Identity Collision: Older Gay Men Using Technology

Author:

Marciano Avi1ORCID,Nimrod Galit1ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Department of Communication Studies, Ben-Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, 8410501, Israel

Abstract

Abstract This study examines identity work among older gay men in relation to Information and Communication Technology (ICT). It draws on the notion of IT identity—the extent to which individuals experience technology as integral to their sense of selves—to explore how their homosexuality and advanced age shape their relationships with technology. Applying thematic analysis to 17 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with gay male users aged 66–81, we show that while homosexuality and technology enable and reinforce one another, the relationship between technology and advanced age can be better defined by alienation and estrangement. Consequently, we argue that technology constitutes a crossroads at which the gay and elder identities intersect and collide. In this sense, technology is similar to other cultural constructs, like sexuality, that challenge the merger of advanced age and homosexuality, rendering the older gay identity almost impossible.

Funder

Ageing + Communication + Technologies

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Concordia University in Montreal

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

Subject

Computer Networks and Communications,Computer Science Applications

Reference62 articles.

1. Identity at work: Exploring strategies for identity work;Adams;SA Journal of Industrial Psychology,2012

2. Choosing not to be old? Masks, bodies and identity management in later life;Biggs;Ageing and Society,1997

3. Using thematic analysis in psychology;Braun;Qualitative Research in Psychology,2006

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