Interrogating the “Us” Versus “Them” Dichotomy in Technology Research with Older Adults

Paper Title

Interrogating the “Us” Versus “Them” Dichotomy in Technology Research with Older Adults

Publication Info

• Topic area: Technology use and aging in HCI research
• Keywords: aging, technology issues, autoethnography, HCI, reflexivity, othering, technology support, intergenerational research, sociotechnical processes, positionality

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: Research on older adults and technology often perpetuates an "us versus them" dichotomy, framing older adults as a homogenous group with unique deficits in technology use. This overlooks the experiences of researchers themselves and the broader sociotechnical processes of aging.
• Significance: Understanding the shared and evolving nature of technology challenges across age groups can lead to more inclusive and effective technology design, benefiting users of all ages.
• Motivation and related work: Prior studies have critiqued the stereotyping and "othering" of older adults in HCI research, but they rarely examine the positionality of researchers themselves. This paper addresses this gap by reflecting on researchers' own experiences with technology issues and aging.

Solution

• Proposed approach: Collaborative autoethnography to examine researchers' own experiences with technology issues and aging.
• Novelty:
  1. Demonstrates how aging and technology issues are interconnected across life stages, not limited to older adults.
  2. Introduces collaborative autoethnography as a reflexive method to disrupt "othering" in HCI research.
  3. Provides counternarratives to dominant assumptions about aging and technology use.
  4. Highlights the transient nature of technological "in-group" status.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  1. A mixed-age research team engaged in an 8-month autoethnographic process, documenting and reflecting on their own technology issues and support experiences.
  2. Data collection involved writing individual reflections, group discussions, and iterative thematic analysis.
  3. Strategies included focusing on personal emotions, resisting "othering," and encouraging vulnerability in sharing experiences.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • Researchers encountered frequent and burdensome technology issues across various contexts, including home, work, and public spaces.
  • Technology issues were not limited to older adults but were pervasive across age groups.
  • Emotional responses to technology issues included frustration, embarrassment, and anxiety, especially in professional settings.
  • The transient nature of technological expertise was highlighted, with researchers recognizing their own aging and its impact on technology use.
• Advantage over baselines: Challenges the dominant narrative that technology issues are unique to older adults, emphasizing shared struggles across age groups and the sociotechnical nature of aging.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Data included 49 reflective entries and 26 group meetings over 8 months.
  • Entries documented a wide range of technology issues, from residential devices to authentication and file management.
  • Analysis revealed themes of emotional burden, shifting roles in technology support, and the evolving nature of technological competence.
• Limitations and future work:
  • The study's findings are specific to a U.S.-based research team and may not generalize to other cultural contexts.
  • The method required significant time and emotional labor, which may not be feasible for all researchers.
  • Future work could explore similar reflexive methods with more diverse demographics and in different cultural settings.

Summary

This paper uses collaborative autoethnography to challenge the "us versus them" dichotomy in HCI research on older adults and technology. By reflecting on their own experiences, the researchers found that technology issues and emotional burdens are pervasive across age groups, highlighting the transient nature of technological expertise and the sociotechnical process of aging. The study contributes methodological insights for reflexive research and counternarratives that emphasize shared experiences with technology. These findings encourage researchers to design technologies that address common challenges across life stages, rather than focusing solely on age-based categories.