Month/Year of Graduation

5-2021

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

Department

Mathematics

First Advisor

Dr. Julie Blaskewicz Boron

Abstract

COVID-19 risk-reduction efforts have protected high-risk individuals but have significantly altered life; persons now face reduced socialization. Advancing technologies (e.g., video-chat) may be useful in alleviating consequences of these efforts, potentially mitigating loneliness, and isolation by improving access to alternative communication. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between communicative technology use and individual characteristics, as technology use may contribute to well-being among adults during COVID-19 and future isolating events. This is especially relevant to older populations. Participants (N=645) aged 19+ completed a questionnaire via Amazon Mechanical Turk; demographic, socialization, and technology-use data were collected. Data were analyzed in R using correlations and a series of generalized linear regressions. Results revealed that being female positively predicted use of video-chat while increasing age negatively predicted use. Additionally, regarding QOL, being female negatively predicted QOL score, while age positively predicted QOL score. Ultimately, the results of this study suggest that personal characteristics may influence the cumulative experience of social isolation including technology use and downstream QOL.

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