The relation between individual and collective memory within an ageing society Jens S. Dangschat, Vienna University of Technology, ISRA Science with and for Society Memory: To know, To preserve, To share Memory: Preservation Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Palazzo Corsini 19 th of November 2014, Roma

Content 1.Individual memory 2.Collective memory 3.Collective memories of older people 4.Societal variance of individual memory 5.Ageing societies and Web 2.0

Individual Memory Individual memory is defined as a personal interpretation of an event from ones own life This personality is related to own ex- periences during socialisation processes and thus it is highly subjective But: All subjective memories are related to the cognition of relevant peers and thus are the basis for collective memories (as we-identification of social groups)

Individual Memory in Relation to Collective Memory Alice Burns: Memory. The social group in which s/he identifies with unquestion- ably influences the opinions, beliefs, and attitude of the individual. Individuals weave together their past experien- ces to form collective memories.

Collective Memory Each ‘we’ is constructed through specific discourses that mark certain boundary lines and define respective principles of inclusion and exclusion and suggests that to acknowledge the concept of collective memory is to acknowledge the concept of some collective identity Collective memories are socially con- structed based on common sentiments, values, and the present circumstances in which the group finds itself

Collective Memory Memories created by groups serve an important role in creating a sense of identity within the group. They may also provide the members of the group with a particular method of interpreting their common experiences that may allow the individuals to cope with socio- spatial situations Collectives can be defined by nations, generations, classes, ethnicities, gender, places etc.

Collective Memory of Older People Older people share – like other generations – phases of socialisation under specific contexts (like war, civil unrest, waves of modernisation, using ICT etc.) In phases of strong social, economic and technological change, older people memories are endangered to fade away Auguste Comte remarked that mental equi- librium was, first and foremost, due to the fact that the physical objects of our daily contact change little or not at all Maurice Halbwachs quoted that mental illness is accompanied by a breakdown of contact between thought and things

Societal Variance of Individual Memory  Age (internal variation in relation to health and coping capacity)  Sex / gender (experiences of gender worlds)  Education (level and content)  Class (economical accessibility, education)  Social milieu (value system, belief)  Life-style (routines of activities)  Place  Socio-physical setting (identification)  Social construction of places (  spacing)  (the need of) immobility of things vs. the internet of things

Computer Interest in Relation to Age Computer Interest Age - simple model

Pschological Variance of Computer Interest Computer Interest Computer KnowledgeComputer Anxiety Age Education mediation model Source: Ellis & Allaire 1999

Societal Variance of Computer Interest Computer Interest Computer KnowledgeComputer Anxiety Age Gender / SexClass Social Milieu Ethnicity Education model of social inequality

Ageing Societies and Web 2.0 Digital divide for older people  lack of access  lack of experience But: (growing) differences of how computers are used Age as factor – diminishing or perpetuation?  technical anxiety  mental restrictions (perceptual, cognitive)  coping capacities  physical restrictions (visual, motor) Construction of memory via face-to-face contacts, place- bound vs. „smartphonisation“ and „tableting“ of the world increasingly irrelevant

Collective Memories in Web 2.0 Collective memory is sustained through a continuous production of represen- tational forms The digital world generates a flow of and production of second hand memories Collective memories today differs from the production of memories of an oral culture: The production of imagined communities is based on sharing sense of heritage and commonality with human beings we have never met newspapers  film  radio  TV  video recorders  DVD  internet  YouTube  blogs  clouds

Collective Memories as Result of Economic Interest Google has an economic interest to store (not to preserve) all cultural heritage produced over human history Google is the company with highest worth at stock market (followed by Microsoft and Apple) Due to its network google is ruling the world by its pressure on technological change Google is not interested in the memories of older people unless it promises an economic success Memories in Web 2.0, 3.0 … will be determined – beside the economic interest – by the respective younger generation, older people will be involved only by adapting the devices. Therefore, they will loose their possibilities to preserve their memories

Thank You for Your Attention Contact: Vienna University of Technology Faculty of Architecture and Spatial Planning Department of Spatial Planning Centre of Sociology (ISRA)‏ Paniglgasse 16 / Mezzanin, A Vienna Tel.: +43 (0)