Technological Utopias: Loneliness and Rural Contexts in Western Iberia

Abstract

Background: Urbanisation and rural migration in some areas of Spain and Portugal have given rise to rural contexts largely defined by ageing and depopulation. Rural populations have suffered from increasing social isolation, with older people living alone in villages with very few inhabitants and limited access to services. The aim of this study is to analyse the extent to which technology serve as a strategy to improve social relations and how technology influences older adults’ loneliness, its uses, meanings, experiences, and perceptions. Methods: Ethnographic research is conducted in several locations in the border area between Spain and Portugal, supported by semi-structured interviews with 17 rural subjects aged 65 years and older. Results: The results underline two main points. Participants’ definitions point to loneliness as an experience built around nostalgia for those who are no longer there, where the disappearance of rituals in the community also leads to a lack of “social happiness”. Conclusions: We note low levels of digital literacy skills and competence among our participants, with most of them rejecting any technology beyond analogue devices.

Keywords

• anthropology
• loneliness
• technology
• social isolation
• ageing