Ageing in and through Data

Ageing in and through Data investigates what it means to grow old in an increasingly datafied world. As humanity confronts increasingly complex challenges, the need to develop more sustainable models for ageing is urgent – particularly through innovative applications of emerging technologies. For many older adults, one question dominates: how can technology be used to enhance rather than diminish our lives?

This book enlivens the voices and experiences of older adults by empowering them as experts. The insights presented draw from rich lived experience data gathered over three years through ethnographic and creative methods research with older adults in Victoria, Australia. Understanding the potentials and challenges of data and automation for older adults is at a crucial point. The participants outlined the ways in which data and automation are impacting their everyday lives. With their embodied knowledge, key themes, concerns and potentialities are presented, which are in turn used to examine crucial areas of concern for humans of all ages: data literacy, data limitations, privacy, risk, security, community, play and belonging.

The book is aimed at upper undergraduate/graduate students and researchers studying digital media, critical data studies and ageing, and older adults themselves.