Social Media and Family Dynamics across the Life Course A Multi-Generational Perspective

Deborah Lowry is Professor of Criminal Justice and Sociology at the University of Montevallo, where she teaches a range of undergraduate courses. Her work has focused on life course sociology, with a particular interest in applying sociological perspectives to real-world societal challenges and everyday life. She is the author of Aging and the Life Course: Social and Cultural Contexts (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022) and has written on demographic change, intergenerational relationships, and social problems. She earned an M.A. in Sociology from Western Michigan University, a Ph.D. from Michigan State University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan Population Studies Center.

Kimiko Tanaka is Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at James Madison University. She has received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from Michigan State University. She has published articles on Japan to discuss aging, families, culture, rural depopulation, and gender. Her recent publication, Successful Aging in a Rural Community in Japa n, highlights the importance of the quality of the community in achieving healthy aging in rural Japan, and provides the important insight that words such as “rural” and “depopulation” do not simply equate with negative outcomes for the elderly in rural Japan. She is currently working on a book on Japanese regional festivals based on archival data, observations, and interviews. It tackles two major questions: Why and how do some Japanese regional festivals thrive and continue to create social solidarity and place-based identities in rapidly changing landscapes?