Does online social connectedness buffer risk of depression following driving cessation? An analysis of older drivers and ex- drivers
Open accessAbstract
This study investigates the role of online social connectedness as a buffer against depression in older adults who cease driving. A survey of 108 over-65 year olds (M = 73.7, SD = 7.37) was conducted. Measures included online and offline social connectedness; depression; online activities; and general health. The online activities in which older adults most frequently engaged were communicating with family and friends, reading the news, and banking. Face-to-face social connectedness was by far the strongest predictor of depression. However, online social connectedness did significantly moderate the effects of driving cessation on depression. The results suggest that online social connectedness can help protect older people from depressive symptoms following driving cessation.
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Only one cross-sectional study found that more frequent social media use was associated with higher relatedness, and the other three studies did not find an association between social media use and social connectedness.
“Only one cross-sectional study (Clark & Moloney, 2020) found that more frequent social media use was associated with higher relatedness, and the other three studies (Challands et al., 2017;Hage et al., 2016, Quinn, 2021) did not find an association between social media use and social connectedness.”
From The relationship between social media use and psychosocial outcomes in older adults: A systematic review (2024) · cites this paper as Challands et al., 2017
The Results report that Facebook members were not significantly more socially connected online than non-members. That supports a narrower finding about Facebook membership, but the paper does not report a test of whether the frequency of social media use was associated with social connectedness. Its reported frequency correlations concern age, not connectedness. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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- Authors
- Challands, K. G., Lacherez, P., & Obst, P. L.
- Affiliations
- Queensland University of Technology (AU)
- Venue
- Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2017-04
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 232-237
- ISSN
- 2152-2715 (ISSN-L)
- 2152-2723
- OpenAlex
- W2592448516
- Semantic Scholar
- f168fdbd910a2b93631b6c3711f6a70dc63337aa
- Cited by
- 22
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 4.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- eprints.qut.edu.au
- Locations
- Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- QUT ePrints (Queensland University of Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Faculty of Health; Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Demography › Technology Use by Older Adults
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Older Adults Driving Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Aging, Health, and Disability
- Keywords
- depression, driving cessation, older drivers, moderating effect, older adults, depressive symptoms, online activities
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Automobile Driving, Depression, Female, Humans, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Risk Factors, Social Support, Internet
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