This work was supported by European Commission; Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia; U.S National Institute on Aging; Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian; German Ministry of Education and Research.Living alone has been indicated as a key variable to explain loneliness
in older adults. In contemporary society, where technology has
become one of the main means of communication and personal
interaction, has the internet influenced the relationship between
living alone and loneliness? This paper aims to answer this research
question by using a sample of 64,297 individuals who were surveyed
in SHARE project wave 6 – in European countries with different
welfare regimes (Portugal, Greece, Italy and Spain, Denmark, Sweden,
Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Poland,
Czech Republic; Slovenia, Estonia, and Croatia).
The results of the regression analysis evidence the moderating
role of the internet on the relationship between living alone and
feelings of loneliness in individuals aged 50 and over, so that the
impact of living alone on loneliness is diminished for internet
users as compared to their peers who do not use the internet. The
results therefore reinforce the importance of policies aimed at
fostering e-inclusion as a way of reducing the loneliness of older
adults
