Placing the Home in Context: Scale, Audience, Levels, Time, and Equity

Ann Forsyth

How can digitalization help, or hinder, the wellbeing of older people who want to age in the community rather than in an institution? Responding to two papers—by Jennifer Molinsky, Samara Scheckler, Bailey Hu; and Carlos Martín—I point to five common themes: scale, audience, levels of automation, time, and equity. These issues demonstrate the complex landscape of digitalization, even when focusing on the home.

This paper was presented as part of “Panel 4: How Is Digitalization Transforming How Housing Is Used?” at the symposium Bringing Digitalization Home: How Can Technology Address Housing Challenges?, hosted by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies in March 2022.