The Impact of Ageism on the E-Leisure of Older People in Chile

Empirical studies show that leisure activities are relevant to the well-being of the older population. Thus, online leisure, or E-leisure, can be a useful tool for engagement in leisure activities, providing multiple possibilities. In this way, the study of those factors that promote or hinder E-leisure is relevant, since it will allow the generation of adequate interventions to promote online leisure. Additionally, it has been observed that self-efficacy regarding Internet use is an important aspect for its adoption by older people. Therefore, those who have a greater perception of being capable of using the Internet do it more frequently. Also, ageism is one of the factors influencing the well-being of older adults, especially self-efficacy. In this context, the present study explores the relationship between ageism and E-leisure, considering self-efficacy regarding Internet use as a mediator. For this purpose, a mediation model was performed with the data of 677 Chilean Internet users over 60 years old. Results showed that ageism is negatively related to E-leisure, and self-efficacy plays a mediating role in this relationship. Consequently, those with higher ageism levels reported less self-efficacy for technology use and thus had less involvement in E-leisure activities.