You’ve got e-mail: Online social networking to reduce depression and enhance health among older adults

Social isolation is common among older adults and better strategies are needed to overcome its negative consequences. Online social networking offers a creative solution to this problem, yet evidence for its effectiveness in alleviating loneliness and enhancing health and well-being is inconclusive. Moreover, many seniors feel overwhelmed by today’s technologies, resulting in the absence of engagement with potential sources of social capital. The proposed research seeks to establish whether (and how) online social networking can support well-being among seniors, compared to more traditional interpersonal forms of social interaction. Indeed, despite the known benefits of social relationships for well-being, many seniors’ reduced opportunities for face-to-face interactions may make online social engagement particularly valuable. Using the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, we will examine the relationships between these forms of social participation and reduced social isolation and depression, alongside increased life satisfaction and health through enhanced perceptions of social support and engagement.

Social isolation is common among older adults and better strategies are needed to overcome its negative consequences. Online social networking offers a potential solution to this problem, yet evidence for its effectiveness in alleviating loneliness and enhancing well-being is inconclusive. The goal of this project was to establish whether (and how) online social networking can support well-being among seniors, compared to more traditional interpersonal forms of social interaction. Using baseline data from the CLSA, we found that both in-person and online social networking that fostered private personal connections (e.g., internet/email access; email frequency) were associated with greater life satisfaction and general mental health while being associated with fewer symptoms of depression and loneliness. However, opposite associations were found for online social networking sites (e.g., Twitter, Facebook), in that their use was associated with greater symptoms of depression and lower levels of mental health and life satisfaction. Moreover, both online social networking and in-person social connections mediated the links with mental health, suggesting that in-person and online social networking may support each other to yield the greatest benefits. Given our society’s increasing reliance on technology, understanding the nuances of online social networking’s links to mental health is vital to harnessing older adults’ engagement with this potential source of social capital.