Your browser doesn't support javascript.
Reducing Loneliness Among Aging Adults: The Roles of Personal Voice Assistants and Anthropomorphic Interactions.
Jones, Valerie K; Hanus, Michael; Yan, Changmin; Shade, Marcia Y; Blaskewicz Boron, Julie; Maschieri Bicudo, Rafael.
  • Jones VK; University of Nebraska-Lincoln, College of Journalism and Mass Communications, Lincoln, NE, United States.
  • Hanus M; University of Nebraska-Lincoln, College of Journalism and Mass Communications, Lincoln, NE, United States.
  • Yan C; University of Nebraska-Lincoln, College of Journalism and Mass Communications, Lincoln, NE, United States.
  • Shade MY; University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Nursing, Omaha, NE, United States.
  • Blaskewicz Boron J; Department of Gerontology, University of Nebraska-Omaha, College of Public Affairs and Community Service, Omaha, NE, United States.
  • Maschieri Bicudo R; University of Nebraska-Lincoln, College of Journalism and Mass Communications, Lincoln, NE, United States.
Front Public Health ; 9: 750736, 2021.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1775936
ABSTRACT
The perception of feeling lonely is an influential factor in determining quality of life among aging adults. As the US Census Bureau projects that the number of Americans ages 65 and older will double by 2060, reducing loneliness is imperative. Personal voice assistants (PVAs) such as Amazon's Echo offer the ease-of-use of voice control with a friendly, helpful artificial intelligence. This study aimed to understand the influence of a PVA on loneliness reduction among adults of advanced ages, i.e., 75+, and explore anthropomorphism as a potential underlying mechanism. Participants (N = 16) ages 75 or older used an Amazon Echo PVA for 8 weeks in an independent living facility in the Midwest. Surveys were used to collect information about perceived loneliness, and PVA interaction data was recorded and analyzed. Participants consistently exceeded the required daily interactions. As hypothesized, after the first 4 weeks of the intervention, aging adults reported significantly lower loneliness (baseline mean = 2.22, SD = 0.42; week 4 mean = 1.99, SD = 0.45, Z = -2.45, and p = 0.01). Four dominant anthropomorphic themes emerged after thematic analysis of the entire 8 weeks' PVA interaction data (Cohen's Kappa = 0.92) (1) greetings (user-initiated, friendly phrases); (2) comments/questions (user-initiated, second-person pronoun), (3) polite interactions (user-initiated, direct-name friendly requests), (4) reaction (user response to Alexa). Relational greetings predicted loneliness reductions in the first 4 weeks and baseline loneliness predicted relational greetings with the PVA during the entire 8 weeks, suggesting that anthropomorphization of PVAs may play a role in mitigating loneliness in aging adults.
Subject(s)
Keywords

Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Loneliness Type of study: Observational study / Prognostic study Limits: Aged / Humans Language: English Journal: Front Public Health Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Fpubh.2021.750736

Similar

MEDLINE

...
LILACS

LIS


Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Loneliness Type of study: Observational study / Prognostic study Limits: Aged / Humans Language: English Journal: Front Public Health Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Fpubh.2021.750736