Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
2.6
1.7
Journals
Social Sciences
Special Issues
Informal Care in the Digital Space
share announcement

Informal Care in the Digital Space

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2024) | Viewed by 3002

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Laura Wiesböck

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Advanced Studies Vienna, 1080 Vienna, Austria
Interests: digitalization; gender; social reproduction; labour market

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue emphasizes the importance of incorporating digital practices into academic discourse on informal care. Informal care can be understood as (1) unpaid care arrangements and support systems that are (2) provided by non-professional individuals and (3) tailored to the specific needs and experiences of individuals, whose condition or wellbeing would deteriorate or fail to improve without the assistance of others.

With the growth of digitalization, spaces of informal care are fundamentally changing due to altered relations of proximity and distance. However, considering that dominant narratives on informal care largely neglect digitally mediated relationship constellations, a substantial amount of informal care carried out in the digital space remains largely invisible to society. Therefore, this Special Issue aims to explore the intersection of informal care and the digital realm, delving into the various ways technology impacts, facilitates, or transforms informal care practices. The purpose of this Special Issue is to present research that explores theoretical and methodological aspects, along with empirical studies and practical applications in this field.

The editor seeks submissions including (but not limited to) the following topics:

  • Theoretical and methodological approaches to study digitization and informal care;
  • (The role of platforms or technologies in) how traditional gender roles manifest or transform within the context of digital informal care practices;
  • Informal care networks in queer identity-affirming virtual environments;
  • Digital kinship, emotional support and nurturing relationships online;
  • New digital technologies designed to facilitate and support informal care practices;
  • Sociocultural factors influencing the adoption of digital technologies in informal care;
  • Ethical and legal aspects surrounding the digital informal care landscape;
  • Digitally mediated informal care practices in the professional context.

The provided list of topics is not exhaustive, and contributors are encouraged to explore various dimensions related to the overarching theme. I am looking forward to diverse perspectives that contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the intersection between informal care and the digital space.

Dr. Laura Wiesböck
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • digitalization
  • digital technology
  • digital platforms
  • social media
  • informal care
  • care networks
  • online communities

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

22 pages, 314 KiB  
Article
Informal Home Care in the Digital Transformation: Platform Design and Work Ethics of Care
by Anna Katharina Korn
Soc. Sci. 2025, 14(4), 225; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14040225 - 3 Apr 2025
Viewed by 481
Abstract
With the aging society in Germany, the demand for informal care in private households is rising. This has led to a growing market for digital platforms that broker informal care services. Research shows that workers in elderly care, as a sub-sector of care [...] Read more.
With the aging society in Germany, the demand for informal care in private households is rising. This has led to a growing market for digital platforms that broker informal care services. Research shows that workers in elderly care, as a sub-sector of care work, often embody a work ethic centered on caring and helpfulness. However, this strong ethic can result in self-exploitation. Despite prior insights, the mediating role of digital platforms and their repercussions on work ethics remain underexplored. Therefore, this article asks how workers’ ethics of care unfold within the design of platforms in platform-mediated care. Ten narrative-oriented, in-depth interviews with platform workers on two platforms were conducted. Findings reveal that care workers in this field of platform work have a work ethic of care strongly oriented towards identification with the role of caregiver and the needs of the client. The open and unstructured design of these platforms—where worker qualifications are rarely verified to attract large numbers—devalues and informalizes care work. The lack of recognition as a legitimate profession perpetuates the perception of care work as unskilled, diminishing its professional status and fostering feelings of unprofessionalism and self-exploitation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Informal Care in the Digital Space)
12 pages, 2550 KiB  
Article
Mapping Informal Digital Care Practice in Later Life: A Playshop Model
by Caitlin McGrane, Katrin Gerber and Larissa Hjorth
Soc. Sci. 2025, 14(2), 100; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14020100 - 10 Feb 2025
Viewed by 603
Abstract
Increasingly, growing older is something we do alongside technologies. Often, through mobile media, our everyday practices of informal caring are being digitally mediated and mediatised. From apps such as Whatsapp to iOS Health, how digital technology is used to provide informal care in [...] Read more.
Increasingly, growing older is something we do alongside technologies. Often, through mobile media, our everyday practices of informal caring are being digitally mediated and mediatised. From apps such as Whatsapp to iOS Health, how digital technology is used to provide informal care in later life is poorly understood. Care operates intergenerationally and bilaterally—older adults often caring for young children as well as adult children caring for older adults with declining capacity. Mobile media technology has become an integral part of these informal care practices. Understanding what older people do with technology is important to map different media literacies, possibilities, and limitations in practice. In this paper, which draws on a larger study, we explore older adults’ informal digital practices through creative practice workshops in Victoria, Australia. In what we called ‘playshops’, we deployed playful and creative methods such as postcard prompts and mapping exercises to explore informal care practices used by older adults, many of which are so mundane that they remain invisible and are potentially missed in research. We performed this to map uses, barriers, and possibilities of mobile technologies in providing and receiving care. Based on these playshops, we argue that when digital media is used in everyday ways, it can lead to greater social connection and informal care for, with, and through older people. These everyday acts of care give voice and visibility to the diverse ways older people use technology to facilitate informal care practises. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Informal Care in the Digital Space)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 1882 KiB  
Article
The Home as a Place of Work—Who Cares and Why?
by Friederike Molitor
Soc. Sci. 2024, 13(12), 668; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13120668 - 12 Dec 2024
Viewed by 837
Abstract
As demand for privately organized care and domestic work has grown, digital platforms have emerged as key intermediaries connecting prospective workers with clients. Drawing on unique survey data collected in Germany in 2019, this study offers a systematic analysis of the sociodemographic characteristics [...] Read more.
As demand for privately organized care and domestic work has grown, digital platforms have emerged as key intermediaries connecting prospective workers with clients. Drawing on unique survey data collected in Germany in 2019, this study offers a systematic analysis of the sociodemographic characteristics of platform-mediated care and domestic workers, with particular focus on their family and household compositions and their motivations for using a digital care-work platform. The study’s findings reveal similarities between these workers, traditional care and domestic workers, and other platform workers in the gig economy. This study also focuses on how this work serves as a strategy for reconciling paid work with unpaid family responsibilities. Importantly, a noticeable proportion of the workers have unpaid care responsibilities for children or other family members and friends while pursuing platform work. When asked about their reasons for using a digital platform, the workers mostly name the income potential, job flexibility, and independence that this platform-mediated work provides. However, the motivations of different groups of workers vary: those with children more often value the balance of paid work and family life that this work offers, while financial incentives and professional development are less of a priority. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Informal Care in the Digital Space)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop