IMPACT OF SOCIAL INTERACTION AND DIGITAL LITERACY PROGRAMS ON LONELINESS AND SOCIAL ISOLATION IN ELDERLY COMMUNITIES.
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Keywords
social isolation, digital literacy program, elderly, loneliness
Abstract
Background: Social isolation refers to the objective absence of social contacts or communication with others, while loneliness is the subjective, negative experience of lacking companionship or perceiving insufficient social connections. This study aims to evaluate the impact of a structured social interaction and digital literacy program on reducing loneliness and social isolation among elderly communities. Methodology: A pre-experimental research design was adopted for the study. A total of 50 participants were recruited and randomly assigned to Group 1 (Social Interaction) and Group 2 (Digital Intervention). The participants were community-dwelling adults aged 50 to 65 years. Individuals with severe cognitive impairments or medical conditions that could interfere with participation were excluded from the study. Results: The study revealed that in the pretest, the majority of participants reported high loneliness (Group 1: 52%, Group 2: 50%). For posttest analysis in group 1 and group2, the percentage of high loneliness in group 1 reduced to 4% and high loneliness in group 2 was 8%. In the pretest, the majority of participants reported poor well-being (Group 1: 42%, Group 2: 44%). Outcome findings were better, poor well-being reduced to 16% in group 1 and 20% in group 2 after the posttest. In the social interaction program (Group 1), mean scores were significantly lower from pretest (49.16 (SD = 17.11) to posttest (34.20 (SD = 16.39)), t = 23.61, p = 0.001, as was seen with the social interaction program (Group 2, mean = 49.16 (SD = 17.11) to mean = 41.82 (SD = 18.41. The digital literacy program (Group 2) also showed a decreasing mean of 50.68 (SD = 20.24) to 43.76 (SD = 20.25) (t(46) = 21.55, p = 0.045), and a significant impact as well. Conclusion: The study concludes that both social interaction and digital literacy programs effectively reduced loneliness and improved well-being among elderly adults. Social interaction showed slightly greater benefits, while digital literacy also had a significant positive impact. These interventions can be integrated into community health strategies to promote healthy aging and social connectedness.
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