Digital technologies, sociotechnical imaginary and ambivalence: a qualitative study on the use of tablets by older people in Minas, Uruguay

Abstract

Since 2015 Uruguay has been developing Plan Ibirapitá—a program that consists of the delivery of tablets to low-income older people for free, who can also access training. This article frames this program as a ‘sociotechnical imaginary’, based on ‘charismatic technologies’, and presents a qualitative study of a group of how a group of older people negotiate the presence of the tablet in their lives. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews in the city of Minas (the capital of Lavalleja Department, with the oldest population in the country) and analyzed through thematic analysis. The central category is ‘generalized ambivalence’, which interpenetrates with other categories. These other categories are related to ‘training resources’, a ‘lack of patience to operate the tablet’, ta ‘lack of Internet’, the fact that ‘tablets broke down and required updates’, and the notion that the busy lives of elderly people affect their use of the tablets. In accordance with recent empirical findings and theoretical approaches, the article suggests that it may be inappropriate to presuppose abstract, pre-existing technological needs of older people that can be identified and translated into their well-being through charismatic-technological interventions.