College of Journalism and Mass Communications, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Jan 16;21(1):100. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21010100.
Loneliness in older adults is a critical issue that negatively affects their well-being. The potential of personal voice assistant (PVA) devices like Amazon's Alexa Echo in reducing loneliness is an emerging area of interest, but it remains under-researched.
this study aims to investigate the effect of interaction time and verbal engagement with PVA devices on reducing loneliness among older adults living alone.
In this experiment, individuals aged 75 and older ( = 15), living alone, were provided with Amazon Alexa Echo devices. They were instructed to interact with the device at least five times a day for a duration of four weeks. The study measured participants' loneliness levels using the UCLA loneliness scale both before and after the study. Additionally, the interaction time and verbal engagement with the device were measured by the total time of use and the total number of intentional commands spoken to Alexa during the four-week period.
The findings revealed that the total time spent interacting with Alexa was a significant predictor of loneliness reduction. A mediation analysis indicated an indirect effect, showing that the number of intentional commands spoken to Alexa contributed to loneliness reduction indirectly by increasing the total time spent with the device (verbal engagement → interaction time → loneliness reduction).
This study suggests that the key to reducing loneliness among older adults through PVA devices is not just initiating verbal interaction, but the overall time devoted to these interactions. While speaking to Alexa is a starting point, it is the duration of engagement that primarily drives loneliness alleviation.
老年人的孤独感是一个严重的问题，会对他们的幸福感产生负面影响。个人语音助手（PVA）设备（如亚马逊的 Alexa Echo）在减少孤独感方面具有潜力，这是一个新兴的研究领域，但研究还不够充分。
本研究旨在调查与 PVA 设备的交互时间和口头参与度对减少独居老年人孤独感的影响。
在这项实验中，年龄在 75 岁及以上（n=15）、独居的个体被提供了亚马逊 Alexa Echo 设备。他们被指示每天至少与设备互动五次，持续四周。研究使用 UCLA 孤独量表在研究前后测量参与者的孤独水平。此外，通过总使用时间和在四周内对 Alexa 说出的总指令数来衡量与设备的交互时间和口头参与度。
研究结果表明，与 Alexa 互动的总时间是减少孤独感的一个重要预测因素。中介分析表明存在间接效应，表明向 Alexa 说出的指令数量通过增加与设备的总交互时间（口头参与→交互时间→孤独感降低）间接促进孤独感降低。
本研究表明，通过 PVA 设备减少老年人孤独感的关键不仅仅是开始口头交互，而是整体投入这些交互的时间。与 Alexa 交谈是一个起点，但主要驱动孤独感减轻的是参与度的持续时间。
