Ce numéro spécial de la revue Essachess - Journal for Communication Studies a pour objectif de rassembler des contributions qui explorent les défis et les opportunités liés à l’usage de la communication numérique par les personnes âgées. Il vise à mieux comprendre le rôle des nouvelles technologies de l'information et de la communication dans la définition des différentes représentations et significations du vieillissement dans la société en réseau. Nous vous invitons à soumettre des manuscrits originaux tels recherches originales et articles théoriques ou empiriques, qui traitent de la relation entre le vieillissement et la communication numérique.

Argument

Demographically,  the  world  is  about  to  enter  a  new  era. As the  ageing  population  is a well documented phenomenon and  the  older  adults  are  relatively  affluent worldwide, ageing has become a major topic of the contemporary academic and public discourses. Once understood only  as  a  disengagement  from  the  active  life  or  as  a biological status, ageing is  to  gain  new social meanings. In  the  meantime,  another ubiquitous phenomenon impacts nowadays  social interactions and everyday life: the emerging of digital communication. Over the past decade, digitization  has  made  considerable  progress and  the  new  ICTs are being  rapidly  diffused on the large segmentsof the population.Related  to  ageing  and  digital  communication,  at  least  two  research  directions have been addressed on the   communication science research   agenda,   specifically   (1) How   the widespreadof newtechnologies are changing the norms and practices of the later life?  And (2) How social  actors,  groups,institutions and mainstream media provide, spread or constrain ways of growing  older  via  digital  devices?

These  questions shaped novel  and interdisciplinary approaches at  the  convergence  of the sociology  of  ageing, communication and media studies, psychology, gerontology and human computer interaction. 1The  journal ESSACHESS is  covered  in  Scopus  Elsevier, ProQuest  CSA, EBSCO  Publishing, Index Copernicus, DOAJ, Ulrich's, Gale, J-Gate, CEEOL, Genamics Journal Seek, SSRN, GESIS –Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Social Science Open Access Repository (SSOAR), MLA Directory, and DRJI (Directory  of  Research  Journal  Indexing )databases.  The  journal  is  also  recognized  by HCERES -French  Evaluation  Agency  for  Research  and  higher  Education and  sustained  by  the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie.

In the case of using new digital devices, on the one hand older people have been stereotyped according with their age, as a minority with limited agency and increased dependency, as frail and  underrepresented  compared  with  their  younger  counterparts. On  the  other  hand,  the constant  growth  of  the digital  seniors has  brought  into  attention the  concept  of  autonomy, self-efficacy  and powerof doingand portrayingageing.  In  these  contexts,  a more  inclusive and diverse representations of ageing are considered desirable by the seniors’ media users, but the attempt to delivery such an age-friendly media content and image remains scarce.  As  it is seen,  the  reflection  on  these  two  interconnected  spectres –the  demographic  turn (ageing) and the unprecedented speed of digitalization (digital communication) –gave rise to a  controversial  debate  on  the  meanings,  portrayals  and  experience  of  ageing  along  with  the perceived advantages  and  disadvantages  of  using  digital  devices  at  old  age.The ongoing debates on ageing and communication reflect the diversity of the experience of ageing in and within the  new internet-based  technologies,  whereas  item powers  and  disempowers older adults to function in society and to lead a healthy and fulfilling life.This  special  issue aims  to  bring  together  contributions  that  explore both the  challenges  and opportunities of using digital communication  later  in  life,  and seek  to  better  understand the role  of new  technologies in shaping  the  diverse  portrayals  and  meanings  of  ageing in  the network  society.  We  invite  you  to  submit  original manuscripts  of  diverse  types:  original research,  systematic  reviews,  and  theoretical  papers,  which  address  the  relationship  between ageing and digital communication.

Submission guidelines

Important Deadlines

• January 2,2020:  submission  of  the  proposal  in  the  form  of  an  abstract  of  maximum  2 pages.

The proposal must include a list of recent references and 5 keywords;

• February 2, 2020: acceptance of the proposal;
• June 15, 2020: full paper submission;
• October 15, 2020: full paper acceptance.

Full  papers  should  be  between  6,000-8,000  words  in  length.  Papers  can  be  submitted  in  English  or French.  The  abstracts  should  be  in  English  and  French  (150-200  words) followed  by  5  keywords. Please  provide  the  full  names,  affiliations,  and  e-mail addresses of all authors, indicating the contact author. Papers, and any queries, should be sent to:essachess@gmail.com

Authors  of  the  accepted  papers  will  be  notified  by  e-mail.  The  journal  will  be  published  in December2020.

Guest editors

• Dr. Loredana IVAN, Associate Professorat National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Romania European Network of Ageing Studies Chair, loredana.ivan@comunicare.ro
• Dr. Alina DUDUCIUC, Senior Lecturerat, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Romania, Health Communication TWG-ECRE, Aalina.duduciuc@comunicare.ro