Globalization, Technological Advancement and the Elderly People: A Systematic Review of Literature

Abstract

Old age comes with lots of challenges which become a burden to the able-bodied members of society and may cause physical and economic stress over the short and long term. Technology has catalysed development processes the world over for many decades now. It has affected the senior members of society in their everyday lives either negatively or positively. Existing research focused much on the impact of technology on old people from the perspective of caregivers and family members. This paper examines the impact of technology on old people using the available literature from the old people's perspective. International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS) and sociological abstracts (SOCAB) databases were used, and a total of 6 articles from a pool of articles generated were analysed. The study found that there are several assistive devices available to the ageing members which to a great extent gives them a sense of belonging to society in that it helps them keep their identity by being independent. It has also been found that old people are still sceptical about some of the devices as they are perceived to be invading their privacy. Furthermore, the paper proposes a future study on how social interaction can lead to successful ageing.