The Internet is becoming increasingly important as a means to finding friendship and facilitating relationship formation. Whilst there is considerable research detailing different kinds of online relationships, their prevalence, their forms, their impacts and their development into and impact on offline relationships, information regarding older adults in this context is scarce.
Research to date has largely focused on looking at older adults' use of the Internet to access medical information, to find social support and to conduct genealogy research. The sexuality of older adults is a subject still attracting many societal taboos. The current research aims to bring older adults and their sexual relationships into the forefront of public thinking, in an effort to dispel some of these taboos.
The present study investigates whether (becoming older adults are developing online intimate relationships (cyberdaters) and, if so, the forms these relationships take and the functions they serve. For instance, are these relationships companionate or are they sexual? The study looks at whether these relationships are primary or secondary to other relationships – both online and offline (cybercheating). The study also asks whether it is considered cheating if the relationship stays online and never becomes a face-to-face relationship, even if it does or does not progress to an online sexual relationship (cybersex) and, further, whether it is considered cheating if the offline partner is infirm and/or incapacitated?
Older adults (65 years plus) are recruited through online senior forums (for example, SeniorNet.com). Semi-structured qualitative interviews are conducted via synchronous computer-mediated-communication (private chat). Interviews are transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis. Preliminary results will be presented. It is anticipated that discussion of these results will be both lively and informative!
Conflict of Interest: None disclosed
Financial Support/Funding: None disclosed
Sydney, Australia, April 2007
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