Posting, Commenting In Addition To Customizing On Facebook Assistance Involve, Empower Older Adults
Sunday, July 23, 2017
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Social networking sites, such every bit Facebook, offering tools together with activities that may assist older adults experience to a greater extent than empowered together with less isolated, according to researchers.
In a study of Facebook use, older adults who posted a lot of personal stories on the social networking site felt a higher sense of community, together with the to a greater extent than they customized their profiles, the to a greater extent than inward command they felt, said S. Shyam Sundar, Penn State distinguished professor of communications together with co-director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory. He added that the study suggests that using social media is non a uniform experience that is either all bad, or all good, simply offers multiple functions for various users.
"People tend to intend of Facebook every bit a dark box that either has an overall positive number or a negative effect, simply what distinguishes this study is that it makes an endeavour to become inward together with come across what people practise inward Facebook -- together with that's what matters," said Sundar. "So, inward other words, social media, yesteryear itself, is neither good, nor bad, simply it's how you lot utilization it."
For older adults, who may endure less mobile, Facebook together with similar social networking sites could play a critical role inward easing isolation together with making them experience similar they are constituent of a large community, according to the researchers, who study their findings inward the periodical New Media & Society.
"This is important, peculiarly for older adults who powerfulness endure aging inward place, because they accept mobility constraints that limit their powerfulness to socialize," said Sundar. "And, for the final x years or so, we've been looking into how social networking sites tin heighten the social life of older adults together with trim back the social isolation that they powerfulness feel. These are to a greater extent than fine-grained findings that rate for sure things you lot practise on Facebook tin plough over you lot gratifications, similar fulfilling the needs for activity, having interactions with others, having a greater sense of agency, together with edifice community."
The researchers also suggested that commenting on together with responding to posts gave older users a feeling of social interaction.
Eun Hwa Jung, formerly a doctoral pupil at Penn State together with currently assistant professor of communications together with novel media, National University of Singapore, who worked with Sundar, said older adults are increasingly adopting social media, inward general, together with are a growing number of Facebook's full membership. According to Pew research, 34 pct of Americans aged 65 years together with older utilization social networks inward 2017, an growth of seven pct from 2016. Facebook is considered the virtually pop social network with older adults, the researchers add.
Given the widespread diffusion of Facebook inward this group, agreement what gratifications older adults derive from detail technological features helps designers develop amend user interfaces suited for them, Jung said.
"It tin improve online interactions betwixt individuals from dissimilar generations," she added.
According to Sundar, developers of social media networks should reckon the needs of this growing grouping of users. For example, they should create features that heighten the identity of older adults piece simultaneously protecting their privacy. More features that encourage older adults to central together with visualize messages with others could also brand sites to a greater extent than interactive for this group.
To collect the data, the researchers recruited 202 participants -- 79.7 pct woman soul together with 20.3 pct manful soul -- who were lx years together with older together with used Facebook for at to the lowest degree a year. The participants were recruited from 27 retirement centers throughout the United States.
The researchers "friended" the participants on Facebook together with hence they could count the number of times they used the various tools inward the site during the yesteryear year. The participants were also asked to response to a questionnaire that captured the gratifications they obtained from Facebook.
Future enquiry may await at whether these positive interactions on Facebook could Pb to the enhancement of well-being for seniors, Sundar said. The researchers also suggested that the effects of other social media outlets, such every bit Twitter together with Pinterest, every bit good every bit other mobile together with wearable devices, on older adults should endure investigated.
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