Internet Use Cuts Depression among Senior Citizens
Spending time online reduces depression by 20 percent for
senior citizens, the Phoenix Center reports in a new Policy Paper released
today. In addition to the quality of life benefits, the Policy Paper said
reducing the incidence of depression by widespread Internet use among older
Americans could trim the nation's health care bill.
"Maintaining relationships with friends and family
at a time in life when mobility becomes increasingly limited is challenging for
the elderly," says Phoenix Center Visiting Scholar and study co-author Dr.
Sherry G. Ford, an Associate Professor of Communications Studies at University
of Montevallo in Alabama. "Increased Internet access and use by senior
citizens enables them to connect with sources of social support when face-to-face
interaction becomes more difficult."
The Policy Paper, Internet Use and Depression Among the
Elderly, examines survey responses of 7,000 retired Americans 55 years or
older. The data was provided by the Health and Retirement Study of the
University of Michigan and screened to exclude respondents who were still
working and also those living in nursing homes in order to limit possible
variations that might skew the findings. These limitations reduced the size of
the sample from the initial 22,000 to 7,000, but that is still far larger than
all previous efforts to consider the effect of Internet use on psychological
well-being of the elderly population. Age 55 is the common age cut off for
studies of the elderly. Unlike many existing studies on the benefits of
broadband, the statistical methodologies used in the analysis aim to determine
causal effects and not simply measure correlations.
Phoenix Center President Lawrence W. Spiwak says,
"This is the most advanced statistical analysis on the social impacts of
broadband to date, and the most believable. If policymakers want better data
analysis, they now have it. The study raises the bar for credible statistical
analysis when formulating broadband policy."
The implications of the findings are significant because
depression affects millions Americans age 55 or older and costs the United
States about $100 million annually in direct medical costs, suicide and
mortality, and workplace costs. The Pew Internet & American Life Project
estimates that only about 42 percent of Americans aged 65 or more use the
Internet, far below the adoption rate of other age groups. Given the relatively
low adoption rates by seniors, the study concludes that the opportunity for
better health outcomes from expanded Internet adoption is substantial. Further,
with billions spent annually on depression-related health care costs, the
potential economic savings also are impressive. "Efforts to expand
broadband use in the U.S. must eventually tackle the problem of low adoption in
the elderly population," says study Phoenix Center Chief Economist and
study co-author Dr. George S. Ford. "The positive mental health
consequences of Internet demonstrate, in part, the value of demand stimulus
programs aimed at older Americans."
Phoenix Center Policy Paper No. 38: Internet Use and
Depression Among the Elderly, may be downloaded free from the Phoenix Center's
web page at: http://www.phoenix-center.org/pcpp/PCPP38Final.pdf.
The Phoenix Center is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization
that studies broad public-policy issues related to governance, social and
economic conditions, with a particular emphasis on the law and economics of
telecommunications and high-tech industries.
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