Connected but lonely? The role of social networking sites among older adults experiencing isolation and loneliness

OBJECTIVES: social networking sites (SNS) ameliorates the emotional distress associated with isolation and loneliness among older adults. METHOD: SNS moderate these relationships. RESULTS: Loneliness, compared to isolation, is consistently associated with emotional distress among older adults. SNS attenuates mental and emotional distress among those who are objectively isolated while magnifying the negative impacts of loneliness. The associations between SNS communications and emotional distress are conditional on degrees of isolation and loneliness. In particular, greater SNS use is associated with higher negative affect among those who feel lonely but higher positive affect among those who are isolated. CONCLUSION: SNS may offset social isolation among older adults, whereas heavy reliance on SNS when one feels lonely may amplify that internalization. Assessments of social technology would benefit from distinguishing isolation and loneliness conditions.