Social capital and wellbeing among older adults Internet user

Maintaining ties with other people is important for successful ageing. Creating new relationships is often one of the challenges that older adults may encounter. The Internet opens new options for communication and may change the extent to which people are involved in community. Use of the Internet as a new communication technology may lead to changes in older adults' social relationships. Social networks facilitate interaction among people and may influence the production of social capital. Social capital is defined as "features of social organisation such as networks, norms and trust that facilitate coordination and co-operation". Social capital is a multidimensional approach which includes diverse aspects of social structure. Although it is increasingly obvious that the Internet is changing the way humans live, the details of this change are not yet clear. A major debate in current literature involves the capacity of the Internet to enhance social capital and wellbeing in old age. In this regard, the present study attempts to investigate the relationships between Internet use and seniors' social capital and wellbeing.