Television, An Analyzer of Aging?

By Vincent Caradec
English

This article draws on several corpuses of interviews with retirees (aged between 60 and 98) and uses a particular analyser, the relationship to television, to explore the ageing process. In the first part three stages in ageing are examined: the early years of retirement; the period following the spouse's death, and 'withdrawal'?. The latter phenomenon, at the heart of ageing, is identified through two phases - withdrawal from outside activities and withdrawal from television viewing - and through the distinction between activities practised and interest in the world. In the second part we examine how television can be a 'partner'? in the construction of the oldest retirees' identity. We see how it allows a 'connection'? to the past self, provides useful resources for self-reassertion, and sustains questioning on the person's position in relation to the 'aged'? category.

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