Whether Digital Skills Can Alleviate Social Alienation among the Elderly—An Intermediary Test Based on Adhesion and Bridging Social Capital

本研究基于能力–环境压力理论，探讨数字技能对老年人社会疏离的影响机制，并检验黏连/桥接社会资本的中介作用。研究发现，数字技能水平与老年人的社会疏离程度呈显著负相关，表明提升数字技能能有效缓解老年人的社会疏离问题。进一步分析显示，黏连社会资本和桥接社会资本在数字技能与社会疏离之间均起到部分中介作用。本研究为通过数字赋能和社会资本培育来缓解老年社会疏离提供了理论依据，对实施积极老龄化战略具有重要实践意义。This study, based on the capability-environmental stress theory, explores the impact mechanism of digital skills on social isolation among older adults and examines the mediating role of adhesive/bridging social capital. The findings show that there is a significant negative correlation between digital skill levels and the degree of social isolation among older adults, indicating that enhancing digital skills can effectively alleviate social isolation issues. Further analysis reveals that both adhesive social capital and bridging social capital partially mediate the relationship between digital skills and social isolation. This study provides a theoretical basis for mitigating social isolation among older adults through digital empowerment and social capital cultivation, which has important practical implications for implementing an active aging strategy.