The mediating role of loneliness on relations between face-to-face and virtual interactions and psychological well-being across age: A 21-day diary study

Lack of social interaction is associated with a heightened sense of loneliness and, in turn, poorer psychological well-being. Despite the prevalence of communicating with others virtually even when physically alone, whether the social interaction-loneliness-well-being relationship is different between face-to-face and virtual interactions and between younger and older adults is relatively understudied. This 21-day diary study examined this question among younger (n = 91;M-age = 22.87) and older (n = 107;M-age = 64.53) Hong Kong participants during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (March-May 2020). We found significant indirect effects of shorter face-to-face interaction time on poorer psychological well-being via a heightened sense of loneliness at the within-person level only among younger adults and at the between-person level only among older adults. Independent of loneliness, spending more time with others on virtual interactions was associated with better psychological well-being only among older adults. Taken together, while the mechanisms may be different across age groups, face-to-face interaction remains an effective way to reduce loneliness and enhance psychological well-being even at times when it is discouraged (e.g., pandemic). Although virtual interaction does not reduce loneliness, its positive impact on older adults' well-being sheds light on the utility of promoting technological acceptance in late adulthood.

Obtaining Information From Different Sources Matters During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Older adults might be less information-seeking in comparison to younger adults. Yet, when a crisis hits, rather than relying on only a few information sources, it is important for people to gather information from a variety of different sources. With more information sources, people are more likely to obtain a more realistic perception of the situation and engagement of health behaviors. This study examined the association between age and information-seeking patterns, and how information-seeking patterns influenced worry about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and protective measures taken during the pandemic. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This study was conducted from March to May 2020. Ninety younger adults and 105 older adults were recruited in a 21-day daily diary study. Participants reported the types of sources where they received COVID-19-related information, worry from these information sources and protective health behaviors performed each day. Multilevel serial mediation analysis was performed. RESULTS: Concurrent and time-lagged analyses both revealed that older adults received information from more sources, and more frequently from traditional (e.g., newspaper and TV) and interpersonal sources (e.g., information shared by friends and families), than did younger adults. When receiving information from more sources, older adults were more worried about COVID-19 and performed more protective health behaviors. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: These results demonstrated the utility of having more information sources in the context of a public health crisis and offered suggestions for future public communication and community engagement.