology by older adults is having consequences in their lives however also reflect is that for the population as a whole there is still a substantial differences in technology adoption within the older adult population based on different factors like age and marital status. There is also positive and negative relationships regarding technology and well being such as experiencing loneliness and anxiety. My mass media source can also be compared to the findings in that it reflect individuals already perceive how technology is affecting how we grow old. Many individuals are taking note of it themselves and see how technology is being push as an alternative companion or assistance to rely on in our older years. It finding also helps assert that there are still many questions regarding technology being an adequate solution to older adult problems. The reports contribute to my understanding of social aging by establishing that there are many interrelated components at work that make up what we know about it thus far. There is still more we are trying to learn but what is crucial is that we are able to talk about social aging so we can help individuals comprehend what they are going through. I think a big objective here to establish social policy issues and public policy to take care of our older adult population.
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