Self-determination theory posits that feeling related, competent, and autonomous is central to wellbeing. However, meeting these psychological needs can become difficult as adults age. Facebook use has been associated with enhanced relatedness, competence, and autonomy in a student population, but the effect of Facebook use on the psychological needs in older adults has yet to be investigated. Drawing from self-determination theory, we investigated whether Facebook use facilitated older adults' relatedness, competence, and autonomy needs, and the relationship between these psychological needs and levels of mobility. One hundred and twenty-seven adults (Mage = 71), completed an online survey that measured Facebook use, relatedness, competence, autonomy, and levels of mobility. More frequent Facebook users reported significantly higher levels of relatedness compared to less frequent Facebook users, and less mobile participants reported significantly lower levels of autonomy and used Facebook significantly more frequently than more mobile participants. The potential of Facebook as a tool to help older adults meet their relatedness needs is discussed.

自我决定理论认为，感觉相关、有能力和自主是幸福感的核心。然而，随着成年人年龄的增长，满足这些心理需求可能会变得困难。Facebook 的使用与学生群体的相关性、能力和自主性的增强有关，但 Facebook 的使用对老年人心理需求的影响尚待调查。根据自我决定理论，我们调查了 Facebook 的使用是否促进了老年人的相关性、能力和自主需求，以及这些心理需求与流动性水平之间的关系。一百二十七位大人（法师 = 71)，完成了一项衡量 Facebook 使用、相关性、能力、自主性和流动性水平的在线调查。与较不频繁的 Facebook 用户相比，较频繁的 Facebook 用户报告的相关性水平显着更高，而较少的移动参与者报告的自主性水平显着降低，并且与更多的移动参与者相比，使用 Facebook 的频率明显更高。讨论了 Facebook 作为帮助老年人满足其相关需求的工具的潜力。