This paper considers what we can learn from the experiences of people who choose not to participate in technology-based social interventions. We conducted ethnographically-informed field studies with socially isolated older adults, who used and evaluated a new iPad application designed to help build new social connections. In this paper we reflect on how the values and assumptions guiding the technological intervention were not always shared by those participating in the evaluation. Drawing on our field notes and interviews with the older adults who chose to discontinue participation, we use personas to illustrate the complexities and tensions involved in individual decisions to not participate. This analysis contributes to HCI research calling for a more critical perspective on technological interventions. We provide detailed examples highlighting the complex circumstances of our non-participants' lives, present a framework that outlines the socio-technical context of non-participation, and use our findings to promote reflective practice in HCI research that aims to address complex social issues.

In this paper we examine the use of a novel social technology to support the provision of formal aged care services to clients who live in their own homes. Social technologies offer enormous potential for enhancing aged care, but research on their use in aged care has largely focused on institutional or informal care settings, rather than formal care in the home. Meanwhile, technologies for aging in place typically focus on monitoring and security, rather than psychosocial support. We conducted a field study in which aged care managers used a photo and message-sharing tool to communicate with clients living in their own homes. Our findings demonstrate that visual and social forms of communication are valuable for supporting psychosocial care-giving, but there are barriers to effectively adopting new communication tools in this setting. Time constraints inhibited care managers' use of the technology, which was also influenced by their efforts to carefully maintain boundaries between their personal and professional lives.