Social Computing and Older Adults: Challenges with Data Loss and Digital Legacies

Abstract

The inability to recognise the value of data in the form of digital objects and digital assets held in virtual social environments amplifies the data loss legacy challenges for older adults. This study examines the data storage and transfer issues that arise when people pass away. Older people experience data loss when they engage with social digital environments. Social computing has different legacy practices for the transfer and mobility of digital assets to physical assets. Recognizing the value of digital assets in their monetary, historical, sentimental, and legal characteristics is critical to the reduction of unnecessary data loss under legacy conditions.