Aging, Health, and Technology: Theoretical Perspectives
This paper examines two major theoretical frameworks—phenomenological aging theory and life-span developmental theory—and applies them to the growing discussion of health technology for older adults. Drawing on academic research, an Intel global initiative, and AARP advocacy materials, the paper argues that much existing literature adopts a phenomenological stance by treating elderly people as a homogeneous group whose technology use is narrowly defined by serious health decline. In contrast, life-span developmental models, rooted in Erikson's stages and extended by Heckhausen et al.'s Motivational Theory of Life-Span Development, support a broader, more individualized view of how older adults engage with technology across varied personal goals and circumstances.
- Introduction: Two theories of aging applied to health technology
- The Phenomenology of Getting Old: Social construction shapes elderly behavior and expectations
- Life-Span Development: Erikson's stages and motivational theory of aging
- Healthcare Assumptions: Theoretical bias in technology and elder health literature
- Technology, Health, and the Elderly in Practice: Intel, AARP, and dementia surveillance reviewed
- AARP Advocacy and the Life-Span Perspective: AARP findings support individualized technology design
- Conclusion: Technology must address all elderly goals beyond health decline
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper uses a clear compare-and-contrast structure, placing two distinct theoretical frameworks side by side before applying them to real-world materials, which gives the analysis a logical and readable arc.
- It grounds abstract theory in concrete examples — from Intel's SHIMMER sensor project to AARP's Connected Living survey — demonstrating how theory shapes actual research and policy assumptions.
- The inclusion of a critical voice (Kenner's surveillance critique) adds nuance, showing awareness that technology can both empower and reinforce structural inequalities affecting older adults.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied theoretical analysis: rather than simply describing two frameworks, it uses them as lenses to evaluate a set of published studies and advocacy documents. This technique — selecting sources that represent opposing theoretical biases and then exposing those biases through comparison — is a strong model for literature-based analytical essays in social science and health-related fields.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens with a brief framing introduction, then dedicates two sections to defining the theoretical frameworks (phenomenological and life-span developmental). A transitional "Healthcare Assumptions" section links theory to practice before two extended sections analyze specific publications from each theoretical orientation. A final section draws conclusions through the AARP's advocacy findings and returns to Erikson's evolving framework.
Introduction
Theoretical perspectives on aging seem to suggest that people are either almost completely controlled by the social and normative expectations of being elderly, or that they are motivated by their own cycles of goals, outcomes, and expectations. The phenomenological perspective of aging is an example of the first of these viewpoints. Life-span developmental models represent the second.
This paper reviews these two theoretical perspectives in regard to the newly emerging issue of technology's influence on the health of aging people. It first examines the theoretical frameworks, then assesses how different types of articles approach the topic. Some tend to favor the phenomenological perspective, often assuming that older people are a unified group that engages with technology only in regard to serious health and care considerations. Other scientific and advocacy materials, on the other hand, approach their concerns from a life-span development perspective, questioning the assumption that technology is only appropriate for disabling health concerns.
The Phenomenology of Getting Old
"Social phenomenologists focus their attention on ideas and presumed facts about ageing and how these are understood by the people who experience ageing" (Pierce and Timonen, n.d., p. 3). From this mindset, older people are seen as being less agile than younger people, and so they tend to engage in activities that require less agility. Similarly, because older people may be working less, they may find significantly different levels of interest in certain kinds of tools, such as what technology has to offer today (Roupa et al., 2010, p. 119).
The phenomenological approach sees the world as a nearly complete social construct; those who function within these settings respond to the normative expectations that guide the context (Wertz, n.d.). It is not about genetic or psychological constructs in the way that other theories are. If older people are expected to act in a certain way, that is presumably what they do. Personal and even collective needs and interests of a given group can be identified by studying what people do and aligning those behaviors with social perceptions (Wertz, n.d.). The individual becomes what is expected because of their circumstances and lives life based on the experiences that result. Those who study issues from this perspective expect to hear opinions from their subjects that mirror lived experience. In an era when health care and technology are preeminent topics, it is not surprising that both issues rise to the top of what elderly individuals themselves report (Pierce and Timonen, n.d., p. 5). The phenomenological perspective faces particular challenges given the fast-paced changes that technology continues to offer.
References
Brown, C., and Lowis, M. (2003). Psychosocial development in the elderly: An investigation into Erikson's ninth stage. Journal of Aging Studies, 17, 415–426.
Heckhausen, J., Wrosch, C., and Schulz, R. (2010). A motivational theory of life-span development. Psychological Review, 117(1), 32–60. DOI: 10.1037/a0017668.
Hough, M. G. (n.d.). Exploring elder consumers' interactions with information technology. Journal of Business & Economics Research, 2(6).
Intel. (2008). Technology for an aging population: Intel's Global Research Initiative.
Kenner, A. M. (2008). Securing the elderly body: Dementia, surveillance, and the politics of "aging in place." Surveillance & Society, 5(3).
Orlov, L. (2011). Connected living for social aging: Designing technology for all. AARP.
Pierce, M., and Timonen, V. (n.d.). How theories of aging can influence policy. Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland.
Roupa, Z. et al. (2010). The use of technology by the elderly. Health Science Journal, 4(2).
Wertz, F. (n.d.). Phenomenological research methods in psychology: A comparison with grounded theory, discourse analysis, narrative research, and intuitive inquiry.
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