The Impact of Digital Social Capital on Life Satisfaction among Older Adults Living Alone : The Mediating Effect of Social Isolation

The aim of this research is to investigate the role of social isolation as a mediator in the association between digital social capital and life satisfaction inolder adults living alone. A survey was conducted with 500 individuals aged 60 andover residing in Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province, South Korea. Among theresponses collected, a total of 194 valid responses from older adults living alonewere analyzed, excluding incomplete, insincere, or ineligible responses. Hierarchicalregression analysis and bootstrapping were performed using SPSS 26.0 and ProcessMacro v4.2 (Model 4) to test the mediating effect. The key findings are as follows:First, higher levels of digital social capital were significantly associated withincreased life satisfaction. Second, digital social capital was negatively associatedwith social isolation. Third, social isolation had a significant negative impact on lifesatisfaction. Fourth, social isolation was found to partially mediate the relationshipbetween digital social capital and life satisfaction. Based on these findings, thestudy proposes practical and policy implications aimed at enhancing digital socialcapital and reducing social isolation as strategies to improve the life satisfaction ofolder adults living alone.