Internet as a tool for transforming family relationships between older adults and family migrants

Abstract

In a globalized society and increasingly directed to technological advances, creating new instruments capable of transforming the way we communicate, has managed to involve or restrict various aspects and characters, it is for this reason that this qualitative study, study uses and appropriations that have the elderly of the municipality of Montenegro, Colombia, regarding the Internet as a tool capable of maintaining and transform family relationships between them and their relatives who are abroad. This research allows us to analyze the new meanings given to the Internet at the family level, specifically for the Elderly, since when the migration occurs communicative needs are transcendental. This article also describes the changing family roles by migration, identifies the rituals that are assumed regarding the use of the device (computer) and therefore of the Internet and the sense that it gives the elderly to communicate with their migrant family. The methodology used is qualitative, hermeneutical historical approach and based on the use of structured interviews open and participant observations, which allow researchers to delve into the reality of research subjects, allowing the participation.