Social Capital Mediates the Association between the ICT Usage and Well-Being of Older People in Japan: Implication for a New Design Paradigm

Keisuke Kokubun, Toshimi Ogawa, Ryan Browne, Takamitsu Shinada, Lorenz Granrath, Johanna Moeller, Nhu Tram, Rainer Wieching and Yasuyuki Taki
Additional contact information
Keisuke Kokubun: Smart-Aging Research Center, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan
Toshimi Ogawa: Smart-Aging Research Center, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan
Ryan Browne: Smart-Aging Research Center, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan
Takamitsu Shinada: Smart-Aging Research Center, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan
Lorenz Granrath: Smart-Aging Research Center, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan
Johanna Moeller: Archdiocesan Caritas Association for the Archdiocese of Cologne, 50676 Cologne, Germany
Nhu Tram: AGE Platform Europe, 1150 Brussels, Belgium
Rainer Wieching: Information Systems and New Media, University of Siegen, 57068 Siegen, Germany
Yasuyuki Taki: Smart-Aging Research Center, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8575, Japan

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-20

Abstract: As the population ages, the question of how to prevent isolation among older people and increase their well-being becomes a social issue. It has often been argued that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) usage can be a solution to these challenges, but empirical studies have not shown consistent results. Moreover, there are even fewer studies targeting older people in Japan, which is the most aging country in the world. Therefore, using the psychological comprehensive data of Japanese people aged 60 and over recorded in World Values Survey Wave 7, we conducted a study to clarify the relationship between the ICT usage, social capital, and well-being of older people to make a meaningful contribution to policymakers and the scientific community. As a result of the analysis, it was shown that ICT usage indirectly enhances well-being by increasing social capital. This indicates that for older people, ICT usage does not have a large effect on enhancing well-being, but becomes sufficiently large only through the improvement of social capital. The pros and cons of such modern communication means should be utilized as a reference when considering the development of future communication means and a human coach—a person who supports the use of communication means by older people. In other words, to think about the spread of communication means to community-dwelling older people in the future, it is always necessary to think about technology usage emphasizing the relationship between older people and society.

Keywords: well-being; ICT usage; social capital; older people; Japan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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