Social distancing rules during the COVID-19 pandemic changed social interaction for many and increased the risk of loneliness in the general population. Social media use has been ambiguously related to loneliness, and associations may differ by age. The study aimed to examine loneliness and its association with social media use within different age groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia during April/May 2020, and 3,810 participants aged 18 years or above were recruited. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between social media use and social and emotional loneliness within separate age groups. Emotional loneliness was higher among young adults and among those who used social media several times daily. Adjusting by sociodemographic variables, using more types of social media was associated with lower social loneliness among the oldest participants, and with higher emotional loneliness among the youngest participants. Among middle-aged participants, using social media more frequently was associated with lower social loneliness. We found that the associations between social media use and loneliness varied by age. Older people’s engagement on social media may be a resource to reduce loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. We observed higher levels of loneliness among high-frequent social media users of younger age.

COVID-19 大流行期间的社交距离规则改变了许多人的社交互动，并增加了普通人群的孤独风险。社交媒体的使用与孤独感有模棱两可的关系，而且联想可能因年龄而异。该研究旨在检查孤独感及其与 COVID-19 大流行期间不同年龄组的社交媒体使用的关联。2020 年 4 月/5 月，在挪威、英国、美国和澳大利亚进行了横断面在线调查，招募了 3,810 名 18 岁或以上的参与者。进行多元回归分析以检查不同年龄组内社交媒体使用与社交和情感孤独之间的关联。年轻人和每天多次使用社交媒体的人的情感孤独感更高。根据社会人口变量进行调整，使用更多类型的社交媒体与年龄最大的参与者的社交孤独感较低有关，而最年轻的参与者的情感孤独感较高。在中年参与者中，更频繁地使用社交媒体与较低的社交孤独感有关。我们发现社交媒体使用与孤独感之间的关联因年龄而异。老年人在社交媒体上的参与可能是在 COVID-19 大流行期间减少孤独感的一种资源。我们观察到，在年轻的高频社交媒体用户中，孤独感更高。在中年参与者中，更频繁地使用社交媒体与较低的社交孤独感有关。我们发现社交媒体使用与孤独感之间的关联因年龄而异。老年人在社交媒体上的参与可能是在 COVID-19 大流行期间减少孤独感的一种资源。我们观察到，在年轻的高频社交媒体用户中，孤独感更高。在中年参与者中，更频繁地使用社交媒体与较低的社交孤独感有关。我们发现社交媒体使用与孤独感之间的关联因年龄而异。老年人在社交媒体上的参与可能是在 COVID-19 大流行期间减少孤独感的一种资源。我们观察到，在年轻的高频社交媒体用户中，孤独感更高。