The relationship between different purposes of social media use and loneliness in older adults: a moderated mediation model

Abstract Although previous research has demonstrated that social media use (SMU) can influence loneliness, the underlying mechanisms of this relationship among older adults remain insufficiently understood. Specifically, limited research has examined how different purposes of SMU (communication, posting and browsing) may contribute to loneliness through variations in social resources, and for whom these pathways differ as a function of attachment styles. To address these gaps, the present study constructed a moderated mediation model to examine whether perceived social support mediated the relationships between different purposes of SMU and loneliness among older adults, and whether attachment styles moderated the mediation of perceived social support. A total of 538 older adults aged 55 and above participated in this survey. The results revealed that all purposes of SMU (communication, posting and browsing) were significantly and negatively associated with loneliness among older adults. Moreover, perceived social support fully mediated the association between social media communication and loneliness. In addition, attachment anxiety and avoidance moderated this indirect association, such that the protective effect of communication was stronger among older adults with higher attachment anxiety or avoidance, likely due to enhanced perceived social support. These findings emphasize the importance of social media communication in promoting mental wellbeing among older adults and highlight its potential to facilitate their social adaptation in the digital era.