Online support communities for older people: investigating network patterns and characteristics of social support

My PhD research aims to identify the components of social support in online support communities for older people. Findings will show how older people support each other in these online communities and how they form a social network based on their communication activities. In addition, my PhD research will reveal how different characteristics of social support evolve and change over time. I will investigate how relationships between older people form, dissolve, and are reconstructed within online support communities, and how individual members are integrated and take on certain roles and responsibilities within the community. Based on the findings, a descriptive model that conceptualises the exchange of social support in online support communities for older people will be developed.

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