What digital overload? Tech makes your brain sharper, study finds

Digital overload? What digital overload? Let’s take this with a grain of salt, but a new study has just found that seniors who extensively use technology in their daily lives experience fewer signs of cognitive decline.

The study, published in Nature Human Behavior, found that the use of everyday digital tech like computers, smartphones, and the internet is associated with lower measures of cognitive decline in middle-aged and older adults.

In other words, if you’re, say, around 60 and you don’t shy away from using technology, your brain will probably stay sharper longer.

Astoundingly, the strength of that positive association is comparable to other established ways to combat dementia – reduced blood pressure, cognitively engaging hobbies, or physical exercise.

Neuroscientists at Baylor University and the University of Texas at Austin were able to conduct the study now that the first generation engaged with digital technologies has reached the age where risks of dementia emerge. They performed a meta-analysis drawing on 57 different studies and data from more than 400,000 participants over the age of 50.

They tested two hypotheses: first, the digital dementia hypothesis, which predicts that a lifetime of technology exposure worsens cognitive abilities.

An alternative hypothesis is that such exposures lead to technological reserve, wherein digital technologies promote behaviors that preserve cognition.

The results indeed contradict assumptions that long-term technology use might lead to cognitive decline in old age.

“There was no credible evidence from the longitudinal studies, or the meta-analysis as a whole, for widespread digital ‘brain drain’ or ‘digital dementia’ as a result of general, natural uses of digital technology,” coauthors Jared Benge and Michael Scullin said.

Video calls, messages, and emails – tools independent from the all-powerful algorithms – help seniors stay connected with their loved ones.

Interestingly, the three studies that focused on the use of social media showed more mixed results for cognitive measures.

That’s probably because increased use of social media (which often resembles a hellscape) reduces face-to-face social interaction, and in-person socializing is believed to protect the aging brain against dementia.

However, not all technology is social media. Video calls, messages, and emails – tools independent from the all-powerful algorithms – also help seniors stay connected with their loved ones.

It all sounds very nice indeed, but the study authors leave an important caveat saying: “It is unknown whether the current findings will hold in future decades for people who were initially exposed to digital technologies during childhood or as the types of general digital technology exposure change.”