本文延續過去有關「老人傳播」研究之探索脈絡,改從「方法論」 (methodology) 剖析其困境與未來展望。除「前言」略述並回顧此次領域發展 之起因與本質外,本文其餘部分皆在反思「老人傳播」研究之限制,如有關 「研究對象」之定義與內涵、研究者之「世界觀」以及「研究設計」等。本 文認為,「老人傳播」研究者習視研究對象為體能與智力皆在衰退的高齡族 群 , 忽略了不同年齡層之老人表現亦有差異且各有特色,未來實應調整其名 為「人老傳播」,旨在關注個 ( 老 ) 人如何感知生命歷程之變化以適應其「長 老」(growing old) 而非僅是「變老」(getting old) 之實,從而樂於將其轉化 為故事述說以與他人 ( 如家庭成員與同儕友人 ) 共享並建立互動關係。次則引 介來自心理學的反思經驗,藉此呼籲老人傳播研究者理應仿效、學習並持樂 觀與超越自我的精神來持續鑽研傳播與老齡的關係。
關鍵詞:老人、傳播、方法論、反思 

Reflections of the methodologies of aging communication research and applying similar experiences from psychology Following previous explorations on the subject of “aging communication,” the purpose of this paper focuses on reflecting the limitations of its methodologies. Other than briefly review the origins and nature of aging communication research in the forward section, the rest of this paper discusses the predicaments that have been discussed by aging communication researchers in the past, i.e., the definition of research subject, the worldview of the researchers and the research design, etc. It is suggested that future researchers in this subarea should be concerned that, instead of considering “aging” as a process of decaying, it would be better to see getting old as a process of narrating life stories and all people could adjust their lives by sharing stories of their own, their families and their colleagues in interactions. This paper then calls for having positive attitudes to do research by borrowing reflective experiences from psychology.

Key words: the elders, communication, methodology, reflection