1. Can the internet reduce the loneliness of 50+ living alone?
- Author
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Silva, Patrícia, Matos, Alice Delerue, Martinez-Pecino, Roberto, Universidade do Minho, Universidad de Sevilla. Departamento de Psicología Social, Universidad de Sevilla. HUM618: Estructura, Historia y Contenidos de la Comunicación, European Commission (EC), Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia. Portugal, National Institute on Aging. USA, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, and Ministry of Education and Research. Germany
- Subjects
50+ individuals ,Social Sciences ,050801 communication & media studies ,Library and Information Sciences ,Ciências Sociais::Sociologia ,0508 media and communications ,050602 political science & public administration ,medicine ,Contemporary society ,Living alone ,Internet ,business.industry ,Loneliness ,4. Education ,Communication ,05 social sciences ,1. No poverty ,0506 political science ,Europe ,Sociologia [Ciências Sociais] ,Key (cryptography) ,The Internet ,medicine.symptom ,Psychology ,business ,Social psychology - Abstract
Published online: 12 May 2020, Living alone has been indicated as a key variable to explain loneliness in older adults. In contemporary society, where technology has become one of the main means of communication and personal interaction, has the internet influenced the relationship between living alone and loneliness? This paper aims to answer this research question by using a sample of 64,297 individuals who were surveyed in SHARE project wave 6 – in European countries with different welfare regimes (Portugal, Greece, Italy and Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Poland, Czech Republic; Slovenia, Estonia, and Croatia). The results of the regression analysis evidence the moderating role of the internet on the relationship between living alone and feelings of loneliness in individuals aged 50 and over, so that the impact of living alone on loneliness is diminished for internet users as compared to their peers who do not use the internet. The results therefore reinforce the importance of policies aimed at fostering e-inclusion as a way of reducing the loneliness of older adults, This work was supported by European Commission; Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia; U.S National Institute on Aging; Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian; German Ministry of Education and Research
- Published
- 2020