Does the Internet make people happier ?

As people are spending more time online, it is important to evaluate the impact of Internet use on individual well-being. Internet use yields direct utility and economic returns (e.g. better job, higher productivity) that may increase life satisfaction. But the Internet might also have detrimental effects (addiction, social isolation, e.g.). This paper empirically examines the relation between Internet use and subjective well-being. Using Luxemburgish data from a European social survey, we find evidence that non users are less satisfied in their life than Internet users. This result holds when we control for socio-demographic characteristics, social capital, values and beliefs, and health and income. Moreover, the positive influence of Internet use is stronger for low income and young individuals. These findings suggest that public policy aiming to reduce the digital divide are socially desirableInternet, happiness, well-being, digital divide, social capital, social values

Technology for Older Adults: Maximising Personal and Social Interaction : Exploring Opportunities for eHealth to Support the Older Rural Population with Chronic Pain

Funding The TOPS project is supported by an award made by the RCUK Digital Economy programme to the dot.rural Digital Economy Hub, award reference EP/G066051/1.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Human interdependency for sustainable well-being: structural invariance across settlement areas

This survey research examined the underlying structure of subjective sustainable well-being (SSWB) discovered in the relationships of (i) Human Interdependence with other Humans (HIH), (ii) Human Interdependence with the Environment (HIE), and (iii) subjective well-being (SWB). The objectives of the empirical analysis were (i) to assess the causal relationship between human interdependence and SWB which instituted the SSWB structural model, and (ii) to evaluate the settlement areas-invariant of the causal structure of SSWB. The data was collected from self-reported questionnaires administered to 4315 working Malaysians. The findings of the structural equation modelling supported the adequacy of SSWB. The results also found that settlement areas, in particular the urban, sub-urban and rural areas, appeared to moderate the structural relationships of SSWB

Does the Internet make people happier?

As people are spending more time online, it is important to evaluate the impact of Internet use on individual well-being. Internet use yields direct utility and economic returns (e.g. better job, higher productivity) that may increase life sa-tisfaction. But the Internet might also have detrimental effects (addiction, social isolation, e.g.). This paper empirically examines the relation between Internet use and subjective well-being. Using Luxemburgish data from a European so-cial survey, we find evidence that non users are less satisfied in their life than Internet users. This result holds when we control for socio-demographic charac-teristics, social capital, values and beliefs, and health and income. Moreover, the positive influence of Internet use is stronger for low income and young in-dividuals. These findings suggest that public policy aiming to reduce the digital divide are socially desirable..Internet; happiness; well-being; digital divide; social capital; social values

Social Media Usage: The Impact on Feelings of Depression or Loneliness

Over the past decade, there has been a rapid growth of social media. Much of the problem lies with the new potential for constant social comparisons. Social media also adds a new layer of interaction that can occur anywhere, at any time, with anyone. This allows for a higher quantity of relationships, but strips the depth of these relationships. Does increased social media use affect quality of life? I hypothesize that the more social media sites a respondent is a member or regular user of, the more time he or she reports feeling depressed or lonely. I used a sample of 628 respondents as part of in-person interviews conducted by the 2016 General Social Survey. The results found that overall about 51 percent of the people claimed to feel depressed or lonely none of the time. Meaning that about half of respondents do feel depressed or lonely at least some of the time. The most statistically significant finding revealed that the higher ones income, the less one reports feeling depressed or lonely. However, the hypothesis must be rejected because there is no statistical significance between social media usage and quality of life. Social media site usage does not result in increased feelings of depression or loneliness. Based on the income results, does money buy happiness? Those of lower socio-economic class may not have access to proper medical care and therefore do not get adequate treatment for mental illnesses. Structural forces might be having a direct impact

Methods and (Lack) of Theory in Digital Inclusion, Digital Divide, and Digital Equity Research on Older Adults

Older adults, as a group, have been the focus of considerable attention from digital inclusion researchers. The paper analyses literature on the digital inclusion, digital divide, and digital equity of older adults from the last five years (2017-2022) to explore the extent to which recent digital inclusion research considers developments in the field and explores how research has progressed from exploration to theory building and the empirical testing of models. The paper contributes to our understanding of digital inclusion research on older adults through an analysis of methodologies and theories employed, and the topics investigated. Trends, deficits and gaps for future research are identified, with suggestions for how our knowledge, understanding and conceptualization of older adults’ digital inclusion may be advanced further

Information technology ability mediates the association between older adults’ subjective age and social activity: A STROBE-compliant cross-sectional analysis

Background The association between subjective age and social activity has been reported in the extant literature, but whether this association is mediated by information technology ability and its domains (i.e., internet use assessment, packaged software use assessment, and innovativeness attitude) has not been examined. Aim To assess the association between subjective age and social activity and to ascertain whether this association is mediated by information technology ability. Methods This study adopted a cross-sectional design characterising sensitivity analyses and common methods bias. The participants were 895 community-dwelling older adults aged 60 years or higher in Accra, Ghana. We measured subjective age, information technology ability, and social activity with previously validated Likert scales, each of which was internally consistent at a Cronbach's α ≥0.7. The data were analysed with partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and hierarchical linear regression (HLR) analysis. Results Subjective age was positively associated with social activity, and this association was partially mediated by information technology ability but none of the three domains of information technology ability mediated this relationship. Subjective age was positively associated with information technology ability and its three domains. Information technology ability (but not its domains) was positively associated with social activity. Conclusion Older subjective age was associated with higher social activity through information technology ability. Social activity and information technology ability levels among older adults depend on subjective age, which has implications for ageing and gerontology as reported in this paper