The Homeland In Voices: A Study On The Emotional Practice Of The Middle-Aged And Elderly Actively In Online Karaoke

The access to the internet among the elderly,is a popular topic of aging communication recently,but not many studies have been conducted to highlight their life stories.In view of this,this study uses in-depth interviews and a year-long online ethnographies,within the theoretical context of sociology of emotions and individuation,to deeply describe the emotional practices of middle-aged and elderly who are active in a community of Karaoke software.In other words,to explore how they build intimate relationships and create sense from online to offline.The study found that,firstly,the symbolic interactions of middle-aged and elderly,which are more active than those of youth,reflect the former’s particular experiences and emotional memories,and are a convenient means of reach the ideal self.Secondly,as a medium for inscribing emotions,music is an ideal resource for exchanging emotions,through which middle-aged and elderly use songs to meet friends,accumulate emotional energy,and further reconstruct the binary division between strong and weak relationships,through behaviours such as inter-provincial gatherings and internetworking.Finally,under the influence of the wave of individualization,the ’new elderly’ in China born after the 1950 s have re-embedded themselves in a more resilient network of intimate relationships,with ’bloodless relatives’ providing a sense of security outside the family,after being de-embedded from the collective and the unit.In a sense,this case presents a possibility for the’altruistic individualism’ of Ulrich Beck and Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim: there is no contradiction between to live a life of one’s own with social integration.The implication of this for active aging is that the ’new elderly’ have the opportunity to become active practitioners of life-politics and the meaning of life,and that it is imperative to create a more inclusive social ground for them.