Higher is associated with better sleep quality and less among older adults.
Social media use frequency was assessed among 900 older adults living in Shiraz.
Better sleep quality and lower perceived social isolation were linked to higher social media use.
The positive effects of social media use on sleep quality and social isolation were mediated by levels of .
Participants with more frequent social media use reported feeling less lonely, indicating a moderating effect of social media on psychological distress and social isolation.
Simplified
OBJECTIVES: Older adults are more likely to have poor sleep quality and be socially isolated. The present study examined the potential benefits and disadvantages of (SMU) with respect to sleep quality and among Iranian late-middle-aged and older adults with focus a on both the mediating and moderating role of .
METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 900 older community-dwellers living in Shiraz using a structured questionnaire. Social media use was assessed by estimating the frequency of social networking site visits per week. Data concerning self-rated physical health, chronic medical and mental health conditions, perceived social isolation, sleep quality, and psychological distress were also collected. Multiple linear regression was used to identify independent variables associated with outcomes. Then, mediation and moderation models were used to examine the potential mediating and moderating effects of psychological distress and SMU on their relationships with the study variables.
RESULTS: Higher social media use was associated with better sleep quality and less perceived social isolation. Nevertheless, the relationships between SMU and participants' sleep quality and perceived social isolation were largely mediated by their level of psychological distress. Furthermore, SMU had a significant moderating effect in the relationship between the psychological distress and the levels of perceived social isolation, so that participants with higher frequency of SMU per week felt less loneliness.
CONCLUSIONS: The study findings suggest that SMU has a positive buffering effect regarding late middle-aged and older adults' mental health mainly through moderation of their perceived social isolation. The mediating role of psychological distress in research examining the relationship between SMU and older adults' mental health outcomes should be considered in future research.
Key numbers
83%
Mediating Role of
Percentage of the association between and sleep quality mediated by .
28.6%
High
Percentage of participants experiencing high .
53%
Daily
Percentage of participants using social media daily.
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