Abstract
This chapter aims to explore the potential value of seniors’ online communities for the well-being of older adults. Based on a series of studies that utilized various methods (including content analysis, virtual ethnography, and online survey with community members), this chapter demonstrates how all the utilities of information and communication technologies (ICT) for older adults that were identified in previous research are offered by seniors’ online communities. These include a communication medium, an information source, a task-oriented tool, and a leisure activity. Accordingly, as these functions were found to have significant contribution to seniors’ well-being, the main argument of this chapter is that seniors’ online communities have significant potential to enhance psychological well-being in later life. Preliminary empirical support for this argument is provided.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Oxford Handbook of Clinical Geropsychology |
| Editors | Nancy A. Pachana, Ken Laidlaw |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
| Pages | 970-989 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780191750892 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780199663170 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2014 |