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Ageing, social capital and the internet
— findings from an exploratory study of Australian 'silver surfers' |
| Author(s) | Cherry Russell, Andrew Campbell, Ian Hughes |
| Journal title | Australasian Journal on Ageing, vol 27, no 2, June 2008 |
| Publisher | Blackwell Publishing, June 2008 |
| Pages | pp 78-82 |
| Source | http://www.cota.org.au / http://www.blackwellpublishingasia.com |
| Keywords | Economic status [elderly] ; Usage [services] ; Information technology ; Computers ; Citizenship ; Social interaction ; Correlation ; Australia. |
| Annotation | This study's objective was to document the sociodemographic characteristics and online use patterns of older Australian internet users as part of an exploratory study of the relationship between internet communication and access to social capital in later life. A purposive sample of 154 internet users aged 55 years+ and not employed full-time completed an electronic survey about their social characteristics and patterns of internet use. A sub-sample of 30 participated in follow-up in-depth interviews. The majority of participants comprised married, home-owning, English-speaking women and men in good health. They made extensive use of the communication and information functions of the internet to supplement and enhance their connections with friends and family and their engagement with wider social networks. In conclusion, policy development should be informed by better understanding of the potential and limitations of the internet as a tool for generating and sustaining social capital in old age. (KJ/RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-080620202 A |
| Classmark | F:W: QLD: UVB: 3O: IKC: TMA: 49: 7YA |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |