Internet Use Reduces Depression in Seniors

Internet Use and Seniors: Teach a Senior to Use the Internet Today

Internet use can affect your mood. A recent article in the Detroit Free Press highlights a possible antidote for the common problem of depression in older adults: The Internet. According to new research by a Michigan State University professor, computer use among retirees reduces the risk of depression by more than 30%. Why and how? By simply helping seniors remain connected to their loved ones, giving them a means to look up information, and providing a way to keep active, such as when playing games online.

The Free Press article introduces us to a senior named Annena McCleskey. At 70, she’s recuperating from hip replacement at Maple Manor in Novi, Michigan a facility that opened last month with a bank of computers near the dining area. As the long-term care facility begins to fill up, staff members hope to keep residents connected to loved ones.

McCleskey keeps her Mac Pro laptop and cell phone nearby, regularly texting and calling loved ones, including a grandson in California. She tracks her medical records online, too. And she has been checking out restaurant discounts and playing Solitaire online.

“I didn’t want to be in a closed situation, where I’d be removed from my buddies and everything,” McCleskey said.

While she’s using a walker and her mobility is limited, she said, the laptop “brought my family to me, my friends to me and my games to me.”

Are seniors able and willing to learn how to use computers and the internet?

The Michigan State University study indicates that they are. It’s never too late to learn, said Sheila Cotten, lead author and a professor of telecommunication, information studies, and the media at MSU.

In earlier research, Cotten and others led 300 seniors through an eight-week course to get them proficient online. Many had never used a computer before. Their average age: 82. The oldest: 102.

“If you start out with some very basic training ... and get them to see how Internet use can be beneficial to them, they get over that fear and they get engaged,” Cotten said.

Her latest research was published online last week in the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences. Cotten and her team sorted through data of 3,075 men and women who were retired and 50 or older. The participants were part of a larger, unrelated study and had been surveyed four times between 2002 and 2008.

Researchers wanted to focus on retirees — those who no longer have jobs that force them to interact in person or online.

With other factors held constant — such as whether the seniors lived with other people — the authors found that roughly 7 in 100 Internet users were estimated to have depression, whereas 10 in 100 non-computer users were estimated to have depression. In other words, Internet use led to a more than 30% reduction in the probability of depression.

It’s not clear what the participants were doing — checking e-mail, shopping or searching for information. And that doesn’t matter, Cotten said: “It’s really about being able to connect and communicate and find information you need.”

 

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Alternatives for Seniors is a print and online directory that specifically caters to the housing and personal care concerns of senior citizens and their families since 1992. Call our Senior Specialists at (888) WE-ASSIST (888-932-7747) or visit the Alternatives for Seniors website to begin searching for the perfect home for you or your loved ones. Also, be sure to join our Facebook community and follow us on Twitter.

 

BLOG Date: Thursday, April 24, 2014

Writer: Ryan Allen