Center for Technology Adoption for Aging in the North (CTAAN), University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada.
Health and Wellbeing Strategic Research Area, School of Health, Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies Social Care, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Oct 27;19(21):13969. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192113969.
Few studies have examined social media and technology use during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Therefore, the main research question and objective of this study was to examine similarities and differences in the influences of mobile technology and social media use on Canadians among different age groups and across gender during the COVID-19 pandemic. From June through October 2021, 204 persons completed a 72-item online survey. Survey questions encompassed COVID-19 pandemic experiences and technology use. Standardized measures including the Psychological Wellbeing measure, eHeals, and the UCLA V3 Loneliness scale were collected to examine the psychological influences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings showed that males under 50 years were most likely to self-isolate compared to the other demographic results of the study. Males reported using technology less than females but were more likely to report using technology to share information regarding COVID-19. Respondents under 50 years were also more likely to use smartphones/mobile phones as their most used mobile technology device, whereas respondents over 50 were more split between smartphones/mobile phones and computers/tablets as their most used device. Males scored higher on the UCLA loneliness scale and lower on the Psychological Wellbeing sub-scores compared to females. Further research should explore additional demographics in relation to broader aspects of digital skills across different age groups.
很少有研究调查加拿大在 COVID-19 大流行期间对社交媒体和技术的使用情况。因此，本研究的主要研究问题和目标是研究在 COVID-19 大流行期间，不同年龄组和不同性别的加拿大人在移动技术和社交媒体使用方面的影响的异同。2021 年 6 月至 10 月，204 人完成了一项 72 项的在线调查。调查问题包括 COVID-19 大流行经历和技术使用情况。收集了标准化的衡量标准，包括心理健康量表、eHeals 和 UCLA V3 孤独量表，以检查 COVID-19 大流行对心理健康的影响。研究结果表明，50 岁以下的男性比研究的其他人口统计学结果更有可能自我隔离。男性报告使用的技术比女性少，但更有可能使用技术来分享有关 COVID-19 的信息。50 岁以下的受访者也更有可能将智能手机/手机作为他们最常使用的移动技术设备，而 50 岁以上的受访者则更倾向于将智能手机/手机和平板电脑/电脑作为他们最常使用的设备。男性在 UCLA 孤独量表上的得分高于女性，在心理健康子量表上的得分低于女性。进一步的研究应该探索与不同年龄组的更广泛数字技能相关的其他人口统计学因素。
