Digital Social Participation and Loneliness Among Older Adults: The Mediating Roles of Social Connectedness and Perceived Autonomy

DOI

No DOI

Published In

Volume 6, Issue 4 (2026)

Published Online

July-August 2026

Pages

05-14

Article Type

Original Article

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Loneliness among older adults has become a major social and public health concern, particularly in societies experiencing rapid population aging and increasing digitalization. Although digital technologies are often promoted as tools for reducing social isolation in later life, existing research frequently treats digital engagement as simple access to, or frequency of use of, the internet. Such an approach overlooks the social quality of digital participation, the psychological mechanisms through which digital engagement may influence well-being, and the role of digital literacy in enabling older adults to benefit from online interaction. Drawing on Active Aging Theory and Social Production Function Theory, this article proposes a structural equation modeling framework to examine the relationship between digital social participation and loneliness among older adults. The model positions digital social participation as the independent variable, loneliness as the dependent variable, social connectedness and perceived autonomy as parallel mediators, and digital literacy as a moderator. It is argued that digital social participation reduces loneliness when it strengthens meaningful social relationships and enhances older adults’ sense of control over everyday life. Furthermore, digital literacy is expected to strengthen the positive effects of digital social participation on social connectedness and perceived autonomy. The article contributes to gerontology, digital inclusion research, and social policy by presenting an empirically testable moderated mediation model that explains how and under what conditions digital participation may reduce loneliness in later life.