There is much concern about the notion of 鈥渄igital dementia鈥� 鈥� the idea that relying on smartphones and the internet reduces a person鈥檚 cognitive abilities. But among those over 50 at least, these technologies appear to actually have the opposite effect.
A meta-analysis of nearly 60 studies involving 410,000 people in this age group has found that those who spend more time using smartphones, computers and the internet are less likely to have cognitive impairment 鈥� and more likely to have slower cognitive decline 鈥� than people who spend less time using these technologies.
While this meta-analysis cannot establish causation, it suggests that digital technologies encourage behaviours that help preserve cognition in the first generation of people to have access to them at an older age, says at the University of Texas at Austin. 鈥淲e feel fairly confident that the first generation is actually seeing a net positive effect for cognition.鈥�
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There has long been concern about how the use of technologies is affecting our brains. To learn more, Benge and his colleague at Baylor University in Texas聽searched the literature for studies involving the use of digital technologies in people over 50. Among other criteria, they excluded ones focusing on gaming or brain training. 鈥淲e were more interested in the everyday kind of experience of of dealing with digital technologies,鈥� says Benge.
This left 57 studies, most of which were done in Europe or North America, but there were papers from all around the world, says Benge. 鈥淎nd the effects seem to be fairly consistent.鈥�
It is hard to boil down the results to simple numbers, says Benge, 鈥渂ut the effect sizes seem comparable to other established protective factors, things like education and blood pressure control that we know are good for brain health鈥�.
One explanation could be that people with better education, healthcare or incomes are more likely to use digital technologies, as these factors are also linked with lower rates of dementia. But some of the studies controlled for these and still found the same effect.
There are three reasons why digital technology might slow cognitive decline, says Benge. The first is that digital activities are more complex and interactive than just watching TV. The second is that it can help people connect with others, for instance, via video calls. The third is that it might help people stay independent for longer, with satellite navigation ensuring they don鈥檛 get lost even if their wayfinding abilities decline, for example.
The main weakness is that the studies in the meta-analysis relied on people self-reporting how much they used smartphones, computers or the internet. In the future, technologies such as screen-time monitoring could provide objective measures.
With more detailed records, it might even be possible to identify specific types or durations of activity that are beneficial, or not.
Benge also points out that the people in these studies didn鈥檛 have smartphones or internet access as children. 鈥淒oes this play out for digital natives? This is a snapshot that鈥檚 encouraging, but the story is not done being told.鈥�
鈥淐urrent middle-aged people have been exposed to a very wide range of technologies since the turn of the millennium, and most of the focus of concerns is on smartphones and/or social media, which haven鈥檛 been around that long,鈥� says neuroscientist .
That said, while the results of the meta-analysis are inconclusive, they suggest that long-term technology use can be beneficial for the brain and cognition, he says. 鈥淚t certainly provides a strong counter for the usual knee-jerk stance that 鈥榯echnology equals bad鈥� in terms of brain and mental health.鈥�
While the meta-analysis did not look at the effects of digital technologies on the cognition of younger people, Burnett argues that concerns about this are becoming seriously overblown. 鈥淭he evidence for lasting, detrimental brain changes is weak or non-existent,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 certainly not sufficient evidence to justify the attention and interventions the issue is getting, such as smartphone bans for under-16s.鈥�
Nature Human Behaviour
