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Maybe, for older people who are not literate, their phones are just for making calls. But the proliferation of smartphones and internet access has created new avenues for entertainment for the literate. Smartphones, in fact, have taken over from televisions and radios. Its short video platforms and games easily fill the gap of boredom....CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>
“He was an elderly man on a visit to the clinic. While waiting to be seen by the doctor, he got engrossed in his phone. When he was called by the nurse, he didn’t hear,” a medical doctor recounted his experience.
Mr Henry Adetifa is a retired civil servant. After his day’s activity and unable to sleep at night, he turns to reading posts in the different WhatsApp groups he joined. Occasionally, he plays different games on his phone while listening to music.
No doubt, if a survey of older individuals is done, quite a large number among the literate rely on the internet for hobbies, social interactions, and information.
Prof. Bade Omololu, an orthopaedic surgeon, said in years past, the elderly people wouldn’t be seen getting busy on their phones or becoming addicted to their phones because they always had their children, grandchildren and other relations around to play with.
“I see some elderly people here in the hospital; by the time they say to call the patient in, he’s already watching a film. He’s forgotten himself. So, they don’t have a choice but to go on social media. And we know what social media preaches now. It’s not healthy for anybody,” he said.
Prof. Omololu declared that the migration of many people had further worsened the plight of many elderly people in Nigeria.
“As things are happening now, the only way you see your grandchildren is through WhatsApp and videos. Diseases not seen before are now being seen with the elderly. That is why you now see older men marrying or impregnating their house help because there’s nobody home. So sooner or later, we’re going to have more problems with the elderly. It’s getting worse at the moment.”
Mrs Modupe Awosemusi, a social worker and the director of the Oyo State’s Mediation Centre of the Ministry of Justice, said a lot of our elderly, as a result of isolation, face a lot of crises, including mental problems like schizophrenia, insomnia and delusion.
“They are hallucinating as a result of isolation, which has negatively affected their mental health. You know, the more they age, the less functional and unproductive they become. And over time, they become more dependent on people.
“When you don’t have someone to talk to, you can imagine what goes through your mind at such moments. So, for them not to run into or to prevent a mental health breakdown, they resort to social media, especially those of who are educated.
“They also get tired of social media; that’s when you see some of them would have slept off, but still be holding their phone. Or some, the phone would have even dropped. Unfortunately, most news on social media is negative news. So, it also affects their mental health because what they grew up knowing the society to be has changed from what they read every time.”
Mrs Awosemusi said in many developed countries, elderly persons are always very active; they have recreation, and even if they stay in homes, they are engaged.
“I am also of the school of thought that once you retire, society should engage you. That is why you see all these retired civil servants get old so easily, as they are no longer engaged. So, within one year, you will see the difference. Some of them get sick. That is because they are no longer active.”
Globally, older adults are facing both opportunities and challenges as a result of the quick adoption of digital technologies. Alongside it comes digital addiction, which is typified by compulsive and excessive usage of electronic devices.
Undoubtedly, younger generations are not the only ones who suffer from digital addiction, which is typified by compulsive and excessive usage of digital devices. Older folks’ social isolation and the ease and accessibility of digital platforms have increased their vulnerability to digital addiction.
Digital addiction is characterised not solely by the quantity of screen time but by the degree to which device use interferes with daily activities, responsibilities, and overall well-being. Intense internet use, the need for more time online, the inability to control it, the anger and the tension can be some of its symptoms.
The rapid integration of digital technologies into the lives of older adults has brought about both opportunities and challenges. The accessibility of digital platforms, with their engaging content and ease of use, often leads to prolonged screen time and addictive behaviours.
Recent studies indicate a growing trend of digital addiction among individuals over the age of 60. For instance, a study that examined the use of social media in six consenting members of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), Ibadan branch, found that the desire to use social media among the older adults is embedded in their social, personal, and cognitive context.
In the report by Oluwagbemiga Oyinlola, documented in the journal Activities, Adaptation & Ageing, all the older adults acknowledged having an exciting experience using social media to maintain social connectedness and barriers associated with privacy, poor access to the internet, illiteracy, and frustration.
In addition to improving their social life and decreasing feelings of loneliness by keeping people in touch with friends and family, social media was a useful instrument for participation and communication, which had a beneficial effect on their general well-being.
Globally, the experience of older people regarding social connectedness and reducing feelings of isolation may not be different. For instance, in Southwest China communities, the possibility of elderly residents becoming addicted to the use of their phones was traced to multiple and complex internal and external factors.
