Objective To explore the influence of family intimacy, social support and subjective well-being on Internet addiction in the elderly, and study the mechanism of social support and subjective well-being on family intimacy and Internet addiction in the elderly.

Methods By using the method of offline random sampling, 400 elderly people in a certain area of Anhui Province were investigated using the Social Support Rating Scale, Family Intimacy and Adaptability Scale, Chinese Internet Addiction Scale and Overall Well-being Scale.

Results There was a statistically significant difference in Internet addiction among different genders elderly (P ＜ 0.05), but there was no statistical significance in different marital situations, whether living with children, age and educational level (P ＞ 0.05). The close family relationship, social support degree and subjective well-being of the elderly were all negatively correlated with Internet addiction (r = –0.284, r = –0.288, r = –0.381). The Subjective well-being played a mediating role between family intimacy and Internet addiction (β = –0.068, P ＜ 0.05), and the social support and subjective well-being played a chain mediating role between family intimacy and subjective well-being (β = –0.051, P ＜ 0.05).

Conclusions Family close relationships have an impact on the Internet addiction of the elderly by directly influencing their social support or subjective well-being.