Depressive Symptoms and Internet Use Among Older Adults Living Alone in US and Korea: A Tale of Two Countries

Background and Purpose: An increasingly high number of older adults are living alone in both developed and developing countries, and one of the potential advantages of the internet use that signifies important implications for older adults is its association with depressive symptoms. Using a nationally representative data from the US and Korea, the current study examines association between internet use and depressive symptoms using demographic, socioeconomic, and health characteristics of older adults by different living arrangement type (co-residing with others compared to living alone).

Methods: Data and samples: For US, we use the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative survey of adults aged 50 and older. We use data from the 2012 survey and the analytic sample for general internet use includes 8,358 general older persons and 3,402 older adults who responded to live alone. For Korea, we use the Survey of the Living Profiles and Welfare Needs of Older Persons in Korea in 2014, which is also a nationally representative survey of older adults co-led by Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs. The final analytic sample of 10,279 for general older adults and 2,492 for the respondents who live alone. We limited the HRS sample to those aged 65 and over to keep comparability with SLPWNOP. We compared characteristics of older adults living alone to those co-residing with others using χ² tests and F-ratios, and used OLS regressions to estimate the effect of internet use on depressive symptoms. Geographic distributions of older internet users and those living alone were also examined.  

Measures: Depressive symptoms were measured continuously with different scales for US (0-8) and Korea (0-15). Use of internet was measured dichotomously (yes=1, no=0). Other covariates include age, gender, education, and social engagement.

Results: Older adults living alone were significantly older, mostly women, and reported poorer health than those living with others. OLS regression showed that internet use was significantly associated with lower depressive symptoms for both general older adults and those living alone in both countries. Examination of beta coefficients showed that internet use was the second strongest predictor next to social engagement for those living alone in Korea and the third after social engagement and education in US. However, geographic analyses showed that older internet users lived in metropolitan areas although older adults living alone clustered in less urban or rural areas.

Conclusions and Implications: Internet use may be an effective means to reduce depressive symptoms for older adults living in both single-person and multiple-family households. However, geographic analyses revealed older adults living alone are faced with unique barriers to internet access, and promoting effort to improve access are necessary to help them stay connected to their families and communities.