The Impact of Facebook on the Quality of Life of Senior Citizens in Cape Town

Abstract

Social Networking Sites (SNSs), such as Facebook, can be used to maintain social connectedness especially with friends and family, irrespective of geographical distances or physical impairments. This is particularly beneficial for older people who are more prone to social exclusion. This paper investigates the impact that the use of Facebook has on the quality of life (QOL) of senior citizens living in Cape Town. The study use a positivist approach with a conceptual model comprised of parts of Kleine's Choice Framework and CASP-19 as the theoretical lens for evaluation of how Facebook impacts the QOL of senior citizens in Cape Town. Results of an anonymous survey confirmed that respondents were light users of Facebook, using only a limited number of features. The research also revealed that the respondents used Facebook primarily to stay socially engaged with their friends and family which adds happiness to their lives and ultimately translates to an improved QOL. The results reinforced a causal relationship between Facebook use and the QOL of senior citizens in Cape Town.

Social networking sites and the experience of older adult users: a systematic review

“…A primary motivation for using SNSs amongst older adults is to maintain close ties, e.g. family and friends (Erickson, 2011;Sundar et al, 2011;Hope et al, 2014;Jung and Sundar, 2016;Quinn et al, 2016;Jung et al, 2017;Rylands and Van Belle, 2017). Perceived benefits of joining SNSs included a means of staying connected to younger generations (Hope et al, 2014;Quinn et al, 2016), a means of remaining cognitively active (Quinn et al, 2016), curiosity about others' lives (Jung and Sundar, 2016;Jung et al, 2017), playing games and keeping up to date with persons of interest (Hope et al, 2014).…”

“…casual friends or acquaintances (Jung and Sundar, 2016;Jung et al, 2017), in general this was not a common reason for using SNSs. Very few participants were interested in using Facebook to meet new people (Erickson, 2011;Bell et al, 2013;Rylands and Van Belle, 2017).…”

“…Some participants said that SNSs detracted from their primary interest in nurturing close relationships, since they saw it as a forum for nonmeaningful interactions with 'weaker ties' (Hope et al, 2014;Lüders and Brandtzaeg, 2014). Qualitative interviews suggested that some non-users disliked the communication or content on SNSs (Hope et al, 2014;Lüders and Brandtzaeg, 2014;Quinn et al, 2016;Jung et al, 2017;Rylands and Van Belle, 2017), which was described as trivial, unimportant, self-centred and unreliable.…”

“…Most studies were low (N = 4) or medium quality (N = 4), with three rated as high quality. A common limitation across studies was the use of cross-sectional data, preventing conclusions about the direction of any relationship between SNS use and wellbeing (Sundar et al, 2011;Bell et al, 2013;Richter et al, 2013;Aarts et al, 2014;Hutto et al, 2015;Yu et al, 2016b;Rylands and Van Belle, 2017). Many studies used samples characterised by higher levels of social wellbeing (Sundar et al, 2011;Bell et al, 2013;Hutto et al, 2015), making it difficult to know how SNS use might impact on social wellbeing in individuals with high levels of social isolation and loneliness.…”

“…Sundar et al (2011) found no relationship between SNS use and quality of life. Many participants in one study indicated that Facebook use allowed them to be more socially and intellectually engaged, particularly participants using functions on the site to a greater extent (Rylands and Van Belle, 2017). This may suggest that participants more active on SNSs reaped greater rewards for wellbeing.…”