| Research suggests that many of the problems associated with aging are related to communication. This study sought to discover whether relationships exist between use of the Internet and life satisfaction among the aging population. Research questions and hypotheses suggested by a pilot study were grounded on the theoretical perspective of uses and gratifications. The goal of this study was to determine how older people use the Internet as a communications medium, what gratifications they derive from it, and whether their perceived quality of life is higher because of it. The latter was operationalized by correlating respondents' scores on a standardized life satisfaction instrument with responses to questions regarding their Internet use habits. The investigator recruited a purposive sample of survey participants (N = 76) ranging in age from 60--85 through email addresses located on Web sites oriented toward the aging. The email solicitation linked participants directly to a questionnaire on a university Web site. Additionally 12 of those agreed to be interviewed by telephone and 20 completed an additional open-ended questionnaire over email. Responses to the survey and anecdotal evidence suggest that they perceive the medium as beneficial. However, those who use it in excess (five hours per day or more) had significantly lower mean scores on a standardized life satisfaction index. The results tend to mirror those of an earlier study (Kraut, et. al., 1998) which found a paradox across age ranges in which people who reported high levels of Internet use also score lower on scales of loneliness and depression. Both that research and the present study suggest that while lonely, depressed people may turn to the Internet for solace, relationships formed and maintained over the Internet may be weaker and less satisfying than real life social interaction. |
