Does Social Media Use Mitigate or Exacerbate Loneliness among Korean Older Adults? Focusing on the Moderating Role of Media Literacy

Kim, Yesolran; Lee, Mina

doi:10.1177/20563051231177959

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 39 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, some researchers have stressed that social media usage can occasionally divert users' attention from meaningful relationships and hinder social interactions [17,18] and a number of scholars have cautioned against the potential additive relationship with digital devices like smartphones if used excessively [12,19], possibly due to the fear of missing out [20]. The utilization of social media has unfortunately been linked to a range of distressing consequences including heightened feelings of anxiety [21], profound loneliness [22], and debilitating depression [23]. Additionally, it has been found to perpetuate a sense of social isolation, as well as engender a phenomenon known as "phubbing," whereby individuals become excessively engrossed in their smartphones, thereby compromising genuine interpersonal connections during in-person interactions [24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How social media usage affects psychological and subjective well-being: testing a moderated mediation model

Zhang,

Tang,

Liu

2023

BMC Psychol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background A growing body of literature demonstrates that social media usage has witnessed a rapid increase in higher education and is almost ubiquitous among young people. The underlying mechanisms as to how social media usage by university students affects their well-being are unclear. Moreover, current research has produced conflicting evidence concerning the potential effects of social media on individuals' overall well-being with some reporting negative outcomes while others revealing beneficial results. Methods To address the research gap, the present research made an attempt to investigate the crucial role of social media in affecting students’ psychological (PWB) and subjective well-being (SWB) by testing the mediating role of self-esteem and online social support and the moderation effect of cyberbullying. The data in the study were obtained from a sample of 1,004 college students (483 females and 521 males, Mage = 23.78, SD = 4.06) enrolled at 135 Chinese universities. AMOS 26.0 and SPSS 26.0 as well as the Process macro were utilized for analyzing data and testing the moderated mediation model. Results Findings revealed that social media usage by university students was positively associated with their PWB and SWB through self-esteem and online social support, and cyberbullying played a moderating role in the first phase of the mediation process such that the indirect associations were weak with cyberbullying reaching high levels. Conclusion These findings highlight the importance of discerning the mechanisms moderating the mediated paths linking social media usage by young adults to their PWB and SWB. The results also underline the importance of implementing measures and interventions to alleviate the detrimental impacts of cyberbullying on young adults’ PWB and SWB.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How social media usage affects psychological and subjective well-being: testing a moderated mediation model

Zhang,

Tang,

Liu

2023

BMC Psychol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

The Effects of Consistency and Inconsistency in the Source Features of WeChat Tweets on Older Chinese Adults’ Intentions to Adopt Personal Information Security Knowledge

Zhang,

Zhang

2024

Social Media + Society

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

WeChat tweets have become an important way to spread knowledge of the importance of personal information security and to enhance older Chinese adults’ awareness of information security. Based on the knowledge adoption model and the elaboration likelihood model, this study identifies two types of tweets’ source features, that is, publisher type (official or unofficial) and author type (expert or non-expert). In addition, based on cognitive fit theory, this study explores the effects of the consistency and inconsistency between the two types of source features on the knowledge adoption intentions of older Chinese adults. The proposed research model is validated by carrying out a 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment, which also takes into account the three control variables of: “amount of readership,” “gender,” and “the perceived credibility of WeChat.” The results show that, compared with non-official tweets or non-expert tweets, official tweets or expert tweets are more conducive to enhancing older adults’ perception of the credibility and usefulness of the tweets and thus improve their knowledge-adoption intentions. However, the inconsistent combinations of unofficial and expert tweets and official and non-expert tweets can weaken the positive impact of official or expert sources on perceived credibility and usefulness. In addition, as the older adults’ perception of the relevance to themselves of personal information security increases and as their ability to process tweets strengthens, the influence of source features on perceived credibility and usefulness diminishes.

show abstract

The mediating and moderating effects of psychological distress on the relationship between social media use with perceived social isolation and sleep quality of late middle-aged and older adults

Shiraly,

Yaghooti,

Griffiths

2024

BMC Geriatr

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives Older adults are more likely to have poor sleep quality and be socially isolated. The present study examined the potential benefits and disadvantages of social media use (SMU) with respect to sleep quality and perceived social isolation among Iranian late-middle-aged and older adults with focus a on both the mediating and moderating role of psychological distress.Methods A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 900 older community-dwellers living in Shiraz using a structured questionnaire. Social media use was assessed by estimating the frequency of social networking site visits per week. Data concerning self-rated physical health, chronic medical and mental health conditions, perceived social isolation, sleep quality, and psychological distress were also collected. Multiple linear regression was used to identify independent variables associated with outcomes. Then, mediation and moderation models were used to examine the potential mediating and moderating effects of psychological distress and SMU on their relationships with the study variables. ResultsHigher social media use was associated with better sleep quality and less perceived social isolation. Nevertheless, the relationships between SMU and participants' sleep quality and perceived social isolation were largely mediated by their level of psychological distress. Furthermore, SMU had a significant moderating effect in the relationship between the psychological distress and the levels of perceived social isolation, so that participants with higher frequency of SMU per week felt less loneliness. ConclusionsThe study findings suggest that SMU has a positive buffering effect regarding late middle-aged and older adults' mental health mainly through moderation of their perceived social isolation. The mediating role of psychological distress in research examining the relationship between SMU and older adults' mental health outcomes should be considered in future research.

show abstract

Does Social Media Use Mitigate or Exacerbate Loneliness among Korean Older Adults? Focusing on the Moderating Role of Media Literacy

Cited by 3 publications

References 39 publications

How social media usage affects psychological and subjective well-being: testing a moderated mediation model

How social media usage affects psychological and subjective well-being: testing a moderated mediation model

The Effects of Consistency and Inconsistency in the Source Features of WeChat Tweets on Older Chinese Adults’ Intentions to Adopt Personal Information Security Knowledge

The mediating and moderating effects of psychological distress on the relationship between social media use with perceived social isolation and sleep quality of late middle-aged and older adults

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About