COVID-19 anxiety: The impact of older adults’ transmission of negative information and online social networks

•Different online social networks varied in their impact on older adults’ anxiety.•Online social networks affected informational behaviors of older adults.•Shallow and broad online social networks elevated older adults’ COVID-19 anxiety.•Online social networks with strong ties promoted better well-being of older adults.•Transmission of negative information heightened older adults’ anxiety. This study examines the impact of older adults’ online social networks on their COVID-19 anxiety, directly or indirectly through social transmission of negative information about COVID-19. Social networks were indexed by both bonding capital (i.e., social relationships formed with family and friends) and bridging capital (i.e., social relationships formed through casual social networks). An on-line survey was conducted with 190 older adults who were in self-isolation in Ontario in the early waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Bonding and bridging capital showed different impacts on older adults’ informational behavior and COVID-19 anxiety. While bonding capital deterred older adults from transmitting negative COVID-19 information and thus reduced COVID-19 anxiety, bridging capital contributed to increased dissemination of negative information and thus heightened older adults’ anxiety. Our findings shed light on the detrimental behavioral and psychological impact of casual online social networks on older adults amidst a public health crisis.