Seniors Who Use Computers Less Depressed

Filed under: Depression & Stress, Senior Health

Senior Adult Using Computers

Older adults who uses computers report fewer depression symptoms than seniors who don’t use computers. The reasons for the pattern aren’t clear, and the new study that showed this was relatively small. But the key might be connecting with other people and learning via computers.

“Given the social and informational nature of older adults’ computer practices - email, chat rooms, and health information gathering, for example - it seemed likely that this would be beneficial to an individual’s overall mental health,” says researcher Kathleen Triche, in a news release.

Triche and collegues presented the finding in Washington DC, at the American Psychological Association’s annual convention.

The study included about 200 older adults living in lower Manhattan. Participants were over 65. They filled out questionnaires about computer use, mental health, and tasks of daily living (like cooking, managing money and shopping for groceries).

“Those older adults that use computer seems to report fewer depressive symptoms, regardless of how many hours they use the computer,” write the researchers.

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