Ageing with Smartphones in Ireland

Abstract

List of figures vi List of abbreviations ix Series Foreword xi Acknowledgements xiii 6.1 Infographic showing the Doctor-Psychotherapist-Complementary therapist triangle in Ireland. Created by Georgiana Murariu. 6.2 Menopause meme shared in the Irish fieldsite. 7.1a, Two typical Irish streetscapes. Photos by 7.1b Pauline Garvey. 7.2 Film: Downsizing. Available at http://bit.ly/_downsizing. 7.3 Macrina showing us her apartment on the day of filming. Photo by Pauline Garvey. 7.4 Macrina's apartment. Photo by Pauline Garvey. 7.5 Gifts given to Denise on her retirement that sit untouched in her cupboard. Photo by Pauline Garvey. 8.1 Film: Composing, uploading and playing music in retirement. Available at http://bit.ly/musicinretirement. 8.2 Film: Photography in retirement: Smartphones and analogue. Available at http://bit.ly/retirementphotography. 8.3 'Darkness into Light' charity walk. Photo by Daniel Miller. 9.1 Memes also illustrate some of the mechanisms that are important in developing and policing this kind of community consensus. 9.2a, Two further examples of memes relating to 9.2b community consensus. 9.3 Communicating during the Covid-19 lockdown. Photo by Claudia Luppino. ix List of abbreviations ARG Active Retirement group ASSA Anthropology of Smartphones and Smart Ageing (a project based at UCL Anthropology and in which both Daniel Miller and Pauline Garvey participate) xi Series ForewordThis book series is based on a project called 'The Anthropology of Smartphones and Smart Ageing', or ASSA. This project focused on the experiences of ageing among a demographic who generally do not regard themselves as either young or elderly. We were particularly interested in the use and consequence of smartphones for this age group, as these devices are today a global and increasingly ubiquitous technology that had previously been associated with youth. We also wanted to consider how the smartphone has impacted upon the health of people in this age group and to see whether we could contribute to this field by reporting on the ways in which people have adopted smartphones as a means of improving their welfare.The project consists of 11 researchers working in 10 fieldsites across 9 countries as follows: Alfonso Otaegui

Bringing Ageing to Life: A Comparative Study of Age Categories

“…Across the ASSA field sites, many people's life course did not match normative models, such as for those remaining in work, staying single, getting divorced, starting new careers, or entering new relationships later in life. In Ireland and China, for example, activities long associated with 'old age' are being redefined with reduced family obligations and increased longevity enhancing people's capacity to take up independent hobbies in later life (Garvey and Miller 2021). Categories and expectations of age can be socially negotiated in contextually specific ways; for example, the majority of Hawkins' research participants living in a diverse neighbourhood in Kampala, referred to in this article by the pseudonym 'Lusozi,' are from the Acholi sub-region in northern Uganda.…”

“…Again, this can be re-purposed according to people's individual experiences and aspirations for ageing. For example, in Garvey and Miller's (2021) work in Ireland, people often said that they had never been so busy as they are in retirement -this statement was something of a refrain. Retirement can therefore be an opportunity to embark on new activities, to open new possibilities, and to redefine what age looks and feels like.…”

Smartphones within a circular society - Investigating potential modular smartphone users

“…As outlined in a recent book description, the authors have highlighted that 'smartphones have become as much a place within which we live as a device we use to provide 'perpetual opportunism', as they are always with us' (Miller et al 2021). The smartphone is not just a device that provide people access to different applications, etc., for example, for some people, 'it has brought back the extended family and old friends and helped resolve intergenerational conflicts through facilitating new forms of grandparenting' (Garvey and Miller 2021).…”