ABSTRACT

The present study employed a national sample of Americans aged 65+ years to explore social network site (SNS) relational reconnection among older adults. Nearly 60% of the sample had reconnected with a former partner during the previous year; primarily involving dormant friendships and familial relationships, but also encompassing former coworkers and ex-romantic partners. Whether a relationship persisted beyond the initial act of reconnection was related to its level of development prior to losing touch, and the extent to which partners engaged in modality expansion by embracing multiple channels of communication after reconnecting. Older adults with more developed pre-loss-of-contact relationships were also more likely to engage in modality expansion after reconnecting.

摘要

本研究采用了 65 岁以上美国人的全国样本来探索老年人之间的社交网站 (SNS) 关系重新连接。近 60% 的样本在前一年与前伴侣重新建立了联系；主要涉及休眠的友谊和家庭关系，但也包括前同事和前浪漫伙伴。一段关系是否在最初的重连行为后持续存在，与其失去联系前的发展水平有关，以及在重连后伴侣通过接受多种沟通渠道来进行模式扩展的程度。失去联系前关系更发达的老年人在重新建立联系后也更有可能参与模式扩展。