Page 1 of 14
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP
e-ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 01 Issue 07
August 2015
Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 389
Impact of e-culture on life satisfaction among elderly
Jyotsana Maurya1, Dr. Kiran U.V.2
Research Scholar1 & Assistant Professor2
Department Of Human Development And Family Studies, School For Home Sciences
Babashaheb Bhimrao Ambedker University, Lucknow
Email: jyotsana296@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Electronic technology is changing our life- style to a great extent. Prevalence and
excessive use of electronic products found
among people, cutting across cultural
differences, have set in a trend for e- culture. The present study focuses on
impact of e-culture on life satisfaction
among elderly. The study was carried out
in lucknow. Multistage sampling technique
was fallowed in the present study. The
sample for this study comprised of 120
elderly individuals (60 females and 60
males respectively) from urban and semi- urban areas. E-culture Inventory:
developed by Patel and Rajendran (2005)
Life satisfaction scale by were used to
assess the e-culture and life satisfaction,
respectively Griffin et al (1985), The
sample of this study were personally and
individually contacted and data was
obtained through face-to face interview.
The present study reveals that e-culture is
positively and significantly related to life- satisfaction.
Keywords: E-culture, elderly, life- satisfaction.
INTRODUCTION
Electronic technology is changing
our life-style to a great extent. Prevalence
and excessive use of electronic products
found among people, cutting across
cultural differences, have set in a trend for
e-culture. Electronic-culture is new. It is
emerging as a transnational and global
phenomenon; not confined to geographical
boundaries. Internet, especially, is
expected to bring in sweeping and lasting
cultural transformations. For instance,
terms like e-commerce, e-business, e- banking, e-mails, e-organizations, e- governance, e-journals, e-books, e- medicine, internet, web-shopping, etc have
become part of the current lexicon.
The advances and breakthroughs
made in the fields of information and
communication technology (ICT) and
electronics during the present and previous
centuries have resulted in the emergence of
e-culture. Though the ICT revolution
started in the near past its progress towards
networking is achieved only recently
Page 2 of 14
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP
e-ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 01 Issue 07
August 2015
Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 390
through the impetus provided by the
Internet (Uzelac, 2003). According to
Mercer (2003) it is the ICT-availability
and access to Internet that provides scope
for production of e-culture. However,
today the emergence of e-culture is taken
for granted due to prevalence of the
interactive digital applications of the ICT
such as Internet and mobile technologies
(Mitchell, 2003).
Van Dijk (2001) identified four
different types of access to ICT as
conditions for the emergence of e-culture,
namely, motivation, possession, use and
skills. Motivation concerns psychical
access to ICT: the interest in it, the will to
use it and the lack of fear of new
technology. Possession means, in this
context, the availability of equipment and
an Internet connection at home or at work,
School or University. The third component
of access is the actual use that people make
of available possibilities. The use depends
in part on the fourth form of access,
namely the possession of digital skills (De
Haan & Huysmans, 2002).
E-culture though prevalent widely, is
a recent phenomenon. The scientist
community has not explored much of it
now. De Haan and Huysmans (2002)
cautions that the exploration of e-culture
may only be the start of a long-term
process of change taking place at a global
level. Research on e-culture presently is at
a rudimentary level and so is its concept.
Scholars in this field have tried to define e- culture in various ways, but all being far
from conclusive.
E-culture is increasingly perceived as
a new digital media culture or
digitalization of culture. Netherlands
council for culture (2004) argues that,
within the context of the 'digitializing
society,' e-culture should be seen as the
integration of ICT into the primary
processes of productivity, distribution,
presentation, preservation and
(re)utilization of cultural expression.
According to the view of De Haan and
Huysmans (2002) the term 'e-culture' is
stated to refer to the diffusion of new
technology, its application for various
avenues such as information and
communication in addition to shifts
effected in related attitudes, values and
norms. Patel and Rajendran (2005) have
defined "electronic culture" as "increased
use of electronic goods by individuals in
various areas like home, office, public
places and those they carry personally with
them, to fulfil their psycho-social needs."
Page 3 of 14
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP
e-ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 01 Issue 07
August 2015
Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 391
E-culture is both technological and a
social development. There is a widespread
consensus that new digital and networking
technologies like the World Wide Web
(WWW) and the Internet have the capacity
to reorder the domains of everyday social
and personal life (Dona Kolar-Panov,
2003). Cultural habits and participation in
cultural life are changing as a corollary of
e-culture. Hence, it would be pertinent
here to consider briefly the concept and
importance of culture in the light of a
psychological focus leading to the study
on the impact of e-culture.
According to Brislin (2000) one of
the major assumptions of cross-cultural
social psychology is that culture shapes
human behavior. Numerous advanced
theories of social behavior indicate that
cultural factors play significant role in the
determination of behavior, shaping values,
self, and motivation of individuals
(Markus & Kitayama, 1991). Lehman et al
(2004) point out that culture and
psychological processes influence one
another and a dynamic interplay exists
between them.
Culture aims to ensure a harmonious
relationship between human-beings and
their environment. Psychological well- being remains the main focus of cultural
norms and practices. Myers and Diener
(1995) refer to life-satisfaction as one of
the three key aspects of psychological
well-being, the others being positive and
negative affect. Life satisfaction stands
together with the affective elements to
yield a relatively comprehensive picture of
psychological well-being (Diener et al.,
1999). Chirkov et al (2005) found 'culture- fit' is positively associated with life
satisfaction.
Adjustment to cultural demands is
essential for psychological well-being and
life-satisfaction. But cultures are diverse
and dynamic social systems and not static
monoliths (Bandura, 2002). Cultural
changes are inevitable and tend to create
new demands which the elderly may find
difficult to fulfill. Now the dawning of e- culture emphasizes the acquiring of digital
skills and demands shifts in related
attitudes, values and norms. Access and
usage of electronic technology will be an
important determinant of life-satisfaction
in this era of e-culture.
Aging has been generally
conceptualized as merely anumerical
matter of advanced age, and studies in this
field have been based on numerical age
rather than individuals’ own subjective
