ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1580936
This article is part of the Research TopicAging: Challenges and Opportunities for Inclusion and Active ParticipationView all 8 articles
Digital Interaction and Active Aging: The Impact of Social Media Use on Physical Activity Behavior Mediated by Social Capital and Self-Efficacy
Provisionally accepted
- 1College of Physical Education and Health, Heze University, Heze, China
- 2College of Physical Education, Shandong Normal University, Shandong, China
- 3Heze University, Heze, China
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Background: Social media use has been linked to higher physical activity levels in older adults, but the mechanisms underlying this connection are not yet well understood.Emerging evidence suggests that social capital may act as a mediator, though little research has explored whether specific dimensions of social capital and self-efficacy mediate this relationship.Objective: This study investigates how social media usage influences older adults' physical activity behavior, focusing on the mediating roles of social capital-structural, bonding, and bridging-and self-efficacy. The goal is to provide a foundation for strategies to promote physical activity in this population.A cross-sectional survey was conducted between December 2023 and April 2024 involving 519 social media users (275 male and 244 female). Data were gathered using validated scales for social media usage intensity, physical activity levels (PARS-3), social capital, and self-efficacy. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to examine the relationships between these variables and the mediating effects at play.Older adults who engaged more actively with social media exhibited higher physical activity behavior (β = 0.179, p < 0.05). Social capital, across its three dimensions-structural (β = 0.254), bonding (β = 0.294), and bridging (β = 0.237)significantly mediated the link between social media usage and physical activity (all p < 0.05). Additionally, self-efficacy was a critical, independent mediator (β = 0.242, p < 0.05). A chain-mediating effect involving social capital dimensions and self-efficacy further strengthened this relationship (p < 0.05).Social media use fosters physical activity in older adults by building social capital, mainly structural, bonding, and bridging types, and boosting self-efficacy.Enhancing the social media environment, developing social capital, and supporting self-efficacy are vital strategies for promoting physical activity in this group. The crosssectional design of this study is a limitation, and future longitudinal research is needed to understand the causal relationships better.
Keywords: Social Media, social capital, self-efficacy, Physical activity behavior, older adults
Received: 21 Feb 2025; Accepted: 09 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Wang, Meng and Yu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Chuanwen Yu, Heze University, Heze, China
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