Digital services in eldercare : exploring the dualities in the domestication of welfare technologies

IntroductionThe implementation of welfare technologies in Swedish eldercare reflects ongoing sociotechnical transitions, which promise to optimise care practices and administrative processes. AimOur study explores how eldercare personnel interpret and ascribe meanings to welfare technologies in their everyday care work.Material and MethodsThe study draws on an empirical dataset comprising 181 photographs and accompanying textual narratives from 61 participants across four municipalities in southern Sweden. Thematic analysis was employed to identify patterns in how welfare technologies are conceptualised and utilised. Perceived "convenience" emerged as a recurring analytical category. Perceived "convenience" was analysed through the lens of sociotechnical configurations and user interpretations to elucidate the multifaceted roles of welfare technologies in care work.ResultsParticipants framed welfare technologies within broader cultural narratives of technological solutionism, reflecting policy discourses that promote welfare technologies as tools for feelings of safety, fostering independence and enhancing activity among care recipients. Six dimensions of perceived convenience were identified: remote surveillance, logistics, communication, safety, comfort and activation. The dimensions of perceived convenience illustrate how welfare technologies mediate care practices and relational engagements. Instances of "inconvenience" were also reported, attributed to issues such as technical rigidity, operational inefficiencies and task redundancies.ConclusionsOur study contributes to understanding the domestication of welfare technologies as a sociotechnical process shaped by care practices, policy imperatives and broader cultural imaginaries. While perceived convenience emerged as a central theme, it cannot be reduced to a singularly positive attribute but instead reflects the co-constitutive dynamics of human and technological actors. Welfare technologies, such as surveillance cameras/ sensors and robotic pets, were often perceived as mediators of care, substituting physical proximity with technological interaction. Our findings highlight how welfare technologies reconfigure care relationships, operational logics and value systems, thereby reinforcing as well as challenging dominant discourses of technological solutionism and care optimisation.