Getting Older Adults Connected and Supported: Exploring the Role of Online Communities

PAN Shuya

Chinese Journal of Journalism & Communication ›› 2016, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (1) : 133-156.

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Chinese Journal of Journalism & Communication ›› 2016, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (1) : 133-156.

Getting Older Adults Connected and Supported: Exploring the Role of Online Communities

  • Pan Shuya is an assistant professor from School of Journalism and Communication of Renmin University of China, and also a research fellow at the Research Center for Journalism and Social Development of Renmin University of China.
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Abstract

Chinese older adults become more socially isolated because of the dramatic changes in today’s China. This paper attempts to examine whether the emerging online communities have the potential in partially solving this problem. In more detail, the present study examined whether online community involvement was associated with the network size, perceived social support, and feelings of social connectedness among Chinese older participants. The study investigated one of the most active senior-oriented online communities in China, OldKids. com, and collected 196 valid responses through an online survey posted on their website. The findings showed that OldKids online community involvement played a significantly positive role in the social life of Chinese elderly. This paper also provides guidance for future interventions to help older adults lead a healthy social life using new communication technologies.

Key words

online community / older adults / network size / social support / feelings of social connectedness

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PAN Shuya. Getting Older Adults Connected and Supported: Exploring the Role of Online Communities[J]. Chinese Journal of Journalism & Communication. 2016, 38(1): 133-156

Funding

This paper was supported by the “Research Fund for Returned Chinese Scholars” sponsored by China’s Ministry of Education (Project Number 2014010345; Project Name: Social Media Use and Its Effect on the Social Life of Chinese Older Adults).
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