Internet y redes sociales: necesidad de refuerzo del empoderamiento digital en personas mayores

The purpose of this article is to conduct and present an analysis of the frequency of internet and social media usage habits among older Spanish adults, taking into account, in depth, the usage preferences of the subjects included in the research. It also explores the effect of the internet on the psychosocial aspects of older adults and examines the existence of a digital and gender divide. Regarding its methodological orientation, the research adopts a documentary hermeneutic approach. Numerous bibliographic sources published in the last 5 years, including WOS, Scopus, Dialnet, Scielo, and Google Scholar, were reviewed. Fifteen interviews were conducted with regular internet users aged 65 and over to understand and interpret the main problems faced by older Spanish adults online. Among the findings, it is worth highlighting that internet use provides significant support to older adults in several areas, such as health and social and family relationships. Likewise, some gender differences in internet use have been identified, with men being the most frequent users.