Mobile Social Media Use and Trailing Parents’ Life Satisfaction: Social Capital and Social Integration Perspective

Abstract

In recent years, a special group of elderly migrants emerged in some developing countries, namely “trailing parents,” who migrated with adult children in their later years. Lots of developing countries such as China have an increasing number of old people using mobile social media for social interaction, information, and entertainment. Based on social capital theory, we developed a research model and investigated the relationship between mobile social media use (MSMU) and social capital, social integration, and life satisfaction of trailing parents. We completed an empirical study by collecting 244 valid samples. The results show that MSMU has a positive impact on trailing parents’ life satisfaction, and bonding social capital, bridging social capital and social integration are all important predictors of trailing parents’ life satisfaction. Furthermore, social capital and social integration play an important chain mediation role in the relationship between MSMU and trailing parents’ life satisfaction.