The Impact of Digital Infomatization Level on Depression of Older People: Focusing on the Mediating Effect of Social Capital

The purpose of this study is to examine the correlation between the digital informatization level of the elderly and depression, and to investigate the mediating role of social capital. A total of 475 responses out of 500 were included in the final analysis, and the analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0 and AMOS 22.0. The results revealed the following. First, the digital informatization level of the elderly was found to have a direct impact on depression. Second, it was confirmed that a higher digital informatization level in the elderly is associated with higher social capital. Third, higher social capital among the elderly is associated with reduced depression. Fourth, there is a mediating effect among the elderly's digital informatization level, social capital, and depression. These results suggest that increasing the digital iinformatization level among the elderly and fostering social capital play an important role in reducing depression. Therefore, practical and policy measures to enhance the digital iinformatization and social capital of the elderly have been proposed.