Are Internet and Social Network Usage Associated with Wellbeing and Social Inclusion of Seniors? – The Third Age Online Survey on Digital Media Use in Three European Countries

Richter, Dirk; Bannier, Stijn; Glott, Rüdiger; Marquard, Markus; Schwarze, Thomas (July 2013). Are Internet and Social Network Usage Associated with Wellbeing and Social Inclusion of Seniors? – The Third Age Online Survey on Digital Media Use in Three European Countries Lecture Notes in Computer Sciences, pp. 211-220. Springer

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Research on the psychosocial effects of Internet and social network usage in seniors is either contradictory or sparse. As part of the Third Age On�line project, this paper reports a cross-sectional survey conducted in Germany, the Netherlands and in Switzerland. The survey, utilizing regression analysis, examined whether or not social inclusion and mental wellbeing were predictors of Internet usage and social network usage. Results showed that social inclusion variables were associated with both Internet usage and social network usage. In�ternet usage was associated with respondents who were both less and more so�cially included. Mental wellbeing was positively related to Internet usage but not to social network usage. In further studies, longitudinal designs are needed to reveal the directions of causality between Internet/social network usage and mental wellbeing/social inclusion. Keywords: Internet, social networks, mental wellbeing, social inclusion, elderly.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Division/Institute:	School of Health Professions School of Health Professions > Nursing
Name:	Richter, Dirk0000-0002-6215-6110; Bannier, Stijn; Glott, Rüdiger; Marquard, Markus and Schwarze, Thomas
ISBN:	978-3-642-39190-3
Publisher:	Springer
Language:	English
Submitter:	Dirk Richter
Date Deposited:	14 Apr 2021 11:50
Last Modified:	04 Nov 2022 11:17
Additional Information:	Date: 2013
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.12634
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/12634