Digital repertoires: Embedded and everyday technologies in later life
London: UCL Press (2025), 202 pp.
Contains figures, index
ISBN 978-1-80008-845-0 (pbk); 978-1-80008-844-3 (pdf)
CC BY-NC
"Digital Repertoires explores the intersection between ageing and technology, presenting the concept of 'digital repertoire' as a powerful tool for researchers across disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, gerontology, public policy, communication studies and design. This book offers new theoretical and empirical insights, and highlights the diverse ways in which older adults engage with digital technologies across five continents. With studies from Australia, Brazil, Finland, Japan, the Philippines and Sweden, the book provides a global and cross-cultural analysis on a pressing issue. The notion of the digital repertoire has broad appeal, making this book relevant not only to scholars and practitioners focused on ageing but to anyone interested in the heterogeneity of digital technology use across different age groups and cultural contexts. With a balanced approach that combines conceptual, theoretical and empirical perspectives, this volume is an essential resource for teaching, research and practice in the ever-evolving field of digital technology studies, as well as the development of technology for older adults." (Publisher description)
PART I: RE-CONCEPTUALISING DIGITAL HETEROGENEITY
1 Introduction: older adults navigating digital technologies / Sakari Taipale, Riitta Hänninen and Laura Haapio-Kirk, 3
2 From digital skills to digital repertoires: towards a more inclusive conceptualisation of technology use in an ageing society / Loredana Ivan, 21
PART II: DIGITAL REPERTOIRES IN EVERYDAY LIFE
3 Exploring the key elements of digital repertoire: the meaning of new technology in later life [Finland] / Riitta Hänninen and Sakari Taipale, 43
4 Lives on hold? Ageing migrants’ affective digital repertoires during lockdowns in Victoria, Australia [migrants fom the Philippines] / Earvin Charles Cabalquinto, 63
5 Digital repertoires of care in Japan: a participatory visual approach / Laura Haapio-Kirk, 87
PART III: MUNDANE PRACTICES AND VISUAL METHODS
6 Ageing in digitalised Brazil: using the ‘Brazilian way’ to compensate for lower digital skills / Marília Duque and Emilene Zitkus, 115
7 Uncovering older adults’ digital repertoires for designing conversational scenarios: graphic transcript as a design method [Sweden] / Sanna Kuoppamäki, Mikaela Hellstrand and Donald McMillan, 139
8 Epilogue / Daniel Miller, 165
1 Introduction: older adults navigating digital technologies / Sakari Taipale, Riitta Hänninen and Laura Haapio-Kirk, 3
2 From digital skills to digital repertoires: towards a more inclusive conceptualisation of technology use in an ageing society / Loredana Ivan, 21
PART II: DIGITAL REPERTOIRES IN EVERYDAY LIFE
3 Exploring the key elements of digital repertoire: the meaning of new technology in later life [Finland] / Riitta Hänninen and Sakari Taipale, 43
4 Lives on hold? Ageing migrants’ affective digital repertoires during lockdowns in Victoria, Australia [migrants fom the Philippines] / Earvin Charles Cabalquinto, 63
5 Digital repertoires of care in Japan: a participatory visual approach / Laura Haapio-Kirk, 87
PART III: MUNDANE PRACTICES AND VISUAL METHODS
6 Ageing in digitalised Brazil: using the ‘Brazilian way’ to compensate for lower digital skills / Marília Duque and Emilene Zitkus, 115
7 Uncovering older adults’ digital repertoires for designing conversational scenarios: graphic transcript as a design method [Sweden] / Sanna Kuoppamäki, Mikaela Hellstrand and Donald McMillan, 139
8 Epilogue / Daniel Miller, 165