Purpose in life mitigates digital disconnection in older adults.
Objectives Digital engagement is increasingly recognized as a social determinant of health that influences well-being in aging populations. However, disparities in digital access and engagement contribute to social isolation, particularly among older adults who may experience technological barriers....
| Publicado en: | Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences Vol. 81; no. 1; pp. 1 - 8 |
|---|---|
| Autores principales: | , |
| Formato: | Artículo |
| Publicado: |
Oxford University Press / USA
Jan2026
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=191893073&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 191893073 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: Jan2026 vid: 81 iid: 1 pid: 622 pub: Oxford University Press / USA artinfo: ui: 191893073 10.1093/geronb/gbaf227 ppf: 1 ppct: 7 formats: tig: atl: Purpose in life mitigates digital disconnection in older adults. aug: au: Wang, Yichen Ong, Anthony D affil: Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United StatesJoan and Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, United States su: Social media Internet access Cross-sectional method Social determinants of health Technology Social isolation Old age Life Research funding Descriptive statistics Longitudinal method Loneliness in old age Conceptual structures Data analysis software sug: subj: Social media Internet access Cross-sectional method Social determinants of health Technology Social isolation Old age Life Research funding Descriptive statistics Longitudinal method Loneliness in old age Conceptual structures Data analysis software keyword: Micro-longitudinal assessments Micro-longitudinal assessments ab: Objectives Digital engagement is increasingly recognized as a social determinant of health that influences well-being in aging populations. However, disparities in digital access and engagement contribute to social isolation, particularly among older adults who may experience technological barriers. While digital interactions have the potential to mitigate loneliness, their effectiveness varies widely, indicating systematic differences in how engagement corresponds to loneliness across individuals. Here, we introduce the concept of digital disconnection —the mismatch between the frequency of digital social contact and experienced loneliness—and examine whether purpose in life (PIL) mitigates this phenomenon in later life. Methods Using cross-sectional surveys and daily diary data from two independent cohorts in the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS III: N = 2,864; MIDUS Refresher: N = 2,522) study, we quantified digital disconnection as individual deviations in loneliness from predicted levels based on patterns of digital contact. Results Purpose in life was inversely associated with digital disconnection in both surveys (B = − 0.51 and B = − 0.60, p < .001) and micro-longitudinal assessments (B = − 0.38 and B = − 0.37, p <.001), indicating that older adults with higher PIL showed lower residual loneliness after accounting for their level of digital engagement. Discussion These findings refine theoretical models of digital social processes by identifying purpose as a modifiable psychological resource that may help older adults navigate the challenges of technology-mediated social interactions. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
|---|