Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany,
Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Gerontology. 2021;67(1):121-124. doi: 10.1159/000512793. Epub 2020 Dec 2.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious global burden. Epidemiological data suggest that the severity of COVID-19, in particular its case fatality rate, rises strongly with age. It is possible that neither a vaccine nor an effective treatment will be available for >1 year. Thus, it may be necessary for older adults to protect themselves by avoiding direct social contact and practicing social distancing for a rather long period of time. This may result in loneliness and social isolation because, for example, grandchildren cannot visit their grandparents. In turn, both loneliness and social isolation can have serious deleterious consequences (e.g., in terms of morbidity and mortality). Thus, the question arises: are there ways to mitigate loneliness and social isolation? One way to stay in contact is to use online social media such as Facebook or using video calling software such as Skype. However, there are very few studies examining whether the use of online social media or video chats are associated with loneliness and social isolation in older adults. We sum up some preliminary findings and make a call for further research on the link between online social media use/video chat and loneliness, as well as social isolation, in older adults.
新冠疫情是一个严重的全球性负担。流行病学数据表明，新冠疫情的严重程度，特别是其病死率，随着年龄的增长而急剧上升。在超过 1 年的时间里，可能既没有疫苗也没有有效的治疗方法。因此，老年人可能需要通过避免直接的社会接触和实行社交隔离来保护自己。这可能会导致孤独和社会隔离，因为例如，孙子孙女不能去看望他们的祖父母。反过来，孤独和社会隔离都会产生严重的有害后果（例如，在发病率和死亡率方面）。因此，问题出现了：有没有办法减轻孤独和社会隔离？一种保持联系的方法是使用在线社交媒体，如 Facebook，或使用视频通话软件，如 Skype。然而，几乎没有研究调查使用在线社交媒体或视频聊天是否与老年人的孤独和社会隔离有关。我们总结了一些初步发现，并呼吁进一步研究在线社交媒体使用/视频聊天与老年人孤独和社会隔离之间的联系。
