Relationship Between Internet Behaviors and Social Engagement in Middle-Aged and Older Adults in Taiwan.

Ching-Ju Chiu

doi:10.3390/ijerph16030416

Abstract

Aim: To examine older adults’ Internet use patterns and its relationship with social engagement. Methods: Telephonic interview data of older Internet users from two urban and two rural areas were analyzed (N = 248). Cluster analysis was used to identify their Internet use patterns. Multinomial logistic regression identified characteristics associated with the Internet usage groups, and the multiple regression was used to examine if the Internet usage pattern was associated with social engagement in real life. Results: The majority of older adults in Taiwan using the Internet were considered Leisure users (32%). Others were Sporadic (26%), Instrumental (21%), and Eager users (21%). Leisure and Eager users, but not Instrumental users, had significantly higher scores on social engagement compared with Sporadic users after controlling for sociodemographic and behavioral covariates. Eager Internet users were associated with 22.8% increase in the social engagement level, and Leisure users were associated with 31.2% increase in the social engagement level. Conclusions: Older adults with different Internet behaviors were associated with distinct sociodemographic and social engagement behaviors. Causal relationship is warranted for further investigation.

Highlights

The past decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of older adults learning and using new technologies [1] and consider that advanced technologies can enhance their quality of life [2]
Increase in the social engagement level, and Leisure users were associated with 31.2% increase in the social engagement level
The average for social engagement was 8.31, which suggests that the participants had a low level of social engagement in their daily lives

Summary

Introduction

The past decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of older adults learning and using new technologies [1] and consider that advanced technologies can enhance their quality of life [2]. Existing studies indicate perspectives from older adults regarding their eagerness to catch up with the new technology [5]. An insight into older adults’ navigation through websites may provide valuable input for better technology-assisted behavioral interventions or health delivery for this population [6]. When technologies expand and converge into each other and more types of people use them for a variety of different things, it becomes harder to understand and assess the increasingly fragmented behavior. Some of the existing studies have used diverse theoretical frameworks, such as diffusion of innovation theory, or the uses and gratifications theory [8,9] to characterize and explain the adoption and maintenance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) used among participants of different sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics. Others have explored and discriminated user categories of Internet use according to users’ behaviors of surfing for Internet services using the technology acceptance

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