Assessing the significance of first place and online third places in supporting Malaysian seniors’ well-being during the pandemic
Abstract The enforced lockdowns and social distancing measures associated with COVID-19 may have influenced older adults’ preferences towards their homes and neighborhoods as well as social spaces. One objective of this research is to determine whether home and neighborhood environments (“first plac...
Main Authors: | , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Springer Nature
2023-04-01
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Series: | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01655-5 |
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author | Teck Hong Tan Izian Idris |
author_facet | Teck Hong Tan Izian Idris |
author_sort | Teck Hong Tan |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Abstract The enforced lockdowns and social distancing measures associated with COVID-19 may have influenced older adults’ preferences towards their homes and neighborhoods as well as social spaces. One objective of this research is to determine whether home and neighborhood environments (“first place”) affect how satisfied older adults are with their lives during the epidemic. This study also examined the extent to which social spaces that exist in the virtual world (“online third places”) affect older adults’ life satisfaction when they would have to practice risk-averse behaviors in times of pandemic. To collect data, this study analyzed the responses of 500 active older adults and conducted in-depth interviews with seven older adults who served as neighborhood leaders in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The study found that there is a direct relationship between older adults’ satisfaction with their current housing and their overall life satisfaction during the pandemic. Similarly, having a quality neighborhood nearby increases the likelihood of living a satisfied life during the pandemic. Most online third places, with the exception of instant messaging apps, do not appear to provide older adults with an adequate platform to interact with their friends, participate in social networking, and join communities for emotional support during the pandemic. The findings and recommendations of this study would be very useful in developing effective interventions to promote aging in place during the coronavirus outbreak. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-13T10:16:46Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-6d0eb2d60281485b8f4e584433b1c84b |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2662-9992 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-13T10:16:46Z |
publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
publisher | Springer Nature |
record_format | Article |
series | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
spelling | doaj.art-6d0eb2d60281485b8f4e584433b1c84b2023-05-21T11:11:17ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922023-04-0110111010.1057/s41599-023-01655-5Assessing the significance of first place and online third places in supporting Malaysian seniors’ well-being during the pandemicTeck Hong Tan0Izian Idris1Xiamen University Malaysia, School of Economics and ManagementSunway University, Sunway Business SchoolAbstract The enforced lockdowns and social distancing measures associated with COVID-19 may have influenced older adults’ preferences towards their homes and neighborhoods as well as social spaces. One objective of this research is to determine whether home and neighborhood environments (“first place”) affect how satisfied older adults are with their lives during the epidemic. This study also examined the extent to which social spaces that exist in the virtual world (“online third places”) affect older adults’ life satisfaction when they would have to practice risk-averse behaviors in times of pandemic. To collect data, this study analyzed the responses of 500 active older adults and conducted in-depth interviews with seven older adults who served as neighborhood leaders in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The study found that there is a direct relationship between older adults’ satisfaction with their current housing and their overall life satisfaction during the pandemic. Similarly, having a quality neighborhood nearby increases the likelihood of living a satisfied life during the pandemic. Most online third places, with the exception of instant messaging apps, do not appear to provide older adults with an adequate platform to interact with their friends, participate in social networking, and join communities for emotional support during the pandemic. The findings and recommendations of this study would be very useful in developing effective interventions to promote aging in place during the coronavirus outbreak.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01655-5 |
spellingShingle | Teck Hong Tan Izian Idris Assessing the significance of first place and online third places in supporting Malaysian seniors’ well-being during the pandemic Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
title | Assessing the significance of first place and online third places in supporting Malaysian seniors’ well-being during the pandemic |
title_full | Assessing the significance of first place and online third places in supporting Malaysian seniors’ well-being during the pandemic |
title_fullStr | Assessing the significance of first place and online third places in supporting Malaysian seniors’ well-being during the pandemic |
title_full_unstemmed | Assessing the significance of first place and online third places in supporting Malaysian seniors’ well-being during the pandemic |
title_short | Assessing the significance of first place and online third places in supporting Malaysian seniors’ well-being during the pandemic |
title_sort | assessing the significance of first place and online third places in supporting malaysian seniors well being during the pandemic |
url | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01655-5 |
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