Abstract
BackgroundWith the development of digital media, online activities are increasingly becoming part of the daily life of older adults. Widowed older adults generally would face changes in social interactions and activities due to widowhood; thus, the importance of online participation may be more prominent in this population. However, a detailed evidence on the experiences of online social participation among widowed older adults is relatively sparse. This study aimed to explore widowed older adults’ perceptions regarding online social participation in southwestern China.MethodsThis study adopted a qualitative approach. Semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews were conducted with 19 widowed older adults between September–December 2020. Thematic analysis was applied to analyse the data.ResultsTwo major themes, “benefits” and “barriers” were identified from the original data analysis. Subcategories concerning the theme “benefits” were “benefit perception (convenience, flexible time, supplementation)”, “health promotion”, “emotional comfort”, and “social connection”. Subcategories of “barriers” were “worries: personal economic loss”, “concerns: security of digital device”, “troubles: the diversity of online social participation”, and “difficulties: using digital media”.ConclusionsSocial participation of widowed older adults in southwestern China has begun to be integrated into the digital world; however, it remains at an early stage with the simple purpose of engagement. The older adults may face many challenges for online social participation. Although there are barriers and challenges in online social participation, widowed older adults can reap its benefits, which can be used as an important measure to facilitate a fulfilling life and successful ageing. There is no doubt that online social participation will become a trend within the foreseeable future. Family, friends and health care professionals should pay more attention to the needs of online social participation in widowed older adults and provide adequate support for them to achieve a meaningful life.
Highlights
With the development of digital media, online activities are increasingly becoming part of the daily life of older adults
Study design A qualitative design was adopted in this study, which allowed for an in-depth insight into the views about online social participation among widowed older adults
This study demonstrates that online social participation is a form of social participation that is worth exploring for older adults owing to its multi-faceted benefits
Summary
With the development of digital media, online activities are increasingly becoming part of the daily life of older adults. Widowed older adults generally would face changes in social interactions and activities due to widowhood; the importance of online participation may be more prominent in this population. This study aimed to explore widowed older adults’ perceptions regarding online social participation in southwestern China. The term ‘older adults’ typically refers to people over 65 years old [1]. The ‘older adults’ typically refers to people over 60 years old since these countries have a lower overall life expectancy [2]. By 2050, the number of people over the age of 60 would increase to 2.1 billion [3], and China’s older population could reach 480 million [4]. Widowed older adults are likely to face major life changes, such as social isolation [5], loss of financial security [6], changes in leisure activities [7], and many stressful life events [8]
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