Could Alexa be good for my parents?

Grounded in the theory of reverse socialization, our study examines the intergenerational smart technology transmission from adult children to their ageing parents in an ageing context. We propose a conceptual model outlining the typology of concerns and challenges encountered by adult children when introducing smart technologies into their ageing parents’ daily lives, encompassing (a) adult children’s struggles with smart aged care technologies, (b) resistance from ageing parents towards these technologies, and (c) adult children’s perceived constraints faced by ageing parents in adopting the technologies. Using data extracted from two sub-reddit forums - “ageing parents” and “eldercare”, our study employs content analysis and thematic analysis to uncover the varying significance of these concerns and challenges, as well as their impact on technology transmission. Our study contributes to foregrounding the voices from the adult children, drawing attention to their role as co-learners under technology transmission processes. The findings also provide constructive suggestions that can be implemented to substantially facilitate adult children in better integrating technologies in aged care.

Lecturer in in Media and Communications in the School of Culture and Communication. Before joining the University of Melbourne, Xin studied and worked at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; The Chinese University of Hong Kong; the University of Nottingham; Ningbo China; and the Ageing Research Institute for Society and Education (ARISE) in Singapore. Her research focus lies in examining the social consequences of adopting information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the context of marginalisation. Xin uses an interdisciplinary approach to investigate the (dis)empowerment brought about by the adoption and usage of ICTs in different contexts encompassing gender, ageing and racism. At present, her research focuses on the AI adoption and usage by older adults, especially their imagination and perception of medical AI.

Associate Professor in Media and Communications in the School of Culture and Communication. Areas of research include youth and digital media, parental mediation, and marketing communications. Wonsun has published numerous journal articles, book chapters, and books, including Screen-Obsessed: Parenting in the Digital Age (2019) and Screen Smart: Growing Up in the Digital Age (2023). She actively contributes to scholarly communities in various roles, such as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Advertising and a member of the Editorial Review Boards for Communication Research and Practice and the International Journal of Advertising. She is a co-lead of the Child and Family Mediascape Research Group.

Host or Publisher University of Melbourne