Study finds regular tech gadget use has many merits

Abstract: Dr. Jared Benge, a neuropsychologist at the UT Health Austin’s Comprehensive Memory Center at the University of Texas at Austin, recently teamed up with Dr. Michael Scullin, an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University, to conduct a study that examined data from an estimated 411,000 adults aged 50 or older. The goal was to determine whether from a mental perspective, tech gadget use is either helping them or hurting them.

Notebooks and cell phones have been linked to health hazards, but according to a researcher at the UT Health Austin’s Comprehensive Memory Center at the University of Texas at Austin, technology use has many benefits when it comes to cognitive health.

Dr. Jared Benge, a neuropsychologist at the center recently teamed up with Dr. Michael Scullin, an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University, to conduct a study that examined data from an estimated 411,000 adults aged 50 or older to determine whether from a mental perspective, tech gadget use is either helping them or hurting them.

The findings, which were published recently in Nature Human Behavior, indicated that the more people engage with these devices, the better off they will be.

“The generation that brought us the digital revolution is now reaching the age where dementia risks emerge,” said Benge in a release issued by the University of Texas.  “Far from causing ‘digital dementia,’ as some feared, we found technology engagement is consistently linked to better brain health, even after accounting for education, income and physical health.”

Based on the analysis of 57 studies, the release stated, indicated that “technology users had lower odds of cognitive impairment and reduces rates of decline over time. These protective relationships were observed across computer, smartphone and internet use.”

It noted that other key discoveries were that:

• Brain protection remained strong in both snapshot and multiyear studies.
• The protective effect was comparable to or stronger than established factors such as physical activity and education.
• Effects persisted even when controlling for socioeconomic factors, education and health conditions.
• Positive effects were found in both the 50-65 age group and those older than 65.

“Our data suggests encouraging older adults to engage with technology, particularly in a manner that helps challenge, connect and compensate for cognitive problems, could be a powerful approach to promoting cognitive health,” Benge said.

Scullin, meanwhile, in a news post issued by Baylor said “that you can flip on the news on just about any day and you’ll see people talking about how technologies are harming us,” Scullin said. “People often use the terms ‘brain drain’ and ‘brain rot,’ and now digital dementia is an emerging phrase. As researchers, we wanted to know if this was true.”

He added that technology requires constant adaption such as understanding new software updates, troubleshooting Internet loss or filtering out website ads: “If you’re doing that for years and you’re really engaging with it, even though you might experience frustration, that may be a sign of you exercising your brain.”

The Baylor post also notes that technology also “enables communication and engagement like never before, which can expand opportunities for connectivity. Video calls and messaging apps help maintain social networks, especially for people who would not otherwise regularly see their family members.”

According to Scullin, “now you can connect with families across generations. You not only can talk to them, you can see them. You can share pictures. You can exchange emails and it’s all within a second or less. So that means there’s a greater opportunity for decreasing loneliness.”