As digitalization accelerates, digital competency has become crucial for elderly well-being. However, little is known about the psychological mechanisms that link digital skills to life satisfaction. This study investigates whether satisfaction with digital transformation mediates this relationship and whether Digital Devices Self-Efficacy moderates it. We analyzed data from 2300 older adults (aged 55+) drawn from South Korea's 2022 Digital Information Gap Survey. Digital competency, satisfaction with digital transformation, digital devices self-efficacy, and life satisfaction were measured using validated scales. PROCESS Macro Model 7 was used to test moderated mediation effects, controlling for age, gender, education, occupation, disability, and living arrangement. Digital information competency significantly predicted higher life satisfaction, both directly (β = .095, p < .01) and indirectly via satisfaction with digital transformation (β = .055, 95% CI 0.040, 0.070). Moreover, the strength of the relationship between digital competency and satisfaction with transformation was moderated by digital devices self-efficacy (interaction β = -.108, p < .01). Notably, the positive effect of digital competency was strongest among individuals with lower self-efficacy. Improving digital skills alone may not suffice to enhance well-being in older adults. Programs should also boost self-efficacy and emphasize personal relevance to increase satisfaction with digital transformation. These findings inform future interventions aimed at reducing digital inequality and supporting more inclusive digital aging policies.
Baek et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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