Mediated interaction in digital posthuman age: Rethinking intergenerational communication in urban Ghana

Ramatu Mustapha Dadzie ORCID iD

Issue: Vol. 7 No.7 2026 Article 6 pp. 1820 – 1833
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2026776 Published online 10th August 2026

© 2026 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Views: 39
23 Downloads

DOWNLOAD PDF

Digitalization is a significant technological shift generating a profound socio-cultural reordering with implications for human-technology relations. Although there is a growing  body of scholarship interpreting digital transformations using posthumanist perspectives, studies largely focus on Western contexts. Yet, despite the widespread use of digital technologies, little is known about how posthuman theory explains the nature of human-technology relationships and communication practices in the Ghanaian context, limiting information on how digital transformation is reshaping social interactions and subjectivities. To provide a context-specific study that applies posthuman perspectives to Ghanaian digital experiences, the study explores intergenerational communicative practices of two generational cohorts and how digitally mediated communication reshapes intergenerational interaction in urban Ghana. A population of 24 participants between the ages of 18 and 30 and 55 and 75 years were sampled from Accra in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Through focus-group discussions and interviews, data were collected and analysed using posthuman communication theory as the central analytical framework. Findings reveal that young people integrate digital platforms into multiple aspects of their lives, with digital technologies functioning as extensions of identity and personal agency. Older respondents perceive digital communication as a source of cultural disruption that challenges established norms of interaction and social order. The existence of long-standing communicative expectations, grounded in respect, hierarchy and discretion, generates tensions between the two generations during digitally mediated communication. The study contributes to the field of African digital studies by offering a theoretically informed account of digital transformation in urban Ghana.

Keywords: Intergenerational Interactions, Digital Humanities, Mediated Communication, Posthumanism, Digitalization.

Adjaye, Joseph K., and Osei-Mensah Aborampah. “Intergenerational Cultural Transmission among the Akan of Ghana.” Journal of Intergenerational Relationships 2, no. 3–4 (2004): 23-38.

Ayensu, Elaine A. “Communication and Culture in Ghana: Technology’s Influence and Progress in a New Digital Age.” Georgetown University, 2003.

Ayhan, Bünyamin. Digitalization and Society (Edition 1). Peter Lang International Academic Publishers, 2017.

Braidotti, Rosi. “Posthuman Humanities.” European Educational Research Journal 12, no. 1 (2013): 1–19.

Ceder, Simon. Towards a Posthuman Theory of Educational Relationality. Routledge, 2018.

Dovie, Delali Adjoa, Dan-Bright S Dzorgbo, Charles C Mate-Kole, Helen Nana Mensah, Albert Foli Agbe, Alexander Attiogbe, and Gloria Dzokoto. “Generational PersPective of DiGital Literacy amonG Ghanaians in the 21st Century: Wither NoW?” Media Studies 10, no. 20 (2019): 127–52.

Esteron, Maria Angela S. “Different Language Usage on Social Media.” International Journal of Advanced Engineering, Management and Science 7, no. 3 (2021): 93–104.

Geest, Sjaak. Van der. “Yebisa Wo Fie: Growing Old and Building a House in the Akan Culture of Ghana.” Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology  13, no. 4 (1998): 333-359.

Giles, Howard, and Jessica Gasiorek. “Intergenerational Communication Practices.” In Handbook of the Psychology of Aging, 233–47. Elsevier, 2011.

Giles, Howard, Sinfree Makoni, and René M Dailey. “Intergenerational Communication Beliefs across the Lifespan: Comparative Data from Ghana and South Africa.” Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology 20, no. 3 (2005): 191–211.

Ikels, Charlotte, Jennie Keith, Jeanette Dickerson-Putman, Patricia Draper, Christine Fry, Anthony Glascock, and Henry Harpending. “Perceptions of the Adult Life Course: A Cross-Cultural Analysis.” Ageing & Society 12, no. 1 (1992): 49–84.

Jarrahi, Mohammad Hossein, and Sarah Beth Nelson. “Agency, Sociomateriality, and Configuration Work.” The Information Society 34, no. 4 (August 8, 2018): 244–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2018.1463335.

Koyano, Wataru. “Japanese attitudes toward the elderly: A review of research findings.” Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology 4, no. 4 (1989): 335-345.

Lang, Volker. “Digitalization and Digital Transformation.” In Digital Fluency: Understanding the Basics of Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain Technology, Quantum Computing, and Their Applications for Digital Transformation, 1–50. Springer, 2021.

O’Hara, Maureen. “Relational Humanism: A Psychology for a Pluralistic World.” The Humanistic Psychologist 20, no. 2–3 (1992): 439–46.

Odame, Jonathan. “Enhancing Technology Professional Development for Older Adults in Ghana to Bridge the Digital Divide: A Systematic Review.” International Journal of Smart Technology and Learning 4, no. 2 (2024): 151–67.

Ota, Hiroshi, Howard Giles, and Lilnabeth P Somera. “Beliefs about Intra-and Intergenerational Communication in Japan, the Philippines, and the United States: Implication for Older Adults’ Subjective Well-Being.” Communication Studies 58, no. 2 (2007): 173–88.

Prem, Erich. “Principles of Digital Humanism: A Critical Post-Humanist View.” Journal of Responsible Technology 17 (2024): 100075.

Rudy, Alan P., and Damian White. “‘Hybridity.’ In Critical Environmental Politics, Pp. 121-132. Routledge, 2013.Thompson, John B. ‘Mediated Interaction in the Digital Age.’ Theory, Culture & Society.” Theory, Culture & Society  37, no. 1 (2020): 3-28.

Turkle, Sherry. 2015. Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age. New York: Penguin Press.

Ramatu Mustapha Dadzie (PhD) is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Film Artistic at the Institute of Film and Television, University of Media Arts and Communication, Accra, Ghana. She lectures in screen studies and mediated cultures. She holds a PhD in Sociology (Media) from the University of Ghana, Legon, Accra. She undertakes research in Ghanaian cinema cultures, representation and identity in African cinema, mediated cultures and communication. Her articles have appeared in Modern Africa: Politics, History and Society Journal, Journal of Communication, Media and Society, Journal of African Media Studies and Animation Practice, Processes and Production Journal, among others.

Dadzie, Ramatu Mustapha. “Mediated interaction in digital posthuman age: Rethinking intergenerational communication in urban Ghana.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 7, no.7 (2026): 1820 – 1833. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2026776

© 2026 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Articles in this Issue

About Journal