Retirees on Facebook: can online social networking enhance their health and wellness?

Authors:
S. Shyam Sundar;Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch;Jon Nussbaum;Richard Behr
Affiliations:
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA;The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA;The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA;The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
Venue:
CHI '11 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Year:
2011

Citing 1
Cited 3

Increasing the opportunities for aging in place

CUU '00 Proceedings on the 2000 conference on Universal Usability

Major life changes and behavioral markers in social media: case of childbirth

Proceedings of the 2013 conference on Computer supported cooperative work
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

UAHCI'13 Proceedings of the 7th international conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction: user and context diversity - Volume 2
"Moon Phrases": a social media faciliated tool for emotional reflection and wellness

Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare

Quantified Score

Hi-index	0.00

Visualization

Abstract

An individual's social network has a strong impact on his or her mental and physical health. This is of particular consequence for senior citizens who are at greater risk of social isolation after retirement, due to loss of spouse, mobility issues, and recent emphasis on aging in place, i.e., in smart homes. Can online social networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook help alleviate social isolation of aging alone by enabling seniors to maintain high-quality social interactions? How can we make senior-friendly design improvements to SNSs? A preliminary national survey (N =168) of adults over 55 revealed that for those who had joined an SNS, the primary motivation cited for signing up was persuasion by a friend or family member, while non-users cited a strong lack of interest rather than a lack of knowledge or skill, with implications for theory and design of SNS technology for senior citizens.