Seniors in the interface society: Connectivity and the loss of community

In today‘s society ICT plays a crucial role. Life becomes more and more digital. In private lives and in public space, we are progressively connected by means of digital devices. ICT becomes the dominant factor in society. EU promotes e-Inclusion, aiming ―at reducing gaps in ICT usage and promoting the use of ICT to overcome exclusion, and improve economic performance, employment opportunities, quality of life, social participation and cohesion.‖ But since ICT are embraced by both politics and economics, the general discussion about their use has stopped being critical. Interface society seems to be the dominant paradigm, that brings up feelings of anxiety, social isolation, solitude, fear and raises questions like loss of community, mass manipulation, mass surveillance and even mass delusion. The dominant discourse of this ICT ideology is that of economics: its semantics are about gain, profit, access, competition, time, efficiency, employment, savings. There is a strong bias in favour of young people, which denies the interests of seniors, their needs and their way of life. This was the finding also in a 2-year program, in which some 40 seniors, coming from 11 EU countries met 5 times, and were asked to discuss and confront on political and social implications of the use of ICT. The piloy study‘s results show seniors‘ main concerns: which kind of social, economical, technical, ethical, political and cultural problems senior citizens handle in the interface society. Seniors‘ response stresses that more and more suffer from solitude, loneliness and social isolation. Moreover there is what Mordini et al. (2009) call somatic surveillance. The study also shows concerns about EU values being undermined: respect for human beings, their freedoms, rights and dignity; the principles of solidarity and responsibility; the rule of law and equality before the law; cultural diversity; the consolidation of the EU social model; and the development of local and regional autonomy.