Aging differently: How socioemotional reactions to perceived remaining time in life influence older adults’ satisfaction in virtual communities

Abstract

This study aims to understand how older adults’ socioemotional reactions to perceived remaining time in life influence their satisfaction from their knowledge contribution and seeking in virtual communities (VCs). Rooted in socioemotional selectivity theory, we choose a positive attitude toward aging and meaning in life to describe older adults’ reactions to aging, and test the proposed hypotheses based on 204 valid survey responses. Results confirm that while both knowledge contribution and knowledge-seeking activities promote older adults’ satisfaction, the impact of knowledge contribution is stronger on satisfaction. Furthermore, as hypothesized, the positive attitude toward aging amplifies the impact of knowledge-seeking while meaning in life weakens the impact of knowledge contribution on older adults’ satisfaction. This study contributes to the literature on how older adults derive satisfaction from their knowledge contribution and knowledge-seeking activities in VCs and offers insights into using VCs to build a digitally inclusive society.