Deliberate missed calls: A meaningful communication practice for seniors?

Abstract

In this article I discuss the phenomenon of deliberated missed calls and their intentional use by senior mobile phone users in Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain). Deliberate missed calls (DMC) are made with the intention that the receiver is not to answer them. Although this multiregional and multicultural practice is described in different countries, no specific study has been carried out on its use by the older population. To address this absence, this article explores the significance of using deliberate missed calls among seniors. There are three main conclusions. First, personal abilities and external support shape the way seniors use DMC. Second, seniors may abandon, or at least redefine, the use of deliberate missed calls if they change to a flat-rate contract. Finally, the focus on an already old innovation such as DMC allows us to observe the importance of accounting for the heterogeneity of older people if we are to properly analyze their mobile communication practices.

Different paths and same destinations? An analysis of the convergence in Internet usage patterns between different age groups

“…Thus, the way in which a school student starts to relate to the Internet can be completely different than the way an older retired adult interacts with the Internet. Likewise, users who give more sophisticated usages to the Internet are usually the ones that have been more exposed to ICTs (Fernández‐Ardèvol, ).…”

Discourses of technology, ageing and participation

“…Research linking age and technology. There has already been considerable prior research examining the relationship between age and digital technology which reflects the interplay of multiple factors such as education, occupation, family and geographical locations as well as factors related to later life-stages such as changing work arrangements or retirement and children leaving home (Boulton-Lewis et al, 2007;Comunello et al, 2016;Fernández-Ardèvol, 2013;Kuoppamaki et al, 2017;Prendergast and Garattini, 2015;Nixon et al, 2016;Bennett et al, 2008;Helsper and Eynon, 2010;White and Le Cornu, 2011). Nevertheless, as opportunities and services are increasingly, and sometimes exclusively, delivered through online channels, there is a risk that older people will become further alienated from aspects of social and economic life facilitated by digital technology.…”