More work is needed to explain the findings, but the researchers suspect a two-way relationship underpins the results. In this scenario, people with better thinking skills are more likely to use digital devices, but there are also cognitive benefits to be had from embracing the technology.
It’s probably the reverse for younger folks, lol.
I knew there was a reason I was here!
So is it brainrot or brain nourishment??
Depends what you use it for.
Depends on what you do with it
I use it for brainrot ☹️
“It is unclear whether the technology staves off mental decline, or whether people with better cognitive skills simply use them more.”
It’s very early stages of the research then. In my experience elderly people use smartphones very differently to kids. Also, their personal development has past the formative stages so I imagine the devices cause less disruption.
There’s no doubt that they ruin the brains and lives of our kids though, as the research video posted on Lemmy.world recently makes clear.
Edit: Here it is. Brain scans show that screen addiction is the same as drug addiction as far as development of brain pathway changes and brain chemistry are concerned. Only difference is we haven’t had addicts this young and at this scale before. Memory, empathy, cognition and impulsivity are all impacted. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ViT6LyLm6E
“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”- Socrates
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Misattributed to Socrates. Mis/disinformation spreads quickly over the Internet, so it’s up to all of us not to be vectors for it.
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We have increasingly extensive bodies of scientific evidence indicating the harms of giving young kids the sort of near-unrestricted access to smart devices and social media that are common in society today.
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That one person said “something similar bad” but it wasn’t actually that bad in the past (or even that this is a pattern) doesn’t invalidate scientific evidence. If kids started smoking cigarettes en masse, you could pull up this exact same quote, and it would be just as strong an argument as it is here.
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I think definitely causation correlation.
Working geek squad the people who were more with it tech wise were people just willing to learn. If you maintain the ability to learn then you’ll be fine, and it makes sense that those elderly people who learn their smartphones are doing better. I don’t think it’s because of smartphones. I think them able to use their smartphones is because they are okay with adaptation and change
Addiction is fascist rhetoric. Even councillors who help people with drug use problems are rethinking the addiction model
Addiction is fascist 😂😂 Jesus Christ man, touch some grass
Are you sure that they are doubting the very idea that one could become addicted?
Yes. Shit life circumstances explain addiction better than biochemistry
Circumstances, adverse childhood experiences, can be huge factors. Experiments have shown mice choose to give up heroin for better living conditions, for example. It doesn’t mean that addiction doesn’t exist within us too. And that biological something needs a name.
Could you link that video?
Okay. I updated my original comment.
I wonder if seniors can’t be addicted to screens as well? It’s true that excessive screen time promotes addiction, but I doubt that normal screen use invariably leads to addiction, especially if there are other activities and the evidence-based AAP guidelines are obeyed: no screen time other than video chatting until 2 years old, and co-viewing, discussion, and regulate which content to watch after that until 5. The outsize impact of Cocomelon vs much saner toddler shows has also been documented.
It’s possible, the first example in the linked video is of a young kid who has become addicted to YouTube. The content seems benign: animated nursery rhymes. But that case is presented with less detail on the exact usage. I’m curious what you’ll make of it. I’m halfway through.
Forbes Contributor Sites are basically disguised blogs, but this one is from a psychologist.
It’s because parents are too overworked to spend time with their kids. That’s the whole story
There’s overworked and having your kid watch Bluey, and then there’s overworked and having your kid watch Cocomelon. One is far worse.
Really interesting and specific, thank you. Interestingly I saw a parent online talking about how she plays the cartoons her kids watch at .75 speed. They were stressing her out and she probably suspected it wasn’t good for her kids either.
There’s a causality issue here.
It’s using speakerphone and FaceTime in public that causes lower rates of cognitive loss
Those aren’t the typical senior smartphone habits at all. (What even does using speakerphone matter?)
Looks like im in trouble. H8 smartphones.
Too bad I’m not an older person
Everything is better for your cognivity than watching TV all day, even staring at a blank wall.
Young people, conversely…
I guess falling into a far-right Q-anon hole is more intellectually stimulating that watching TV…
I was told phone bad.
The article says “digital technology” and mentions phones, tablets, computers, etc. But headline writers are lazy.
anecdotally the seniors I know all just use phones
They say that because kids can read banned books about gay people and talk about gaza
Why much word when few do trick
I’d like a cross study with those that read books, plz
I wrote about this when I was getting my masters. I remember that it was due to being able to communicate and not feel so isolated. Social interactions have a huge impact on cognition in elderly subjects.
My mother must be an outlier then. She went from Fox News 100% of the time, to Fox News on in the background while she watches reels on FB or plays candy crush.
Study funded with a grant from Apple, Inc. and Google… please buy their tariffed phones.
That’s just wrong. If it’s a joke please mark it as such because there’s nothing to indicate it’s a joke.
Support was provided by the National Institutes of Health (R01AG082783; M.K.S., J.F.B.), the National Science Foundation (1920730 and 1943323; M.K.S.) and the Alzheimer’s Association (AARG-22-924771; J.F.B.). The funders had no role in study design,
data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of
the paper.The authors declare no competing interests.
Plus it’s a meta-analysis review.
