Thus far, the IS and HCI research on online social networking
mostly ignores elderly individuals and focuses on target populations composed of
predominantly younger users who are usually the early adopters and the more active users of
such technologies. Therefore the thesis provides a systematic investigation on attitudes of
elderly individuals, such as their expectations, needs, and concerns, towards online social
networking. Conducted empirical studies extend social psychology, IS, and HCI research,
which has investigated similar constructs and contributed to the theoretical development and
understanding of the psychological notions social support, social connectedness, and social
capital in online social interaction. Furthermore, this thesis constitutes one of the first studies
to combine behavioral science and design science research in an overarching approach to not
only translate theoretical understanding into concrete social design principles by applying
theory-driven design, but also to evaluate principles through prototype configurations among
elderly individuals.