Older people and mobile communication: a case study in Montevideo (Uruguay). Preliminary results

This paper continues the series of case studies on mobile communication and older people in different cities. We present here the preliminary results of a case study of Montevideo (Uruguay), conducted in June 2012. The paper discusses methodology, fieldwork and selected results. To facilitate result interpretation, contextualizing them, a first section discusses a set of secondary data on Uruguay regarding its demographic structure and the possession and use of information and communication technologies (ICT). With ages ranging between 64 and 75 years old, all the participants lived in their own homes in the metropolitan area of Montevideo. Regarding mobile users (13), we discuss texting, mobile phone use while driving, and the role of the mobile phone at home. Regarding non-users (2), we analyze their profiles and their motivations. We also consider the relationship with Internet and computers (11 participants use them, while 4 do no). The paper ends with the section on discussion and conclusion.