Developing a carer identity and negotiating everyday life through social networking sites

An explorative study on identity constructions in an online Swedish carer community

Datos Bibliográficos

ID11201355
AutoresFRIDA ANDRÉASSON (0000-0001-6438-8575, Linnaeus University, autor de correspondencia), Jesper Andreasson (0000-0003-1631-6475, Linnaeus University), Elizabeth Hanson (0000-0001-7609-4822, Linnaeus University)
Año2018
Volumen38
Número11
Páginas2304-2324
Fecha de publicación2018-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAgeing and Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0144-686X • E-ISSN: 1469-1779
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0144686x17000551
OpenAlexW2622742320
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas5
Referencias citadas37

An overarching reason why carers do not utilise support services is that many people who perform care-giving do not necessarily self-identify as a carer. Understanding the development of carer identities is therefore crucial for the utilisation of different carer-focused health services. This study arose from the European Union-funded INNOVAGE project and aimed to describe how older carers conceptualise and understand their identity as carers on a Swedish online social forum. Theoretically the study adopts a constructionist approach and the method of netnography was applied. The findings reveal that a change in self-perception occurs in the process through which a carer role is acquired. The presence or absence of recognition for the older carers’ capacity, knowledge and life situation is seen as filtered through the needs of the care recipient, making the carer identity into an invisible self. This is not least the case when the identity is constructed in alliance with conceptual and moral obligations found within a marital discourse. Nevertheless, the opportunity for online communication may help to create a virtual space of social recognition through which different experiences attached to caring can be discussed. The significance of online communication is here understood as the possibility it presents for carers to be recognised by other carers. It is a process through which an invisible self can become visible

Alliance · Identity (music) · Negotiation · Netnography · Political science · Social constructionism · Social media · Sociology · Focus Groups and Qualitative Methods · Mental Health and Patient Involvement · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology