Connectivity, place and elective belonging: community and later life

审查涉及“社会网络和晚年生活”以及“信息和通信技术对社区和老年人的影响”。基于一系列研讨会和座谈会，该项目表明，虽然对一些人来说，社区可能被“围困”，但另一些人可能正在按照自己的形象重建地方，将“个人”和“地方”传记联系起来。就依恋、更密集的社会网络和不断变化的环境而言，地点的重要性很重要，但退休移民、历史劳动力市场和晚年的贫困经历之间存在复杂的相互关系。年龄和老龄化似乎与网络规模、与网络成员的密切程度和非初级群体关系中的人数负相关，与与邻居交往的频率、宗教参与和志愿服务呈正相关。研究表明，联系人数量和网络成员之间的关系是U型的，年龄的异质性意味着年龄不能被认为是对社会联系的普遍负面影响。信息和通信技术的发展增加了一个新的层面。然而，关于信息通信技术和晚年生活的文献往往将老年人定位为“被动的”、“依赖的”接受者。在此基础上，对今后的研究提出了建议。

The review addressed 'Social networks and later life' and 'The impact of Information and communication technologies (ICT) on community and older people'. Based around a series of workshops and symposia the project showed that while, for some, communities may be 'under siege', others may be reconstructing localities in their own image, linking 'personal' and 'place' biographies. The significance of place is important in terms of attachment, denser social networks and changing context, but there is a complex inter-relationship between retirement migration, historical labour markets and the experience of poverty in later life. Age and ageing appear to be related negatively to network size, closeness to network members and numbers in non-primary group ties, and related positively to frequency of socializing with neighbours, religious participation and volunteering. Research indicates that the relationship between volume of contact and network membership is 'U shaped' and that the heterogeneity of ageing means that age cannot be assumed to be a universally negative influence on social connectedness. Developments in ICT add a new dimension. However, the literature on ICT and later life tends to frame older people as 'passive', 'dependent' receivers. Recommendations for future research are made in light of this.