Since the establishment of the National Centre for Gaming Disorders in 2019, hundreds of teenagers (sometimes at the insistence of their parents) have visited the clinic.
However, this publicly funded clinic has recently begun treating a rather different group of patients. Its video game addiction specialist has so far treated 67 patients over the age of 40. The oldest is a 72-year-old woman addicted to games on her smartphone.
The impact of digital technology on young people has sparked near-moral panic in many countries. Social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt calls it the "anxious generation," whose childhoods are being stolen by smartphones and social media apps. Schools are increasingly requiring students to lock their phones in lockers or leave them at home. Parent groups like "Smartphone Free Childhood" are advocating for "abstinence." Australia will ban social media use for those under 16 in December.
However, another generation is experiencing a less-noticed explosion in screen time. As people in their 60s, who are now tech-savvy, retire, the amount of time they spend on smart devices is rising dramatically.
Ipsit Vahia, director of the Technology and Ageing Laboratory at McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, says some older adults are "increasingly living their lives through their phones, just like teenagers sometimes do." Those digital habits that changed them in their youth are now entering their old age.
For a long time, older people have been the leading viewers of television. Free time, mobility issues, and loneliness are the main reasons why they spend hours in front of the television: according to data from media regulator Ofcom, last year in the UK, people aged 75 and over watched more than five and a half hours of broadcast television a day, a full five hours more than the 16-24 age group.
Seniors are becoming a growing new market for mobile phones.
In the past, older adults have generally lagged behind in digital technology. Ten years ago, only one in five Americans over the age of 65 owned a smartphone. This is changing. The newly retired population (most of whom started using the internet in middle age) has become one of the most enthusiastic adopters of digital products.
According to a seven-country survey by research firm GWI, the proportion of people aged 65 and over who own tablets, smart TVs, e-readers, desktops, and laptops is higher than that of people under 25 (see Chart 1).
Tech companies have identified seniors as a growing market. Apple has created headphones that double as hearing aids, and watches that can perform electrocardiograms or call an ambulance if the wearer falls. (This has also contributed to the fact that 17% of people over 65 now own a smartwatch.)
The next generation of retirees appears to be more enthusiastic about digital products: nearly one in five people aged 55 to 64 own a game console. Retirement is starting to look less like playing golf and more like playing Grand Theft Auto.
With the proliferation of digital devices, screen time among older adults is increasing. Mobile phones and tablets don't appear to be replacing time spent on other media; rather, they seem to be adding to the total daily screen time. Over the past decade, time spent on television and radio has remained stable for those in their 50s and 60s, while time spent on social media, gaming, and audio streaming has increased (see Chart 2). Ofcom found that last year, Britons aged 65 and over spent more than three hours a day on smartphones, computers, and tablets. This is half the time spent by the 18-24 age group. However, when television and smart devices are combined, the total daily screen time for retirees has surpassed that of younger people.
In countries where this trend is most pronounced, people are beginning to worry about older smartphone users as much as they worry about teenagers. South Korea, one of the countries with the highest smartphone usage rates globally, had a 2022 study estimating that 15% of people aged 60-69 were at risk of smartphone addiction (based on whether they agreed with statements such as "every time I try to reduce my phone usage time, I fail"). Japanese research has found a link between screen time and decreased physical activity in older adults. A survey in China of people over 60 years old has linked it to poorer sleep quality.
Television and Tea
Establishing a causal relationship is difficult. Screens may induce older adults to become more sedentary—or, perhaps, because they are already sedentary, they spend more time on their phones. Pete Etchells, a psychology professor at Bath Spa University, points out that his own screen time surged recently due to several weeks in the hospital. "If you had taken my iPad away, I can tell you I would still have been just as immobile—and several orders of magnitude more uncomfortable," he says.
Older adults face online risks not encountered by other vulnerable groups. Unlike most teenagers, their phones and tablets are often linked to bank accounts. In-game "microtransactions"—mechanisms like so-called "loot boxes"—can empty their wallets. The same applies to scammers, who can contact and defraud victims within the same app. Dr. Vahia says that, especially in low- and middle-income countries, older adults have embraced WhatsApp for everything from communication to shopping—"as a result, WhatsApp has become a platform of choice for scammers."
Older adults also lack the "social safety nets" that regulate screen time for teenagers. During the day, teachers control teenagers' phone use; at night, parents nag. In contrast, older adults are often in control of their own lives; when they need help, there may be no one around to guide them in seeking assistance. "For older adults, sometimes there's no one around, or even if there is, no one really notices what they're doing on their computers," says Henrietta Bowden-Jones, operator of the UK gaming clinic.
Dr. Vahia says older adults are far less likely to complain to doctors about phone addiction than younger people. However, he notes that in some cases, screen time is the underlying cause of other, more apparent problems in older patients. His clinic has treated some older adults whose insomnia stemmed from fear of online scams; others experienced anxiety due to "doom-scrolling" on social media.
Sensational and misleading news may pose a particular threat to older adults, who are twice as likely to use news apps or websites as those under 25. A recent paper by Hunt Allcott and colleagues at Stanford University found that abandoning Facebook had a moderate improvement in mental health for users of all ages. This beneficial effect was more than twice as pronounced in the older half of their volunteer group compared to the younger half.
However, the surge in screen time among older adults is not entirely a bad thing. From church services using Zoom to online yoga classes and remote book clubs, the power of online connectivity is especially valuable for those who find it difficult to go out. Professor Bowden-Jones believes that being able to pursue hobbies online is "simply fantastic" for those forced to stay at home (because they feel unable to go out or drive anymore). Messaging apps bring families closer together. Playing games can help pass the time. Spotify and YouTube are nostalgia machines, bringing back childhood music and images.
Older adults who are addicted to screens also have some advantages over teenagers. While smartphones may interfere with young people's interpersonal relationships in real life, older adults have already established key social connections in their lives. "They have established behaviors, established relationships, and established ways of communicating. Smartphones often reinforce these," said Dr. Vasya.
Netflix and Seclusion
For those who eventually overuse it, the consequences may not be as severe as for teenagers. Unlike alcohol or gambling addiction (which carries the risk of losing health or a home), the main danger of screen addiction is simply the loss of a significant amount of time. For young people, this might mean failing exams or losing a job. But for retirees, they have plenty of free time.
There is even new evidence suggesting that digital devices may help older adults maintain mental health. Past research has suggested that excessive screen time can impair concentration and memory, leading to what some call "digital dementia."
However, a meta-analysis conducted in April of this year on more than 400,000 older adults found that those over 50 who frequently used digital devices had a lower rate of cognitive decline than those who did not. (However, the causal relationship remains uncertain: it may simply be that those with sharper minds use their devices more often than those experiencing cognitive decline.)
The enthusiasm of older adults for digital technology shows no signs of waning. The next frontier may be virtual reality (VR), which allows people to enjoy immersive tours from the comfort of their homes, traveling to any place or time they wish to visit. Dr. Vahia recently arranged a VR walk for an 85-year-old woman suffering from depression, starting from her childhood home and walking back to her elementary school. This rekindled her dormant memories and helped resolve decades-long conflicts. For better or worse, there is still significant room for growth in screen time among older adults.
