@article{ref1,
title="Social isolation and loneliness of older adults in times of the CoViD-19 pandemic:  can use of online social media sites and video chats assist in mitigating social  isolation and loneliness?",
journal="Gerontology",
year="2020",
author="Hajek, André and König, Hans-Helmut",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious global burden. Epidemiological data suggest that  the severity of COVID-19, in particular its case fatality rate, rises strongly with  age. It is possible that neither a vaccine nor an effective treatment will be  available for >1 year. Thus, it may be necessary for older adults to protect  themselves by avoiding direct social contact and practicing social distancing for a  rather long period of time. This may result in loneliness and social isolation  because, for example, grandchildren cannot visit their grandparents. In turn, both  loneliness and social isolation can have serious deleterious consequences (e.g., in  terms of morbidity and mortality). Thus, the question arises: are there ways to  mitigate loneliness and social isolation? One way to stay in contact is to use  online social media such as Facebook or using video calling software such as Skype. However, there are very few studies examining whether the use of online social media  or video chats are associated with loneliness and social isolation in older adults. We sum up some preliminary findings and make a call for further research on the link  between online social media use/video chat and loneliness, as well as social  isolation, in older adults.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0304-324X",
doi="10.1159/000512793",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000512793"
}