Context Matters: Internet Usage and Loneliness Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Objectives Later life is often categorized by higher-than-average levels of loneliness, but individual differences are vast and not well understood. Emerging evidence indicates that broad-based contextual factors such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic—and the use of the internet th...
| Published in: | Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences Vol. 79; no. 11; pp. 1 - 8 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Article |
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Oxford University Press / USA
Nov2024
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=180652082&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 180652082 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 10795014 JGB jtl: Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences issn: 10795014 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Nov2024 vid: 79 iid: 11 pid: 622 pub: Oxford University Press / USA artinfo: ui: 180652082 10.1093/geronb/gbae158 ppf: 1 ppct: 7 formats: tig: atl: Context Matters: Internet Usage and Loneliness Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic. aug: au: Hosea, Angelica Vania Kung, Claryn S J Potter, Sophie Steptoe, Andrew affil: School of Psychology and Vision Sciences, University of Leicester , Leicester , UK Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London , London , UK Department of Psychology, School of Social Science, Heriot-Watt University , Edinburgh , UK su: United Kingdom Sex distribution Health Internet Loneliness Age distribution Information resources COVID-19 pandemic Social isolation Middle age Old age Internet searching Secondary analysis Research funding Catastrophic illness Descriptive statistics Regression analysis Disease complications sug: subj: Sex distribution Health Internet Loneliness Age distribution Information resources COVID-19 pandemic Social isolation Middle age Old age United Kingdom Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals Wired Telecommunications Carriers Internet searching Secondary analysis Research funding Catastrophic illness Descriptive statistics Regression analysis Disease complications keyword: Contextual development Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Contextual development Information and Communication Technology (ICT) ab: Objectives Later life is often categorized by higher-than-average levels of loneliness, but individual differences are vast and not well understood. Emerging evidence indicates that broad-based contextual factors such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic—and the use of the internet throughout—are differentially associated with the experience of loneliness. We, therefore, target internet usage and loneliness among middle-aged and older adults during the pandemic and examine the moderating role of age, gender, and limiting illness therein. Methods We applied hierarchical regression models to data from the COVID-19 substudy Wave 1 (June/July 2020) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (N = 4,790; M = 70.2; standard deviation = 9.0; range: 50–90; 43.5% male). Results Infrequent internet use was associated with less loneliness compared with very frequent users—an association that strengthened with age. Conversely, the purpose of internet use was associated with more loneliness, with higher levels exhibited by those searching for health-related information—an effect stronger among those with a limiting illness. Discussion Findings imply that infrequent internet use may reduce loneliness, while health-related internet searches may increase loneliness among older adults with different physical capacities. Findings are contrary to prepandemic reports, underscoring the importance of broad-based contextual factors for understanding loneliness across adulthood and old age. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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