Grünjes, Carlotta EskeCarlotta EskeGrünjes2026-04-292026-04-292026https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/handle/uniba/114824Kumulative Dissertation, Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, 2026This dissertation focuses on how social interactions in different modalities are associated with well-being and health in older adults’ daily lives. Social connectedness plays a crucial role in well-being and health, yet differences in the effects of social interactions across different modalities among older adults remain understudied. Thus, the aim of this dissertation was to investigate the role that interaction modalities play in the association between social interactions and well-being, with special emphasis on modalities that are not in-person. Study I examined how weekly frequency of social interactions in four different modalities (face-to-face, video-call, telephone, text-based digital) was associated with positive and negative affect and loneliness in Swiss older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Study II expanded on these results by investigating how daily frequency of social interactions in three different modalities (face-to-face, telephone, text-based digital) could buffer adverse effects of poor health on daily well-being outcomes in Swiss older adults. Study III used data from Canadian older adults in dyads and examined how convergence in partner reports about time spent with one another (face-to-face and digital) was associated with daily well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. All three studies support the claim that more social interactions are associated with better well-being, and that face-to-face interactions are most consistently associated with enhanced well-being. However, results from Studies I and II suggest that social interactions in other modalities are also positively associated with well-being, especially when face-to-face contact is rare or participants experience their health as worse than usual. Results from Study I show that digital social interactions might compensate for a lack of face-to-face interactions. Results from Study II indicate that participants with more digital interactions showed a weaker negative relationship between poor health and well-being. Results from Study III suggest that being aligned with one’s interaction partner regarding the perceived length of interaction is not as important for the individual’s well-being as hypothesized. Comparing the design and results from the three studies suggests that measuring social interactions by their frequency of occurrence rather than their estimated duration might be better suited for studying the effects of social interactions on well-being. In regard to healthy aging, the results presented in this dissertation highlight the significant potential of social interactions for promoting well-being and health in the daily lives of older adults, as well as the additional potential offered by digital social interactions.engsocial interactionswell-beingolder adultsdigital communicationhealthy aging150doctoralthesisurn:nbn:de:bvb:473-irb-114824x