Despite ageist stereotypes about older people’s abilities to engage with information and communication technologies, grandparents are increasingly engaged with digital media. Grandmothers, in particular, are primarily responsible for using of web-based services to communicate with their children and grandchildren (Quadrello et al., 2005). Photos and news from children and grandchildren, especially grandbabies, act as important incentives for grandparents to go online. The purpose of the study, therefore, was to investigate how grandmothers use Facebook to facilitate family communication with children and grandchildren who move far away from home. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with grandmothers living in Romania and Canada, having a Facebook account and relevant family members (children or grandchildren) far from home. Three themes emerged from the data indicating: 1) the tendency to switch between different platforms to facilitate family communication; 2) the relative passive use of Facebook, focusing on photos and quotations as content that trigger emotions; 3) that Facebook usage is influenced by social norms around decency and privacy. Findings suggest that family relationships play a central role in grandmothers’ motivations and behaviours surrounding Facebook use.

中文翻译：

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互联网上的奶奶：祖母对Facebook进行家庭交流的经历

尽管对老年人使用信息和通信技术的能力存在年龄歧视的陈规定型观念，但祖父母与数字媒体的接触却越来越多。特别是祖母，主要负责使用基于Web的服务与他们的子孙进行沟通（Quadrello等，2005）。来自儿童和孙辈（尤其是祖父母）的照片和新闻，成为祖父母上网的重要诱因。因此，该研究的目的是调查祖母如何使用Facebook促进与远离家乡的孩子和孙子的家庭交流。对居住在罗马尼亚和加拿大的祖母进行了半结构化访谈，他们拥有一个Facebook帐户，并且相关的家庭成员（子女或孙子女）离家很远。数据显示出三个主题：1）在不同平台之间切换以促进家庭沟通的趋势；2）相对被动地使用Facebook，主要关注照片和语录作为触发情感的内容；3）Facebook的使用受到有关礼节和隐私的社会规范的影响。研究结果表明，家庭关系在祖母围绕Facebook使用的动机和行为中起着核心作用。