Using Computer-Mediated Communication to Reduce Loneliness in Older Adults

Loneliness in older adults is a problem. Loneliness negatively impacts the physical, mental and social health of an individual leading to problems including increased risk of poor health, cognitive decline, and death. As older adults utilize over 2.7 times more of U.S. personal health care expenses than should occur given their proportion of the population, the health of older adults is a societal issue. The current study examines the feasibility of a method to reduce loneliness in older adults by teaching participants various methods of computer-mediated communication (CMC). Participants were older adults who qualified as lonely utilizing a loneliness scale. The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase was a test of the intended intervention – a course on computer-mediated communication taught to a group of lonely older adults. In Phase 1, the researcher examined participant loneliness scores before and after the course was given, and the course on computer-mediated communication was examined for areas of improvement. The second phase implemented the intervention, with the changes recommended in Phase 1. The second phase also included the examination of hypotheses related to: the connections between CMC training and the level of use of computer mediated communication by older adults, the link between CMC training and computer self-efficacy in older adults, the determination of if an increase in CMC use by older adults is followed by improvement in social support or social network (two constructs linked with loneliness), and the determination if CMC use is followed by a reduction in social or emotional loneliness.