Connecting activities on Social Network Sites and life satisfaction: A comparison of older and younger users

Social Network Sites (SNSs) have been found to promote psychological well-being of individuals through bonding and bridging social capital by allowing users to engage in different networking activities with their close and weak ties. However, these findings primarily focus on younger population or adopt simplistic measures of SNS use without distinguishing different activities, leaving how specific SNS uses may affect older users' psychological well-being unclear. This study examined the effects of engaging in different Facebook activities on older users over 50 as compared to younger adults between 18 and 25, using Facebook behavioral data in conjunction with survey data. Drawing from Socioemotional Selectivity Theory and Uses and Gratification theory, it tested different effects of SNS activities on older and younger users’ psychological well-being. We found that compared to younger adults, older adults benefit less from having a large network and more from engaging in directed communication activities.