Thursday, October 17, 2013
Analysis of Digital Landscape
My digital landscape is all about the world of senior centers and their participants. While researching, the first thing that I noticed was the abundance of bright, colorful pictures. The search results included pictures of groups of seniors engaging in various activities, like exercising, quilting, dining and dancing. In all of the pictures, the seniors are smiling and look like they are having a wonderful time. To me, this represents the extensive variety of activities that senior centers supply, and the fact that all of them seriously enjoy being a part of the community and participating in these activities. Many of the websites I viewed were from various senior centers across the country, so that I could get a feel for senior centers other than Salvatore Mancini. The texts on the websites that I saw were all large and colorful, portraying a cheerful, welcoming feeling and oftentimes accompanied by photos of the centers themselves and calendars listing the many upcoming events. The general message of these websites seem to be that all are welcome in these places, and the bright graphics that display the upcoming events seem to beckon to the seniors of the community, begging them to come and take part in the excitement. There is definite evidence that in places involved in this subculture, there is always something going on to get the seniors involved. There is a general vibe of liveliness that seems to come from these web pages, which may be unexpected to some, considering that the intended audience is senior citizens, which many people may not expect to be so lively and involved. This leads me to another surprising fact that I stumbled upon in my searching. According to the National Council on Aging's website, 75% of senior center participants visit the center 1-3 times per week and spend an average of 3.3 hours each time they visit. This fact shows me that most of those who choose to participate in the activities at senior centers enjoy themselves so much that they keep on coming back. There were some other interesting facts on this web page as well, for example, about 70% of senior center participants are women and about half of them live alone. This makes me wonder why there are so many more women than men, but it also proves that it is very possible for seniors to be independent, and that senior centers can be a very helpful resource for who live alone. The website also states that "compared with their peers, senior center participants have higher levels of health, social interactions, and life satisfaction and lower levels of income". Judging by what I have seen on the websites that I investigated, I can definitely see how this is true. If a person is involved in such a healthy environment, it would definitely manifest itself in a positive way and could translate into the senior being healthier and more satisfied with their life by providing a community and a sense of purpose.
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I like how you expanded your search to many senior centers around the country to see if you could find anything in common, and what is different! The focus on the bright graphics is especially interesting, I myself wonder the exact reason for this, but can only assume it has something to do with appealing to seniors as you've said. I think it's pretty interesting that you picked up on the disparity between men and women at the centers, and it'd definitely be something to analyze. One explanation could be the higher life expectancy of women. I think that life expectancy studies show that women in the United States live on average of 5 years longer than men. It has something to do with when the usual onset of cardiovascular diseases occur if I'm remembering right. Still it's likely there are many more social reasons besides that and they'll be something interesting to look into. The power of positive outlook to manifest health as you described is something extremely interesting to study! I'd love to hear more about the health contrasts between those who are spirited and lively, and those who are angry or sad. Keep up the good work and great job on your digital landscape analysis!
ReplyDeleteI think it’s interesting that the senior center web pages are so colorful and bright, I would have expected them to have a more serious façade. But if you we think about it senior citizens are like kids, they tend to enjoy the colorful, happy simple things of life. The fact that 70% of the senior center participants are woman leaves me wondering why? I have read a research saying that woman are more prone to depression than man, so that may be why more woman participate and like to be active, instead of staying seclude and depressed. And maybe that it’s why we live longer, we are more active and more social than man. But I will be waiting to hear what you find out. I really love that you decided to do your field work in a senior center. Keep op the great work!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnother thing you could consider, in regards to the web pages, is whether the seniors are the complete audience of the website, or if it's geared towards their children as well. Many times, the children of the elderly are the ones who try to get their parents to engage in activities. You could look into if and how the center tries to make connections with the seniors' families, or if it's just the seniors. The statistics on the gender breakdown are very interesting, and not what I would have expected at all.
ReplyDeleteI am so jealous that you get to hang out with the elderly folk for your research! Seniors are some of the wisest people around and they always have a story to share. One of the things that I found interesting was the large font you said you found on the website. Whoever created the site was definitely thinking about their audience. I liked that you brought up the point about there being more women participating in activities than men. Women tend to live longer than men, but I think it has a lot to do with men not wanting to get involved with "old people". A lot of the time, men have a more difficult time dealing with old age than women and don't want to contribute. Very interesting!
ReplyDeleteThat is so sweet to see all the happy pictures of the elderly enjoying their time at the nursing homes! From how you describe their website, it sounds like the establishments are really trying to attract people with their happy pictures, colorful yet readable fonts, and easy to navigate websites. One thing I thought of though, is if they make it seem a little too happy? Depending on some elderly's situations, I know some that wouldn't be excited to be living in a nursing home. Regardless, the pictures may give hope to some of the weary folks that nursing homes are better than they sound. I'm really interested to hear how your interviews go with the people there!!
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