The perceived quality of social interactions differs by modality and purpose: An event-contingent experience sampling study with older adults

Older adults increasingly use digital technologies to communicate with others. The goal of the present study is to understand the role of interaction modality for the perceived quality of social interactions. We use data from 118 participants (age: M = 72 years, SD = 5, range = 65 to 94; 40% women), who reported on their social interactions (quality [valence, social relatedness, calmness, meaningfulness], modality [face-to-face in-person, telephone, text-based digital], and purposes [e.g., small talk, conflict]) over 21 days in an event-contingent experience sampling study that took place between April and November 2019. Text-based communication was rated lower in valence and social relatedness relative to face-to-face communication and telephone calls, and lower in meaningfulness relative to telephone calls. Face-to-face and telephone communication only differed in meaningfulness, with telephone calls being rated higher. Some of the associations between interaction modality and perceived quality were moderated by interaction purpose. For example, conflicts were perceived more negatively as indicated by lower valence, social relatedness, and calmness when they were carried out by text messages (vs. face-to-face or by telephone). Conflicts were rated higher in valence when they took place by telephone versus face-to-face. In summary, our findings suggest that the modality of daily social interactions plays an important role for their quality. We discuss implications of these findings for increasing well-being and social connectedness through technology-mediated communication.