Identity Collision: Older Gay Men Using Technology. Issue 1 (10th December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Marciano, Avi; Nimrod, Galit
• Is Part Of: Journal of computer-mediated communication. Volume 26:Issue 1(2021)
• Page Start: 22
• Page End: 37
• Publication Date: 2020-12-10
• Subjects: Identity Work -- Gay Men -- Old Age -- Information Technology -- IT Identity; Telematics -- Periodicals; Computer networks -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Communication -- Periodicals; 302.20285
• DOI: 10.1093/jcmc/zmaa016
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1083-6101

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.