Older Adults, Social Technologies, and the Coronavirus Pandemic: Challenges, Strengths, and Strategies for Support
Older Adults, Social Technologies, and the Coronavirus Pandemic: Challenges, Strengths, and Strategies for Support
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DOI：
10.1177/2056305120948162
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发表时间：
2020-07-01
影响因子：
5.2
通讯作者：
Hancock, Jeffrey T.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Moore, Ryan C.;Hancock, Jeffrey T.
COVID-19对每个人的健康都是一种威胁，但对老年人来说尤其具有破坏性。为了防止病毒传播，社交距离已成为世界范围内的常态。然而，随着社交距离的减少，面对面的互动显着减少，考虑到老年人现有的孤独程度，这可能对他们特别有害。虽然社交技术可用于在必要的物理距离期间提供关键的社交互动，但老年人往往缺乏获得这些技术或有效使用它们所需的技能和经验。一旦上网，老年人就面临着成为错误信息和诈骗的特大目标的额外挑战，这两种情况在COVID-19的背景下比比皆是。在这篇文章中，我们讨论了老年人在目前的流行病中使用数字媒体进行社交联系所面临的挑战，并强调了一些人口尚未开发的优势，这些优势可以用来帮助他们过上富裕的在线生活。最后，我们提供了关键利益相关者可以采取的行动建议，以支持老年人在这方面的追求。
COVID-19 is a threat to everyone's health but can be especially devastating to older individuals. To prevent spread of the virus, social distancing has become the norm worldwide. However, with social distancing comes significantly less face-to-face interaction, which may be particularly harmful to older adults given their existing levels of loneliness. While social technologies can be used to provide critical social interaction during this time of necessary physical distancing, older adults tend to either lack access to these technologies or the skills and experience necessary to use them effectively. Once online, older adults face the additional challenge of being outsized targets of misinformation and scams, both of which abound in the context of COVID-19. In this essay, we discuss the challenges faced by older adults in their use of digital media for social connection in the present pandemic, as well as highlight some of the population's untapped strengths which can be leveraged to help them live prosperous online lives. Finally, we provide recommendations for actions which key stakeholders can take to support older adults in this pursuit.