Old People and New Media in Wired Societies

Singapore is often touted as a highly wired society where Internet and mobile phone penetration ranks amongst the highest in the world. Yet, there still exists in Singapore a “socio-digital divide” that refers not to the conventional digital divide caused by inequalities in access to ICTs. Instead, it refers to a socially-charged digital divide within the family unit, where older family members suffer from social exclusion due to their unfamiliarity with newer technologies. This study found that traditional family relations have been strained by the adoption of newer ICTs, as a result of which inter-generational communication is hampered and older members of the household find themselves increasingly alienated.