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. 2022 Dec;41(4):585-589.
doi: 10.1111/ajag.13137. Epub 2022 Sep 12.

Australian older adults' views on using social media for reducing social isolation and loneliness in hearing impaired older adults: A community conversation

Dona M P Jayakody  1   2   3 , Ysraelle M E Tan  4 , Isabelle Livings  1 , Leesa Costello  5 , Leon Flicker  6 , Osvaldo P Almeida  6
Affiliations

Australian older adults' views on using social media for reducing social isolation and loneliness in hearing impaired older adults: A community conversation

Dona M P Jayakody et al. Australas J Ageing. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Objective(s): The objective of this study was to conduct a community conversation to identify the views of the community members when designing an online community using Facebook to support the psychosocial well-being of hearing-impaired older adults.

Methods: A community conversation was held with 40 older adults aged more than 60 years. The participants were divided into groups of five and asked to discuss three open-ended questions. The researchers facilitated the discussions.

Results: The overwhelming response from this group was that they did not use Facebook or social media as a tool for social connection and did not see the benefits of social media applications. They preferred phone calls or in-person events to maintain their social relationships.

Conclusions: Implications for areas of future research and interventions that target loneliness in older adults are discussed.

Keywords: hearing loss; loneliness; social isolation; social media.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this article. However, Prof Leon Flicker is an Editorial Board member of the Australasian Journal on Ageing.

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