Using digital technology reduces the risk of brain drop by 42%

iPad? More like aspreses.

A new study found that older adults who regularly knock, move and browse their way through smartphones, computers and other digital devices are less likely to suffer from cognitive damage.

Research casts doubt on the so -called “digital madness hypothesis”, which suggests that a long time on the screen in our daily lives can speed up mental decline as we grow old.

The findings come at a time when American elderly are more locked than ever.

In a 2024 study, the Pew Research Center found that a 90% of US adults over the age of 65 are online.

But it is not just about the web browse. AARP 2025 technology trends report shows that 91% of older adults own a smartphone, 78% have a smart TV and 62% use tablets.

For meta-analysis, researchers sat through 57 studies, including more than 400,000 seniors from around the world, to investigate the effects of technology on the brain.

Participants, on average about 69, had received either cognitive tests or were diagnosed with mild cognitive or dementia damage.

Researchers found that regular use of digital equipment and the Internet was associated with a lower 42% risk of cognitive damage compared to those who used technology less frequently.

“For the first generation to be exposed to digital means, their use is associated with better cognitive functioning,” The Guardian told Dr. Jared Benge, a clinical neuropsychologist at the UT Health Austin’s comprehensive memory center.

“This is a more hopeful message than it can expect concerns about brain decay, brain drainage and digital madness,” he continued.

But don’t throw those screen time limits yet.

“Our findings are not a blanket approval of the mindless movement,” Bengge CNN told. “They are instead of a hint that the generation that gave us the Internet has found ways to get some positive net benefits from these tools in the brain.”

This idea can support the “cognitive reserve theory”, which suggests that engaging with technology can actually provide cognitive benefits.

However, more research is needed to fully understand the connection. For example, scientists are still not sure if the use of technology itself helps prevent mental fall, or if people with best cognitive abilities are simply more prone to using digital equipment.

There were also some gaps in research. For one, the study does not specify how long the elderly spend using their equipment.

Experts who are not involved in the analysis told CNN that this raises questions if there is a harmful threshold when it comes to screen time.

Moreover, the study does not research how the elderly actually use technology, which can affect the way it affects their cognitive health.

“Using digital equipment in the way we use television – passive and sedentary, both physically and mentally – is unlikely to be useful,” said Dr. Michael Sculli, a cognitive neuroscientist at Baylor University in Texas, for The Guardian.

“But our computers and smartphones can also be mental stimulants.

The study also focuses on the first generation to engage with digital tools, but does not fully address how future generations – which have grown with technology – will be affected.

“When you think about the type of technology that this group would have interacted earlier in their lives is a time when you had to really work to use technology,” CNN told Dr. Christopher Anderson, a neurologist who was not involved in the study.

Their brains were also well formed, Benge added.

However, Anderson said the findings suggest that a balanced approach to activities is more useful.

“What this probably does more than anything else is to provide some assurance that there is no link between at least moderate use of technology and cognitive fall,” he said.