Alone time is important, but spending too much time alone can lead to depression and other health-related issues. That’s where technology can help.
There’s already a substantial amount of data to support the idea that technology enhances and enriches the lives of older people by supporting more frequent communication. However, to date, few studies have directly examined the social benefit of technology on physical and psychological health.
To address that, the Department of Psychology at Michigan State University ran a study exploring the impact of social technology usage among older adults. (For the purpose of this study, social technology use was assessed through five technology-based behaviors: e-mail, social networking, videoconference, instant messaging and smartphone use.)
The results of the study were enlightening. Older adults with higher social technology use reported fewer chronic illnesses, a higher sense of well-being and fewer depressive symptoms, as well as reduced feelings of loneliness.
So what can we learn from this? Taking a more adventurous approach towards different social platforms, and (believe it or not) spending more time online, can have a substantial impact on both our physical and mental health.
Turns out that technology use, instead of isolating us from the outside world, is very good at keeping us connected.
