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Everyday Digital Tech Is Protecting Seniors' Brain Health, Study Says
- April 15, 2025
- Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
It’s a common notion that overuse of smartphones, tablets, laptops and other digital devices is rotting people’s minds.
But the opposite appears to be true – regular use of digital technology seems to protect the brain against decline and dementia, at least among those present at the dawn of the tech revolution.
Everyday use of digital devices appears to reduce seniors' risk of cognitive impairment by 58%, on par with the protection gained from lower blood pressure, exercise and brain games, according to findings published April 14 in the journal Nature Human Behavior.
These findings contradict concerns that the generation that swapped typewriters for personal computers would be subject to “digital dementia,” with a lifetime of technology use making brain decline more likely, researchers said.
“There was no credible evidence … for widespread digital ‘brain drain’ or ‘digital dementia’ as a result of general, natural uses of digital technology,” concludes the evidence review led by Jared Benge, a neuropsychologist at the University of Texas at Austin's Comprehensive Memory Center.
For the review, researchers pooled data from 57 prior studies involving more than 411,000 people. These folks had an average age of 69 when research began.
“The first generation who engaged with digital technologies has reached the age where risks of dementia emerge,” making them “digital pioneers,” researchers wrote.
Someone born in 1945 would have paid bills with a check or cash, used encyclopedias and library card catalogs to research information, relied on a paper fold-out map to navigate new areas, and waited days to exchange hand-written letters sent through the U.S. Post Office, researchers said.
“This same individual is now approaching their 80’s and lives in a world where shopping occurs on the internet with credit cards, new knowledge is acquired by typing a question into a search engine, prospective memory is supported by digital calendars with automatic reminders, navigation is facilitated by GPS devices that are installed in most cars or phones, and text- or video-based communications can occur instantaneously with people across the world,” researchers wrote.
Analysis of the pooled studies found that “greater use of everyday digital technologies was associated with reduced odds for cognitive decline,” with people who regularly used devices having a 58% lower risk of brain impairment or dementia, researchers found.
By comparison, lowering blood pressure can reduce dementia risk by 13%, regular physical activity by 35%, higher education by up to 47%, and brain games and other cognitively stimulating leisure activities by 31%, researchers wrote.
“Technology engagement was associated with reduced odds of cognitive decline in middle-aged and older adults,” the researchers concluded.
Further, this association between digital technology and brain health could not be explained by people’s background, wealth, health or other lifestyle factors, researchers added.
They pointed to three possible reasons why technology might be helping people’s brains age more gracefully.
First, digital devices might promote more active use of people’s thinking and problem-solving skills, and not just through online brain games and puzzles.
Folks who use devices must cope with evolving interfaces, troubleshoot hardware and software issues, and actively filter out distractions like pop-up ads — “additional layers of cognitive complexity” that constantly engage people’s brains without them even realizing it, researchers said.
Second, digital technology facilitates better social connectedness, which has been shown to protect against dementia. People can stay in close touch with others through e-mail, texts and video chats, and use the technology to more easily arrange get-togethers.
And third, devices might form a “digital scaffold” that helps prop people up even as their brains begin to experience age-related decline. Reminders to pay bills or take medications help folks keep up with daily demands, allowing them to remain independent longer.
However, researchers noted that “there is no simple answer to whether technology is ‘always good’ or ‘always bad’ for the aging brain.”
For example, people’s brain health might suffer if they turn into couch potatoes from too much screen time, and use of social media might expose seniors to misinformation, researchers said.
And these findings should only be applied to people present at the start of the digital revolution, researchers added.
“The current review focused on ‘digital pioneers’, that is, the group of middle-aged and older adults who were first exposed to computers, internet and smartphones during adulthood,” researchers wrote.
“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," they added.
More information
Johns Hopkins University has more about dementia prevention.
SOURCE: Nature Human Behavior, April 14, 2025
