Internet use and cohort change in social connectedness among older adults

The impact of ageism experiences on social participation among community-dwelling older adults: Exploring the moderating role of digital literacy

OBJECTIVES

This study examined how digital literacy moderates the relationship between ageism experiences and social participation among community-dwelling older adults.

METHODS

Regression analysis of data from the 2020 National Survey of Older Koreans with 9,920 participants was conducted to identify the association of ageism experiences with social participation in model 1. The moderating effects of digital literacy were examined by adding an interaction term in model 2.

RESULTS

In model 1, both ageism experiences and digital literacy were significant predictors of social participation. However, in model 2, the interaction term of digital literacy rendered the association between ageism experiences and social participation non-significant. Model 2 explained approximately 18.4 % of the total variance in social participation.

CONCLUSIONS

By highlighting the importance of digital literacy in increasing social participation among older adults, this study offers valuable insights for interventions aimed at improving digital literacy to promote successful aging in a technology-dependent society.

Age-related digital disparities, functional limitations, and social isolation: unraveling the grey digital divide between baby boomers and the silent generation in senior living facilities

OBJECTIVES

The onset of the digital age has sparked a significant age-related digital divide, detrimentally affecting older adults. The age-related digital disparities and the gray digital divide between the Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation in senior living facilities remains an exigent issue. This study explored the lived experiences of older adults as they confront the challenges posed by age-related digital disparities inherent in the gray digital divide in senior living facilities.

METHODS

In-depth, semi-structured interviews and observations were conducted with 28 older adults living in six senior living facilities in three urban locations. Moustakas's transcendental phenomenology was employed, and the Modified Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method was used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

This study identified six main themes: barriers to connectivity, digital literacy, generational-rooted perceptions, navigating technology with functional limitations, social isolation, and end-of-life planning.

CONCLUSION

The gray digital divide disproportionately affects older adults in senior living facilities. The study emphasizes the need for tailored interventions and targeted support to address the specific needs of each cohort and reduce age-related disparities. Addressing these disparities has significant implications for academics, policy-makers, senior living accommodations, and technology developers.

Networked lives: Probing the influence of social networks on the life course

Social network research is well-equipped to help life course scholars produce a deeper and more nuanced approach to the principle of "linked lives," one of the cornerstones of the field. In this issue on Networked Lives, nine original articles and two commentaries generate new theories, empirical findings and methodological applications at the intersection of the fields of social networks and life course research. In this introduction, we reflect on these advances, highlighting key findings and challenges that await scholars in building more robust synergy between the two fields. Social networks emerge as key structural forces in life courses, yet there is much to learn about the mechanisms through which their effects on people's lives come about. There is a need to study further how networks evolve through the rhythm of life events, and to analyze broader and more complex networks that capture the roles and influences of relations beyond intimate or family ties. These papers demonstrate that there is much to be gained in probing how individuals are linked to and unlinked from others over time, and in carrying conceptual and methodological advances across social network and life course studies.