ArticleBMC psychology2025
The impact of active social media use on the mental health of older adults.
Article in BMC psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Social Media and High-Risk Eating Behaviors in Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The relationship between social media interaction quality and loneliness in older adults: the moderating role of perceived social support.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Unravelling the association between internet use and loneliness among Chinese older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of potentially moderating and mediating factors.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWith the rising population age and the development of information technology in China, a growing number of older adults use social media as a means of social participation. The impact of posting on WeChat Moments on the mental health of older adults is worthy of attention.
aimThe aim of this study is to identify posting on WeChat Moments as an active social media use and analyze its impact on the mental health of older adults.
methodUsing the survey data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), we defined posting on WeChat Moments as an active social media use and used propensity score matching (PSM) to analyze the impact of such posting on the mental health of older adults.
resultsThe results of the study showed that posting statistically significantly improved the depression, self-rated health, and health satisfaction of older adults. Heterogeneity analysis showed that the female older-adult population and the younger older-adult population derived the most mental health benefit from posting on WeChat Moments.
conclusionPosting on WeChat Moments statistically significantly improved the depression, self-rated health, and health satisfaction of older adults. Older adults who use WeChat and post on WeChat Moments derive much benefit from their active social media use.
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