Chinese society is undergoing a dual transformation of ageing and digitalisation. On the one hand, with the decline in fertility rate and the increase in life expectancy, China has seen its ageing population scale up in an irreversible pattern [1], obliging it to prioritize elevating the life satisfaction of elderly people [2]. On the other hand, in the context of digital transformation, elderly people can use mobile electronics to overcome their limited mobility, which then affects their life satisfaction [3–7]. In addition, community participation can increase the emotional experiences of elderly people and improve their life satisfaction [8]. Therefore, the groundwork has been laid to scrutinise the associations among the mobile electronics utilisation, community participation and life satisfaction of elderly people [9].
At present, an increasing amount of research is turning attention to mobile electronics utilisation and life satisfaction of elderly individuals [10, 11]. From the perspective of activity theory, some argue that the skilled use of mobile electronics can improve elderly people's sense of control over their daily activities and enable contact beyond their communities, bringing them positive emotional experiences in lieu of the depression caused by reduced social contact after retirement. This helps elderly individuals rediscover themselves and feel joy in life and thus increases their life satisfaction [9, 12–14].
Community participation is residents within a community willingly participating in community activities [15]. Currently, scholars mainly divide the community participation of elderly people in three ways. Some divide it into formal participation and informal participation from the perspective of social communication [16]. Some divide it according to one’s ability to acquire resources into collective participation, productive participation and political participation [17]. Others, from the perspective of utility [18], divide it into charitable community participation (CCP), i.e., for the public good and self-fulfilling community participation (SCP), i.e., for self-interest [19–21]. Previous studies have found that mobile electronics utilisation is an important contributor to the community participation of elderly individuals [22]. Some claim that mobile electronics can provide timely information about community activities for elderly individuals. The higher their proficiency in using mobile electronics, the more familiar elderly individuals will be with the built-in applications. This can help elderly individuals solve problems in the process of community participation and provide more opportunities for this participation [23].
The contribution of elderly people’s community participation to their life satisfaction has been extensively confirmed [24, 25]. Most scholars have demonstrated that contribution in the light of utility [26, 27]. Based on role theory, some have claimed that elderly people face the dilemma of role discontinuity after retirement, but they can maintain active social relations by volunteering in community activities, thereby improving their self-efficacy in the process of serving others. Additionally, elderly individuals can counter a series of psychological and spiritual challenges caused by role discontinuity through interaction with others, which is of great significance for improving their life satisfaction [28–31]. Based on theories of socialisation, others have noted that elderly individuals can continue to be socialised by participating in community activities for self-learning or for entertainment to maintain their love for life and obtain higher life satisfaction [32]. In summary, mobile electronics utilisation can help elderly people engage in community activities for the public good or for self-interest, which will effectively improve their life satisfaction [9]. It is, therefore, of particular interest to study community participation as a mediator between mobile electronics utilisation by elderly individuals and their life satisfaction [33].
In addition, a fairly stable system of relationships formed by mutual contact between individuals and other community members is called a social network. Elderly people can obtain economic and emotional support from their social networks [34], among which families and friends are the most important relationship networks for elderly individuals. Some studies suggest that elderly people with closer family networks use mobile electronics more frequently than their peers, which alleviates loneliness; therefore, mobile electronics utilisation can affect these older adults’ life satisfaction more evidently [35–39]. Other research suggests that compared with their peers, older people with closer friend networks see their life satisfaction as more susceptible to mobile electronics utilisation. A close friend network can increase the contact between elderly individuals and mobile electronics and help them make better use of mobile electronics to obtain needed information and resources, thus bolstering their life satisfaction [40]. This provides evidence that for older adults social networks can moderate the link between their mobile electronics utilisation and life satisfaction.
Existing studies mainly focus on the influence of elderly people's use of mobile electronics and community participation on their life satisfaction [10, 41], failing to explain the mechanism of action among the three in a clear-cut and detailed manner while paying even less attention to differences among elderly people in that mechanism based on their social network density. To that end, the 2020 China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey (CLASS) data was used herein to detail the link between mobile electronics utilisation by elderly individuals and their life satisfaction by examining the mediating effect of community participation and the moderating effect of social network density in that link with a view to informing theoretical and practical policies for improving the elderly’s life satisfaction. The following hypotheses regarding the elderly are hereby proposed:
H1: The more proficient in using mobile electronics, the higher the life satisfaction;
H2: Increased proficiency in using mobile electronics improves CCP and thus improves life satisfaction.
H3: Increased proficiency in using mobile electronics improves SCP and thus improves life satisfaction.
H4: The impact of mobile electronics utilisation on life satisfaction varies with social network density.
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Figure 1 Conceptual framework