The Mediatized Interactions and Social Networks of Empty-Nesters: A China-Based Study

Abstract

China is a populous country and its growing elderly population is pushing the whole country into the maelstrom of an aging society. The media practices and media interactions of empty-nesters have gradually become a real issue that is affecting the deepening transformation of Chinese society given the dual concerns of aging and mediatization. This study conducted in-depth interviews with 23 empty-nesters, chosen using the snowball sampling method combined with participant observation, to obtain their habits and behaviors related to social media use so to analyze the impact of media interactions on their daily life and social networks from a mediatized perspective. The availability of social media was found to influence their media use habits in four dimensions—technical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral—in the face of the digital divide, media memory writing, the construction of parasocial relationships, and embodied collaboration. These influences not only shaped and promoted the socialization of empty-nesters on social media networks but also extended to their daily life, as these influences enhanced both their mental and physical quality of life in old age.