'In the driver's seat': Navigating vulnerability and autonomy in digital storytelling with older adults

Digital Storytelling has emerged as a powerful tool for social change, providing a platform for uncovering and amplifying marginalized voices. While its application in gerontology has grown, previous workshops often exclude individuals in long-term care settings. This paper shifts the focus to care home residents, exploring how Digital Storytelling can facilitate participant agency in the face of their perceived vulnerabilities.
Drawing on 11 virtual Digital Storytelling workshops in care homes on Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada, this study uncovers the nuanced relationship between vulnerability and autonomy in storytelling. It challenges the notion of autonomy as strictly individualistic, showcasing vulnerability as a pathway to agency within caring relationships. The analysis contributes new understanding to an Ethics of Care framework, demonstrating the enabling role of vulnerability in terms of promoting relational autonomy. The paper calls for a caregiving approach in research practices to support the inclusion of underrepresented individuals and contributes a specific angle to Digital Storytelling research by providing in-depth insight into the interrelations of vulnerability and autonomy within facilitator-participant relationships.