*CFP* "MEDIA AND THE NEW MEDIA ECOSYSTEM", SPECIAL ISSUE SENEX JOURNAL OF AGING STUDIES

Since 2018, Senex Journal of Aging Studies deals with aging in files comprised of articles evaluating aging more within the historical – sociological context of its relational nature, rather than just discussing it as a stand-alone issue. Within this scope, the subject of the second file of Senex has been determined as Media and the New Media Ecosystem.

One of the haikus of Bashou expresses the cycle of life and the passion we have for life, as follows: “I am in Kyo, but, oh bird of life, I still miss Kyo!” Aging causes us to long for the past, in particular our youth, with nostalgia, and to remember it as if past times were somehow better times. More precisely, the myth of “youth” is configured in the life course so as to be remembered in a more noble light. The media, in particular, plays an important role in the regeneration of this myth. 

The phenomenon of aging changes the utilization of the media and practices of new media in daily life. The practices of the media and new media within the life course, representation of this cycle in various environments of the media and new media, use of technologies and information technologies in aging, and the development of gerontechnological products are important subjects which have been dealt with in the international literature. However, in Turkey, aging studies and both generational differences and heterogeneity of old age from interdisciplinary and intersectional points of view are relatively new. 

In particular, the phenomenon of digital inequality exhibits differences and variations based on gender, ethnicity, and social class, among older generations. Digital inequality itself is varied under numerous different headings such as ownership of resources, access to resources, and inequalities in individuals skill set aptitudes. The flow of information and the use of information technologies also vary among the different generations, as displayed in generational differences in habits displayed on social media usage. The media and new media ecosystem used is shaped according to the individuals cultural and economic capital possessed up until that time. Deprivations and possession affect the use of the ecosystem. If we accept the media and new media ecosystem as a cultural and economic “area”, it will be possible for us to observe how the individual’s existence is shaped and affected by intersections of numerous components in daily life.

Given this background, Senex: Journal of Aging Studies will publish its second file, entitled, The Media and New Media Ecosystem, in November 2019. As such, the Media and New Media Ecosystem file will include studies, which assesses the practicalities of existence of different generations in an aging community within the media and new media ecosystem. Suggested research questions which may be addressed in this file are listed as follows:

• What are older generations doing within the media and new media ecosystems? 
• How are different generations being included in the new media ecosystem? 
• How is the phenomenon of aging represented in the media and new media? 
• What opportunities might the media and new media ecosystems create by eliminating social isolation brought about by aging? 
• By demonstrating sensitivity to heterogeneity among older adults, what mobile application designs promise to make life easier for older adults? How can these applications be used? 
• How would being connected to the modern public sector and being included in the virtual extension bring value to society, especially to older adults? 
• What are the positive and negative roles of smart technologies, the Internet of things and the vehicles of observation in the process of aging? 
• What appearance do the skills of digital literacy, which in our day, have become a requirement like basic reading and writing, have among the different generations? 
• What impact do digital inequality types have on the different generations? 
• At what levels are the possessions of digital skills, literacy of technology and the social media found among the older generations in Turkey today? 
• What, if any, are the macro social policy (either indirectly or via information technologies) goals for the elimination of social inequalities between older male and female populations?

The guest editor of this file will be Prof. Dr. Mutlu Binark, the Faculty of Communications at Hacettepe University, while the assistant editor will be Dr. Bilge Narin, Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University Researchers who wish to contribute to the Media and New Media Ecosystem file may submit articles, prepared in accordance with the Senex: Journal of Aging Studies format criteria, to binark@hacettepe.edu.tr and senex@akdeniz.edu.tr, by May 3, 2019.