Ageing in a landscape of digital connectivity

Our initial thoughts, like everyone else's, were that the opportunities opened up by the internet for people, as they age, to stay in close touch with family and friends, and even to build new relationships, is fantastic. Social ties are central to well being, and the internet dissolves the barrier older people can face in becoming less able to get out and about to physically meet with people.

But the more we've thought about it, we have begun to wonder just how effectively digital connectivity builds and maintains meaningful interactions. Or, perhaps better, the conditions under which it manages to do that, and the conditions when it doesn't.

We need to be clear here. We do recognize the immense, even profound, value of the internet, the worlds and services it opens up. It is, without doubt, good that older people are increasingly using it, although the actual numbers in Australia are not entirely clear: some reports say that only 20 percent of those aged 65 and older use the internet while others say the figure is closer to 40 percent.

It is also pleasing to note the many different ways access to the internet by older people is being encouraged - from programs like BigScreenLive that simplify the computer interface to internet services to initiatives like Broadband for Seniors with its 2,000 planned internet kiosks across Australia for people over fifty, complete with tutors.

What we are puzzling about is exactly how the internet is decreasing, or might decrease, a sense of social isolation, particularly for today's older people who have not yet developed internet skills. How might having access to the internet foster the kind of connectedness that delivers genuine kinship- a feeling that there are others out there 'who know me, who want to keep knowing me' - because that is the kind of connectedness that's needed, that actually counters social isolation.

What we are doing

• encouraging action research by those who are helping older people access the internet or are managing online communities or websites for older people. We want to encourage them to observe and think about the nature of the personal interactions generated by the connectivities they are responsible for, how relationships evolve, and so on. We believe this kind of specific and nuanced data is necessary if we are to fully understand the conditions under which the internet promotes meaningful social connections.