Online @ home in retirement : Situating computer and internet use within bodies, spaces and biographies

This thesis examines how retirees make use of the Internet and computer technologies at
home, as well examining the relation of these newer technologies to older Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs) in this sphere. It begins by reviewing previous
research on older adults and Internet use, and highlighting gaps in this literature, including
a lack of research on Internet use in everyday contexts, particularly the home, and a failure
to situate experiences of Internet use in later life within experiences throughout the lifecourse.
The importance of contextualising Internet use within `real' bodies and spaces is
emphasised. Secondary data analysis was then used to examine wider patterns of Internet
use among older people, and the relation Internet use in later life to living situation, lifestyle
and demographic variables. Following this, the main methodology of the study
involved gathering data using multiple qualitative interviews and time-use diaries, which
were conducted with retirees in 17 UK households. The central argument drawn from this
data is that computer and Internet use in later life need to be contextualised within the
`embodied technobiographies' of individuals and cohorts. This contributes a unique
perspective to discussions of age divisions, illustrating that they cannot simply be
understood as the result of material and physiological changes in `old age', but as the
outcome of struggles applying embodied technological competencies acquired over a lifetime
to new technologies. It also has practical implications for policy makers, and
illustrates the importance of practical methods of learning computing, and the importance
of relating new technologies to earlier competencies and biographical interests. These
findings, and the novel concept of `embodied technobiographies' developed in this thesis,
also have broader implications for developing sociological theories of embodiment,
technology, gender, ageing, generations and social change.