Adding Life to Years: The Influence of Internet Use and Appearance Management on Life Satisfaction Among the Elderly

With the rapid increase in the aged population, life satisfaction among old people has become a hot topic for both discussion and research. However, the antecedents of old people’s life satisfaction still need to be further excavated. Moreover, although aging of population is the furthest advanced in Japan, the Japanese sample has received relatively little research attention. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to identify the factors influencing life satisfaction among Japanese elderly. Data are obtained from the Survey of Attitudes among the Elderly toward Daily Life in 2014. With the sample of 3893 elderly Japanese, our findings reveal that Internet use and appearance management helps to add meaning into the elderly’s lives, which in turn contributes to enhanced life satisfaction. Moreover, we find that the positive relationship between appearance management and meaning in life, as well as the mediating effect of meaning in life on the relationship between appearance management and life satisfaction are stronger among elderly females than that of elderly males. Finally, theoretical contributions, practical implications, limitations and future research directions are detailed.