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Abstract
Background: In the United States, one in five adults report feeling lonely (Thayer & Anderson, 2018). The experience of loneliness across the lifespan can be attributed to various factors (e.g., wellbeing, Cognitive health, physiological health, and psychological health) and can have severe implications across adulthood. These implications include increased number medical conditions, faster progressions of disabilities, reduction in healthy behaviors, and decreases in the number of meaningful social connections. Though our society has become more aware of the challenges and impact of loneliness on the lives of individuals across the lifespan, little support is available to help combat this public health epidemic. Communication technologies have been identified as having the potential to facilitate opportunities for social interaction and serve as tools to enhance access to social connectivity. Particularly technologies which can provide the users with the ability to feel more present through embodiment. Leveraging communication technologies as tools to facilitate social connectivity presents an opportunity for the expansion of resources and intervention development for adults across the lifespan. Methods: This dissertation implemented three methodologies: (1) systematic review (2) quantitative (multilinear regression and logistic regression), and (3) qualitative (interviews). The systematic review summarizes the existing literature surrounding the use and implementation of communication technologies (e.g., social media, video conferencing, communication application, telepresence hardware) to facilitate social connectivity and address the experience across the lifespan. The quantitative study aims implemented bivariate and multivariate analysis (multivariate regression and logistic regression) to analyze the characteristics contributing to the experience of loneliness across the lifespan, relationships between the experience of loneliness and communication technology use, and characteristics contributing to the intent of adopting telepresence technologies across various levels of embodiment. The qualitative study was made up of thirty interview (10 young adults, 10 middle age adults, and 10 older adults) which aimed to understand the characteristics associated with meaningful social connections, the influence of embodiment level in forming meaningful connections, and the differences in how social connections may be formed across the continuum of embodiment. Results: Communication technologies present opportunities in helping bridge the resources gap to facilitate social connections when in person communication is not possible. Leveraging communication technologies across various levels of embodiment present opportunities towards enhancing the sense of connection which can be achieved through technology. Discussion: Leveraging communication technology presents a range of opportunities in facilitating social connectivity and combating the loneliness epidemic. Research findings indicate that the role of embodiment may play a positive role at enhancing the sense of social connections mediated across technology. The lifespan approach of these studies presents new insights surround the potential of technology interventions across each phase of adulthood. Furthermore, this work provides new insights for social work involvement in the areas of gerontology, communication technology, telepresence and embodiment research.