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. 2021 Jun;41(6):1349-1370.
doi: 10.1017/s0144686x19001570. Epub 2019 Nov 21.

Social media and social wellbeing in later life

Kelly Quinn  1
Affiliations

Social media and social wellbeing in later life

Kelly Quinn. Ageing Soc. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Social wellbeing is important to health, but maintaining social relations often becomes difficult in later life due to retirement, chronic disease, and the death of spouses and friends. Social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, present accessible and low-cost communication technologies that have been demonstrated to enhance feelings of social connection and reduce loneliness in younger age groups. This exploratory study uses a four-week social media training workshop as an intervention in a randomised controlled study to examine whether similar social benefits might be realised for those at older ages, aged 65+ years. Social wellbeing measures of social capital, loneliness, social connectedness and social provisions were examined, revealing only small differences in social integration. As these findings seemingly contradict studies conducted with younger persons, the contexts of social media use in older adulthood are discussed, along with proposals for future research directions.

Keywords: lifecourse; loneliness; older adults; social capital; social connectedness; social media; social wellbeing.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Estimated marginal means of social integration.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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