Social Media Use of Older Adults: A Mini-Review

Abstract

Background: Maintaining social relationships has been defined as a core element of aging well. With a considerable amount of older adults living alone, social media provides the possibility to engage in meaningful social contact, e.g. by joining online social networks and online discussion forums. Objective: The review encompasses current knowledge of prerequisites in social media use of older adults such as functional capacity, information and communications technology-related knowledge, and favorable attitudes towards social media. Then, the potential of social media use for clinical practice and possible negative consequences are outlined. Method: Literature on social media use from a gerontological perspective was reviewed in July and August 2012. Results: Online communities are suitable for providing and receiving social support when confronted with a difficult life situation, regardless of geographical location or time. From a practitioner's perspective, social media can be used to advance health-related knowledge such as information on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of specific conditions and disorders. Further positive consequences have been shown to be overcoming loneliness, relieving stress, and raising feelings of control and self-efficacy. Possible negative consequences could be misuse of personal data as well as the distribution and uncritical adoption of potentially harmful information via online communities. Discussion: The potential of social media in clinical practice is reflected in a wide range of intervention possibilities for older adults. However, with the rise of social media, new threats emerge for older adults as well.

Barriers and Challenges Experienced by Seniors in Using Online Social Networks: A Phenomenological Study

“…Furthermore, having specific knowledge is essential for the use of social media (21). Leist priate attitudes toward social media is necessary for the elderly to use social networks (22). The present study also indicated that the elderly used the Internet and social networks to have access to different information; however, they do not trust all received information.…”

“…Most older individuals use the internet to follow news and search for information (23). Similarly, Leist (2013) believes that the potentials of social networks can be employed to search and distribute health-related information on various diseases and treatments. This can have a positive impact on improving the elderlys' quality of life; however, the potential risk is that the shared information may contain inaccurate or even harmful details, especially concerning chronic and life-threatening conditions (22).…”

“…Similarly, Leist (2013) believes that the potentials of social networks can be employed to search and distribute health-related information on various diseases and treatments. This can have a positive impact on improving the elderlys' quality of life; however, the potential risk is that the shared information may contain inaccurate or even harmful details, especially concerning chronic and life-threatening conditions (22). On the other hand, the elderly in social networks have the ability to persuade each other to treat and adhere to medical treatments, which shortens the recovery period (24).…”

Social media and senior citizen advocacy: an inclusive tool to resist ageism?

“…However, in Canada and the USA, there appears to be a dramatic drop in Internet use among adults beyond 75 years old, even as usage among adults over 65 years continues to increase (Smith 2014;Statistics Canada 2011Zickuhr and Madden 2012). This decrease has been credited to lower income and decreased access to broadband service among adults 75 years and older, in addition to attitudes surrounding its utility and privacy, difficulty learning the technologies, and physical and/or cognitive impediments (Lee, Chen, and Hewitt 2011;Leist 2013). Usage of social media follows this trend (Dewing 2010).…”

“…Google and Google Scholar were also searched to capture gray literature, popular or lay resources, and because they serve as simple, single points of entry to begin a search on a complex topic (Asher, Duke, and Wilson 2013). Finally, we examined citations of the literature discovered in our search, including those of literature reviews by Nef et al (2013) and Leist (2013). The reviewed literature then formed the basis for the following theoretical discussion on the conceptual links between ageism, senior citizenship, advocacy, and social media.…”