The Relationship Between Social Participation and Internet Addiction in Older Persons
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Date
2020
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Abstract
The addiction to technology of older persons is an emerging field,because the literature tends to focus only on the benefits of the use of technologyin this age group. Along with this, there is interest in how participation improvesthe quality of life of older persons. In this context, the present study aims to examine the association between the level of participation of older individuals and theiraddictive behaviors to Internet, including lack of control and emotional deregulation. All this, considering the social influence for the use of the Internet as amediator of this relationship. For this, 151 older Internet users answered a set ofquestions about internet addiction, level of participation, and social influence forthe use of technology. A structural equation modeling was carried out to evaluatethe mediation model. The results show that the level of participation is indirectlyassociated with the two dimensions of Internet addiction, via the social influencethat promotes the use of technology. This has important implications in the development of interventions that encourage Internet use in older persons, decreasingaddictive behaviors that could emerge as the use of technology becomes morecommon.
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Keywords
Internet addiction, Older persons, Social participation