Digital Social Engagement and Frailty Among Korean Older Adults: The Sequential Mediating Role of Social Isolation and Self-Efficacy (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Digital social engagement is increasingly recognized as a modifiable resource for healthy aging. However, the psychosocial mechanisms linking digital engagement to physical frailty remain insufficiently understood. OBJECTIVE This study examined whether social isolation and self-efficacy sequentially mediated the association between digital social engagement and frailty among Korean older adults. METHODS Data were drawn from the 2024 AgeTech Research Institute panel survey of Korean older adults (N = 435). Serial mediation analysis was conducted using PROCESS macro Model 6, adjusting for sociodemographic covariates. RESULTS Higher digital social engagement was associated with lower frailty. Two indirect pathways were statistically significant: an independent pathway through self-efficacy and a sequential pathway through social isolation and self-efficacy. The independent mediating effect of social isolation was not statistically significant. Self-efficacy showed the strongest mediating effect in the association between digital social engagement and frailty. CONCLUSIONS Digital social engagement may support healthy aging not only by strengthening social connections but also by enhancing psychological resources. Self-efficacy appears to be a key mechanism linking digital social engagement to lower frailty vulnerability. Interventions that promote meaningful digital social engagement and strengthen self-efficacy may contribute to frailty prevention among older adults.