Connectivity, place and elective belonging: community and later life

The review addressed 'Social networks and later life' and 'The impact of Information and communication technologies (ICT) on community and older people'. Based around a series of workshops and symposia the project showed that while, for some, communities may be 'under siege', others may be reconstructing localities in their own image, linking 'personal' and 'place' biographies. The significance of place is important in terms of attachment, denser social networks and changing context, but there is a complex inter-relationship between retirement migration, historical labour markets and the experience of poverty in later life. Age and ageing appear to be related negatively to network size, closeness to network members and numbers in non-primary group ties, and related positively to frequency of socializing with neighbours, religious participation and volunteering. Research indicates that the relationship between volume of contact and network membership is 'U shaped' and that the heterogeneity of ageing means that age cannot be assumed to be a universally negative influence on social connectedness. Developments in ICT add a new dimension. However, the literature on ICT and later life tends to frame older people as 'passive', 'dependent' receivers. Recommendations for future research are made in light of this.