Digital Leisure among Older Adults: Connections to Social Support, Flow, and Social Inclusion

Although digital leisure may help older adults experience social support, flow, and social inclusion, it is unknown if flow mediates the relationship between social support and social inclusion in later life. To address this question, we examined data from 325 older adults who completed in-person surveys measuring social support, flow, and social inclusion associated with digital leisure. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze data. SEM results showed that social support correlated positively with flow; flow correlated positively with social inclusion; and social support correlated positively with social inclusion. The correlation between social support and social inclusion was partially mediated by flow. We identify implications of these results in terms of promoting social inclusion for older adults by: (a) supporting them in seeking sources of social support through digital leisure, and (b) helping them achieve a balance between high level skills and challenges to experience flow during digital leisure.