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Internet use, social networks, loneliness, and quality of life among adults aged 50 and older: mediating and moderating effects

Internet use, social networks, loneliness, and quality of life among adults aged 50 and older:... Background The increase in longevity of people on one hand, and on the other hand the fact that the social networks in later life become increasingly narrower, highlights the importance of Internet use to enhance quality of life (QoL). However, whether Internet use increases or decreases social networks, loneliness, and quality of life is not clear-cut. Purposes To explore the direct and/or indirect effects of Internet use on QoL, and to examine whether ethnicity and time the elderly spent with family moderate the mediation effect of Internet use on quality of life throughout loneliness. Methods This descriptive-correlational study was carried out in 2016 by structured interviews with a convenience sample of 502 respondents aged 50 and older, living in northern Israel. Bootstrapping with resampling strategies was used for test- ing mediation a model. Results Use of the Internet was found to be positively associated with QoL. However, this relationship was mediated by loneliness, and moderated by the time the elderly spent with family members. In addition, respondents’ ethnicity significantly moderated the mediation effect between Internet use and loneliness. Conclusions Internet use can enhance QoL of older adults directly or indirectly by reducing loneliness. However, these effects are conditional on http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Quality of Life Research Springer Journals

Internet use, social networks, loneliness, and quality of life among adults aged 50 and older: mediating and moderating effects

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References (52)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 by Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
Subject
Medicine & Public Health; Quality of Life Research; Sociology, general; Public Health; Quality of Life Research
ISSN
0962-9343
eISSN
1573-2649
DOI
10.1007/s11136-017-1749-4
pmid
29210015
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Background The increase in longevity of people on one hand, and on the other hand the fact that the social networks in later life become increasingly narrower, highlights the importance of Internet use to enhance quality of life (QoL). However, whether Internet use increases or decreases social networks, loneliness, and quality of life is not clear-cut. Purposes To explore the direct and/or indirect effects of Internet use on QoL, and to examine whether ethnicity and time the elderly spent with family moderate the mediation effect of Internet use on quality of life throughout loneliness. Methods This descriptive-correlational study was carried out in 2016 by structured interviews with a convenience sample of 502 respondents aged 50 and older, living in northern Israel. Bootstrapping with resampling strategies was used for test- ing mediation a model. Results Use of the Internet was found to be positively associated with QoL. However, this relationship was mediated by loneliness, and moderated by the time the elderly spent with family members. In addition, respondents’ ethnicity significantly moderated the mediation effect between Internet use and loneliness. Conclusions Internet use can enhance QoL of older adults directly or indirectly by reducing loneliness. However, these effects are conditional on

Journal

Quality of Life Research – Springer Journals

Published: Dec 5, 2017

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