Emotional Connectivity: The Influence of Intergenerational Digital Communication on Subjective Well-being of Chinese Elderly

In China, more and more Chinese families are increasingly living apart, with digital media becoming an important channel for intergenerational communication. From the perspective of family communication, the article explores how intergenerational digital communication affects the subjective well-being of the Chinese elderly. Based on survey data from more than 400 older adults across the country, a regression model was used to analyze the impact of intergenerational digital communication on older adults' subjective well-being, and the Boostrap method was used to test the mediating role of emotional support in it. It was found that intergenerational digital communication can affect older adults' subjective well-being, with emotional support playing a fully mediating role. The findings suggest that when communicating digitally with older adults, the emotional needs of older adults should be emphasized in order to enhance their subjective well-being and help achieve positive aging.