The mediating role of loneliness on relations between face-to-face and virtual interactions and psychological well-being across age: A 21-day diary study

Abstract

Lack of social interaction is associated with a heightened sense of loneliness and, in turn, poorer psychological well-being. Despite the prevalence of communicating with others virtually even when physically alone, whether the social interaction–loneliness–well-being relationship is different between face-to-face and virtual interactions and between younger and older adults is relatively understudied. This 21-day diary study examined this question among younger ( n = 91; Mage = 22.87) and older ( n = 107; Mage = 64.53) Hong Kong participants during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (March–May 2020). We found significant indirect effects of shorter face-to-face interaction time on poorer psychological well-being via a heightened sense of loneliness at the within-person level only among younger adults and at the between-person level only among older adults. Independent of loneliness, spending more time with others on virtual interactions was associated with better psychological well-being only among older adults. Taken together, while the mechanisms may be different across age groups, face-to-face interaction remains an effective way to reduce loneliness and enhance psychological well-being even at times when it is discouraged (e.g., pandemic). Although virtual interaction does not reduce loneliness, its positive impact on older adults’ well-being sheds light on the utility of promoting technological acceptance in late adulthood.

The role of social interaction modality for well-being in older adults.

“…However, it remains unclear whether results from younger samples can be generalized to older adults. Tsang et al (2022) studied effects of face-to-face and virtual social interactions on loneliness and well-being in younger ( M age = 22.87 years) and older adults ( M age = 64.53 years) during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. While face-to-face social interactions were related to lower levels of daily loneliness for both younger and older adults, some of the results differed by age group, for example, older adults who engaged in more virtual social interactions than others reported more positive affective experiences than others, while the same association was not found in younger adults.…”