Ageing Well with CSCW

Abstract

This paper rethinks the role of technology in the life of older people by critically considering the discourses around ageing: drawing on insights from literatures on active ageing, findings from two studies conducted with older citizens and prevalent understandings of old age in technology design. It argues for a departure from the deficit model of old age, to an understanding that reveals older people’s agency in the ageing process and the work they do to manage their capacity to age well. This reframing of ageing and the ageing population offers new insights to CSCW and suggests new goals to support when designing technology for older people—goals that are more cognizant of people’s agency and their desires to manage their evolving experiences of the ageing process. We conclude with characteristics of the technologies we might develop.