The Impact of Social Capital on Attitudes Toward Digital Device Use Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults In South Korea

Background and Purpose

The rapid expansion of digital technologies has intensified the digital divide among middle-aged and older adults in South Korea. Prior research has predominantly focused on individual characteristics such as age, education, and income, while comparatively less attention has been given to social relational factors such as social capital. In particular, individuals with similar socioeconomic characteristics often exhibit different levels of digital engagement, suggesting that individual-level factors alone are insufficient to explain variations in attitudes toward digital device use. Social capital, encompassing social networks, trust, and participation, may serve as a key mechanism that facilitates access to information, support, and learning opportunities, thereby shaping individuals’ attitudes toward digital device use. Therefore, this study aims to examine how social capital influences attitudes toward digital device use among middle-aged and older adults.

Methods

This study utilized data from the 2024 Digital Divide Survey conducted in South Korea, focusing on a sample of 2,300 individuals aged 55 and older. Multiple regression analysis was employed to examine the relationship between social capital and attitudes toward digital device use. Social capital was included as the key independent variable, while attitudes toward digital device use served as the dependent variable. Control variables included age, education level, gender, disability status, household type, monthly income, economic activity status, and residential area. Prior to the regression analysis, descriptive statistics and correlation analyses were conducted.

Results

The results show that social capital has a significant positive effect on digital device use attitudes (β = .395, p < .001), indicating the strongest influence among all variables in the model. Specifically, as social capital increases, individuals tend to exhibit more positive attitudes toward digital technologies. Among the control variables, age is negatively associated with digital device use attitudes (β = −.217, p < .001), suggesting that attitudes become less favorable as age increases. Meanwhile, living in metropolitan areas (β = .036, p = .041) and having a college degree or higher (β = .040, p = .040) are associated with more positive digital attitudes compared to their respective reference groups. In contrast, gender, disability status, household type, income, economic activity, and lower levels of education do not show statistically significant effects.

Conclusions and implications

These findings suggest that digital inclusion among middle-aged and older adults is not solely determined by individual demographic characteristics, but is strongly influenced by social relational factors such as social capital. In particular, social capital emerged as the most influential predictor of digital device use attitudes. Therefore, policy and practice efforts to reduce the digital divide should move beyond a sole focus on technical skill training and instead emphasize strengthening social networks, promoting community participation, and enhancing relational support systems.