"Var det bättre förr?" -En kvalitativ studie om smarttelefonanvändning och dess påverkan på sociala relationer

Sammanfattning: Smartphones seem to take increasingly bigger place in people's lives, and surveys show that the usage is more frequent amongst elders than ever before. Today, almost the entire population in Sweden is using a smartphone. With that comes new possibilities, but also new challenges. Previous research within the subject is mainly based on psychological theories, and more often targets the younger generations rather than the older ones. This study analyzes people ́s usage and perception of the smartphone from a sociological perspective. The aim of the study is to get an extended understanding of how smartphones are affecting the social existence of people in a specific age group. The main research questions concern the ways individuals use smartphones, as well as how they perceive the usage of smartphones in terms of their social relationships and the differences in opinions between individuals within the same generation. The study uses a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews with six individuals, all aged between 45 – 55 years and with the possession of a smartphone. The results show that the smartphone is seen as a tool for enabling relationships. On the other hand, though, the depth of the relationships seems to be somewhat limited. The study also reveals a certain degree of scepticism among the interviewees when it comes to certain functions, and as well an inclination to reduce their personal usage of the smartphone.