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Community and Communication in the Third Age: The Impact of Internet and Cell Phone Use on Attachment to Place in Later Life in England

Centre for Behavioural and Social Sciences in Medicine, University College London, England.

Address correspondence to Dr. Chris Gilleard, Centre for Behavioural and Social Sciences in Medicine, University College London, Charles Bell House, 67-73 Riding House Street, London W1W 7EJ, United Kingdom. E-mail: CGilleard{at}aol.com.

Abstract

Objectives. We investigated the following question: Would access to and use of domestic information and communication technology affect people's attachment to place in later life?

Methods. Drawing upon data on ownership of cell phones and use of Internet/e-mail from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, we measured the association between access to such technology and self-rated attachment to one's neighborhood.

Results. There was a significant negative association between attachment to place and ownership and use of domestic information and communication technology, particularly the Internet. This association remained after taking account of age/cohort differences, as well as the influence of gender, disability, socioeconomic status of the neighborhood, differences in income and educational status, and length of residence in the area.

Discussion. The results suggest that ownership and use of domestic information and communication technology reduces the sense of attachment to the local neighborhood among individuals 50 and older in England. It does not, however, influence the perceived sense of trust in or perceived friendliness of people in the neighborhood. We suggest that domestic information and communication technology may be more liberating of neighborhood boundedness than destructive of social capital.