数字陪伴何以可能：短视频平台参与老年人精神生活的双重效应研究

Digital Companionship and Its Dual Effects: A Study on the Participation of Short-Video Platforms in the Spiritual Life of Older Adults

摘要: 在人口老龄化与数字化转型同步推进的背景下，短视频平台逐渐成为老年人日常生活的重要组成部分，并在一定程度上承担起情感陪伴、社会交往与精神支持功能。家庭小型化、人口流动常态化以及空巢化趋势的发展，使传统家庭陪伴功能不断弱化，老年人精神生活面临新的支持需求。凭借即时互动、内容丰富和低门槛参与等特点，短视频平台逐渐嵌入老年人的日常生活场景，形成具有数字社会特征的新型陪伴模式。短视频平台不仅为老年人提供情感支持资源，拓展社会关系网络，提升文化资源可及性，还为其表达自我、参与社会和实现主体价值创造了新的空间。然而，数字陪伴并非单纯的赋能过程。在平台算法、流量机制和商业逻辑作用下，老年人也面临算法依赖、情感替代、娱乐消费浅层化以及认知风险扩大等问题，数字陪伴呈现出社会支持与结构性风险并存的双重效应。基于数字社会背景下老年人精神生活发展的现实需求，应构建平台、家庭、社区与国家协同参与的老年友好型数字陪伴体系，促进老年人实现更高质量的数字融入与社会参与。

Abstract: Against the backdrop of population aging and rapid digital transformation, short-video platforms have gradually become an integral part of older adults’ daily lives and increasingly function as important channels for emotional companionship, social interaction, and spiritual support. The trends of family miniaturization, increased population mobility, and the growing prevalence of empty-nest households have weakened traditional family-based companionship, generating new demands for emotional and social support among older adults. Owing to their features of instant interaction, rich content supply, and low participation barriers, short-video platforms have become deeply embedded in the everyday lives of older adults, giving rise to a new form of digital companionship. These platforms not only provide emotional support resources, expand social networks, and improve access to cultural resources, but also create opportunities for self-expression, social participation, and the realization of personal value. However, digital companionship is not merely an empowering process. Under the influence of algorithmic recommendation systems, traffic-oriented mechanisms, and platform commercialization, older adults are also exposed to risks such as algorithmic dependence, emotional substitution, superficial entertainment consumption, and increased cognitive vulnerability. Consequently, digital companionship demonstrates a dual effect characterized by both social support and structural risks. In response to the developmental needs of older adults’ spiritual lives in the digital era, it is necessary to establish an age-friendly digital companionship system jointly supported by platforms, families, communities, and the state, thereby promoting higher-quality digital inclusion and social participation among older adults.