Growing Old in the Age of New Media

This book explores new media’s effectiveness in enhancing socialization among elderly individuals through quantitative and qualitative information. It fills a gap in media studies and gerontology by focusing on older adults’ often-overlooked use of new media. The chapters cover topics such as the impact of new media on family structures, the accessibility of media to the elderly, and the role of social media in providing support and engagement for older adults. The chapters deal with empirical evidence on how social media offers new possibilities for engaging and, providing and receiving support. It emphasizes the importance of personality and attitude in technology adoption among older people. It is a valuable resource for scholars in media studies and gerontology and those interested in the intersection of these fields and its implications for urban governance.

Debarati Dhar has done her doctoral thesis on New Media and Gerontology. She has been a research fellow at the Centre for Innovative Ageing at Swansea University, Wales, UK (2015) under UGC-UKIERI Thematic Partnership Programme. She has presented papers at several national and international conferences/ seminars. She has also participated in various national consultation programmes and workshops. She has several publications (18) in reputed journals under her name. She has also been a part of the UGC Epg-Pathshala Project/ 2017/ under the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, India, and has authored 27 modules for Media and Communication Studies. She has also prepared online learning material for Refresher Programme in Teaching under UGC-HRDC, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, MOOCs, and IGNOU courses. Her research interests are new media and society, ageing studies, development communication, media, creative industry, child rights, policy, and governance.