COVID-19 anxiety: The impact of older adults’ transmission of negative information and online social networks

OBJECTIVES: This study examines the impact of older adults’ online social networks on their COVID-19 anxiety, directly or indirectly through social transmission of negative information about COVID-19. Social networks were indexed by both bonding capital (i.e., social relationships formed with family and friends) and bridging capital (i.e., social relationships formed through casual social networks). METHODS: An on-line survey was conducted with 190 older adults who were in self-isolation in Ontario in the early waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. RESULTS: Bonding and bridging capital showed different impacts on older adults’ informational behavior and COVID-19 anxiety. While bonding capital deterred older adults from transmitting negative COVID-19 information and thus reduced COVID-19 anxiety, bridging capital contributed to increased dissemination of negative information and thus heightened older adults’ anxiety. DISCUSSION: Our findings shed light on the detrimental behavioral and psychological impact of casual online social networks on older adults amidst a public health crisis.