Digital Exclusion and COVID-19: Does Communication Technology Correlate with Wellbeing?

Abstract

Aim

To explore the implications of digital use on the wellbeing of older people during the pandemic.

Method

33 adults aged 70 and above responded to an online and phone survey, a communication technology usage questionnaire, and the Personal Wellbeing Index-Adult (PWI-A). A Spearman test determined the correlation between frequency of communication technology usage and wellbeing.

Results

A significant medium correlation (r=.488, p=.004) was found between frequent digital communication usage and a higher average score on the PWI-A. Significant correlations were found between frequent technology use and health satisfaction (r=.377, p=.03), a sense of personal security (r=.404, p=.02), and a sense of future security (r=.597, p≤.001). Of all the communication platforms, video calls and emails yielded the most significant positive correlations with personal wellbeing.

Conclusion

Results suggest that frequent users of communication technology felt greater levels of wellbeing and life satisfaction during the pandemic than non-frequent users.

Keywords:

• Older adults
• wellbeing
• communication technology
• digital exclusion
• COVID-19

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.