Joyce Cannon, a great-grandmother who spent the last part of her life in an assisted living center, loved playing Freecell, an online game similar to solitaire. She could play online for hours. While she genuinely liked this kind of a game, she didn’t always have much else to do.
“I like to organize things, so moving cards around on the screen kind of scratches that itch for me,” she told me. “It’s also free. I like that about it, too. And I can try to beat the house without winning or losing any actual money, so I’m not really gambling,” Joyce said with a smile.
Dennis Stilson had the time but not the inclination to play games online. He uses Facebook and Instagram but worries about getting profiled by scammers. Older people are targeted, he said, so he tries to keep a low profile even though he often uses these platforms to visit with friends and family.
How and when to use social media and other digital technology is a common dilemma among seniors.
No longer considered “digital outsiders,” seniors have integrated social media and other digital interactions into their daily lives to manage everything from family connections to financial health.
While younger generations often chase new platforms, older adults show high loyalty to established networks that offer practical value. Facebook and YouTube are the most common platforms used by older adults because of their utility in sharing family photos and practical online tutorials.
Research now suggests that learning to navigate complex digital interfaces creates a “technological reserve,” similar to a cognitive reserve, which may help delay the onset of dementia by “exercising” the brain.
Active social media users are also more likely to participate in health-seeking behaviors, such as trying new recipes or fitness routines found in online communities. My wife, Stephanie, participates with family and friends in exchanging recipes online and then trying them out at home.
“I get to see the results of other people’s recipes when they share them online,” she said. “It’s motivational as well as helps me stay connected with them in a purposeful way.”
Stephanie even uses Zoom not only to share recipes with grandchildren but has also had an online cooking class with them.
“It was fun to cook something together with a group of grandchildren scattered across the country,” she told me. “It wasn’t perfect. Some grandkids were ready to move on to the next step in a recipe while others were a little behind them. But we had fun, laughed a lot and did something together.”
While digital usage by seniors is somewhat similar to other age demographics, it is not without its own unique problems. Like so many other things, social media and other online activities can be a two-edged sword. Unfortunately, seniors remain primary targets for sophisticated AI-powered phishing and financial scams.
Lonely older adults can be particularly susceptible to romance scams, which is when a person online exploits an emotional connection to get money or personal information. A recent AARP survey reported that 1 in 6 respondents say they or someone they knew lost money in a romance scam.
While social media can help connect those living alone with family and friends, heavy usage is actually correlated with increased loneliness. This is often due to “doomscrolling” or a “lurker mindset,” where seniors watch others’ lives rather than interacting with them.
Digital dependence at any age is now recognized as its own mental health issue. Nomophobia is the fear of being without a digital phone. It includes excessive phone use, panic at disconnection and cognitive decline triggered by technology loss.
I saw this up close and personal while watching a performance at the St. George Musical theater recently. Musicians were performing Motown numbers from the 1970s and 1980s. The crowd was mostly Boomers. Some were head-bobbing, others simply enjoying the atmosphere. However, a few audience members on either side of me were scrolling on their phones throughout the program.
While visiting during intermission, I casually mentioned it to a couple of listeners. One said women are good at multi-tasking and she could listen to the music while checking out Instagram posts. A second person was a bit chagrined and said he’s addicted to sports updates. A third said that the concert was moving too slowly, so he grabbed his phone to catch up on other things.
For seniors, perhaps both disconnection and FOMO (fear of missing out) combine to aggravated nomophobia. It can be hard to practice mindfulness and “stay present” especially when being in the present for lonely seniors isn’t so satisfying.
Turning off nonessential notifications and tracking phone usage can be a good place to start. Reducing the number of “pings” your phone makes can lower the urge to check the device.
Monitoring how many minutes you spend online can also provide new incentive for cutting back. Finding ways to create and enjoy the beauties of daily life can more than compensate for the loss of instantaneous updates in the virtual world.