Motivational Influences Affecting Middle-Aged and Elderly Users’ Participation Intention in Health-Related Social Media

Cong Cao (), Dan Li, Qianwen Xu and Xiuyan Shao
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Cong Cao: School of Management, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China
Dan Li: School of Management, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China
Qianwen Xu: School of Management, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China
Xiuyan Shao: School of Economics and Management, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 18, 1-21

Abstract: Social media provide users with multi-directional dialogue for creating and sharing health information that can effectively promote the self-management of health. In regard to the ‘greying’ trend in social media, most researchers have studied the health-related social media (HRSM) acceptance status and use behavior of middle-aged and elderly people, and have explored the role of HRSM in this group. However, the continuous participation of users is the key to the successful operation of HRSM, and is an essential prerequisite for the subsequent HRSM behavior habits of middle-aged and elderly people. Therefore, we aimed to explore what motivations drive the first use of HRSM among middle-aged and older adults, and the impact of their perception of HRSM, after personal use, on their intention to use it continually. In the study, we used the partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) to analyze data collected from online questionnaires. The results showed that a self-protection motivation and a social motivation promoted the initial participation of middle-aged and elderly individuals. In addition, these people experienced deeper levels of perceived usefulness and perceived entertainment after their initial participation. The results also revealed that these two perceptions could positively influence middle-aged and elderly individuals’ intention to continue with their participation. Our findings should help service platforms to better understand the needs of middle-aged and elderly users. This would help researchers and practitioners to gain a more complete understanding of the motivation of middle-aged and elderly people for participating in HRSM, and the related impacts this may have.

Keywords: motivation; middle-aged people; elderly people; health-related social media; participation intention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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