Mobile electronics utilisation and life satisfaction among Chinese elderly people: community participation as a mediator and social network as a moderator

Background: Mobile electronics utilisation by elderly people has been shown to influence their life satisfaction; however, little is known about the roles of community participation and social networks in that influence. In particular, how the influence varies according to the social network density of elderly individuals has not been determined. This study responds to these questions by tapping community participation and social networks for their potential effects on the influence of elderly people’s mobile electronics utilisation on their life satisfaction. Methods Data on 10,819 individuals aged 60 or above were sorted from the 2020 China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey. SPSS22.0 software was used to conduct descriptive and correlation analyses of the data. The mediating and moderating effects were tested with the use of SPSS PROCESS macro v3.4.1. Results After controlling for the sample’s sex, age, hukou, ethnicity, education, marital status, personal annual income, intergenerational relationships, self-rated health and activities of daily living, we found that mobile electronics utilisation by elderly people was positively related with their life satisfaction (r = 0.049, P < 0.001); that their community participation, either charitable or self-fulfilling, mediated that correlation; and that the density of their social networks significantly moderated that correlation. Conclusions To improve their life satisfaction, elderly people should be further familiarised with the use of mobile electronics. In addition, the resources of families and friends, neighbourhoods and society as a whole can be enlisted to help elderly people enjoy digital life by, for instance, setting up relevant courses, providing voluntary guidance and organising age-friendly social activities.