Communication between grandparents and young grandchildren over distance

Establishing contact with constitutive nonhumans

Bibliographic Data

ID6443618
AuthorsMarije Nouwen (0000-0002-5991-9084, KU Leuven, corresponding author), Janne Mascha Beuthel (0000-0003-4746-3988), Verena Fuchsberger (0000-0002-1179-1990, University of Salzburg), Bieke Zaman (0000-0002-1933-1438, KU Leuven)
Year2023
Volume27
Issue2
Pages770-789
Publication date2023-07-12
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNew Media & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1461-4448 • E-ISSN: 1461-7315
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14614448231183703
OpenAlexW4384108753
LanguageEN
References cited36

Physical items are often taken for granted in mediated communication between grandparents (GP) and young grandchildren (GC). This article puts “constitutive nonhumans” at the center of inquiry to understand the potential of physical items and communication technologies to communicate over distance. The notion of phaticity operationalizes the role of constitutive nonhumans to establish and maintain contact over distance, which might have pleasurable or unpleasurable outcomes. A relational view on agency supports the entanglement of humans and nonhumans when they cooperate to communicate over distance. The article reports on a two-phase qualitative study that was conducted in two European countries with 10 GP (aged 60–75 years) and 10 GC (aged 6–11 years). The results identify how the entanglement between constitutive nonhumans conflates emotional connection and contact. Furthermore, the results suggest that the condition of familiarity can direct contact to pleasant or unpleasant outcomes that might differ across mediated and co-located communication

Agency (philosophy · Developmental psychology · Grandparent · Quantum entanglement · Social science · Sociology · Aging and Gerontology Research · Innovative Human-Technology Interaction · Psychology · Social Psychology · Technology Use by Older Adults

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