Social Media Use and Associations with Psychological Distress Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Hege Ragnhildsløkken, Tore Bonsaksen (), Eivind Aakhus, Isaac Kabelenga, Gary Lamph, Daicia Price and Amy Østertun Geirdal
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Hege Ragnhildsløkken: Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Innlandet Hospital Trust, 2312 Ottestad, Norway
Tore Bonsaksen: Department of Health and Nursing Science, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, 2418 Elverum, Norway
Eivind Aakhus: The Norwegian National Centre for Ageing and Health, Vestfold Hospital Trust, 3125 Tønsberg, Norway
Isaac Kabelenga: Department of Social Work and Sociology, University of Zambia, Lusaka P.O. Box 32379, Zambia
Gary Lamph: School of Nursing and Midwifery, Keele University, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK
Daicia Price: School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Amy Østertun Geirdal: Department of Social Work, Child Welfare and Social Policy, Oslo Metropolitan University, 0130 Oslo, Norway

Social Sciences, 2024, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-15

Abstract: Social media may have the double potential to support and undermine mental health, and research is needed to investigate these relationships in age-specified populations. The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between the use of social media and psychological distress among older adults (60 years and above) both nine and 19 months after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. An online repeated cross-sectional survey was conducted in Australia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Participants (9 months: n = 679; 19 months: n = 238) reported the extent of social media use, motives for using social media, and level of psychological distress using the 12-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). The data were analysed with descriptive analyses, independent t -tests and multiple linear regression analyses. Time spent on social media was not associated with psychological distress. Higher psychological distress was associated with higher scores on using social media to ‘reduce loneliness’ at both measurement points. At nine months, higher psychological distress was associated with higher scores on using social media for ‘entertainment’, but the association was not statistically significant at 19 months. Psychological distress was associated with the motive to ‘maintain relationships’ at 19 months, but not at nine months. Guidance for older adults’ use of social media should emphasise how they can be used to promote communication and maintain existing relationships.

Keywords: cross-national study; repeated cross-sectional survey; COVID-19 pandemic; older adults; psychological distress; social media (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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