The internet has become the primary means of pursuing personal hobbies and interests, family factors such as household Wi-Fi raising the risk of prolonged indoor internet use, the abundance of online content that leads to endless viewing/browsing behaviours, and socio-environmental factors such as the widespread daily internet use that fosters offline intolerance, according to a study published in BMC Public Health.
Younger generations are not the only ones who suffer from digital addiction, which is typified by compulsive and excessive usage of digital technology. The vulnerability of older persons to this problem is growing. Digital addiction among people over 60 has increased, according to a poll conducted by AddictionResource.net that had 2,000 respondents in Wales, ages 59 to 77, and covered a variety of topics related to their digital habits.
Its key findings were that 50% of respondents reported spending more than 3 hours daily on their smartphones, with 20% exceeding 5 hours. Also, 40% of participants experienced anxiety or discomfort when separated from their digital devices, indicating a significant emotional reliance.
Thirty percent of the respondents regularly used digital devices during meals, indicating habitual usage behaviours, and half of the respondents acknowledged checking their smartphones within an hour of waking up each day. The difficulties in changing digital habits are highlighted by the fact that 30% of respondents tried unsuccessfully to cut back on their screen time, while 50% had not tried.
More than half of the world’s population now uses the internet, with continued growth annually across both high-income and increasingly low- and middle-income countries. Specifically, smartphone use has increased dramatically.
Unquestionably, there have been health concerns expressed over the possible harm that excessive technology use may do to the mental health of the general public as well as to those whose social and medical conditions make them particularly vulnerable.
Professor Bade Omololu, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Bamby Hospital, Akobo, Ibadan, in a reaction, said just like everybody nowadays is turning to a phone, older people are also turning to their phones because they are alone. In the past, they had extended family members around to support them.
He stated that establishing centres or places for recreation, where they can visit, will reduce their loneliness and ensure they are active.
“By the time they go back home, they will just go and sleep. So, we need to have centres like that to help elders to cope instead of turning to phones,” he added.
Dr Abdulmalik declared that older persons were copying young persons and becoming engrossed in their phones, watching movies and skits, and playing games on different social platforms.
However, he stated that it can cause individuals to distance themselves from real-life social connections, since they might assume they are in contact with someone they haven’t seen in a year after chatting with a group in which someone has left a comment.
While this may be beneficial to some degree, he said it is also harmful when it’s excessive because they may become very anxious, depressed and develop poor self-esteem as well as sleep poorly.
“So, we are losing the physical touch of visiting people, talking to people, hearing their voices and interacting. We’re mainly just going through chat. You find someone who has 5,000 friends online. In real life, he may be very lonely and have nobody who will know if he has died at home for days,” he added.
He stated that there is the need to learn to restrict screen time for all ages because internet addiction can become a problem for older persons that use it as a substitute for loneliness, either because they are widowed, their spouse is busy or the children have grown and are out of the house to keep themselves preoccupied.
According to Dr Jubril Abdulmalik of the Asido Foundation, “So when your device takes such control over you and you are no longer in control, then there is a problem, and it can negatively impact your emotional well-being, causing stress, anxiety, depression as well as addiction.”
Mrs Olufunmilayo Beyioku, a 65-year-old grandmother and the proprietor of a school, claimed that she had noticed many elderly people were busy on their phones to stay active.
She declared that oftentimes, by the time she has the time to check out what was posted on some platforms she has on her phone, the posts are so many that she ends up deleting them.
“Also, there are occasions I see some elderly, retired personnel every day on the platform, just posting one thing or the other. At times, I just wonder, how do they have the time?” Mrs Beyioku added.
Mrs Beyioku suggested that elderly persons should find a way to begin to work or become engaged in their communities.
“And come to think of it, that habit is a money syphon. Before you call Jack Robinson, they are using their data; they are spending their money. They are not conscious of it; they feel they are enjoying themselves.
“And at times, they can come across sites with scary content that will even scare them or scary sites. And if they come to such sites at their age, it’s not beneficial to them. It can even affect their health and many other things in their lives.”
Mrs Moromoke Oyedokun, a school principal in Ibadan, said rather than finding solace in surfing the internet, they can form themselves into groups to share past experiences, relate with others, pray together and organise activities to lighten up their moods.
“And by doing so, they will be happy with themselves. Their brain will be functioning. Mind you, when they are busy surfing on the internet, it also allows them to dwell on things in their past that they probably would want to forget,” she added.
Overuse of digital gadgets can exacerbate mental health problems by causing a sense of loneliness and alienation from in-person social connections.
Cognitive effects, including memory loss and reduced attention span, might result from digital addiction. Continuous exposure to digital stimuli may impair one’s capacity for concentration and efficient information processing.
To address the growing issue of digital addiction among older adults, a comprehensive approach is necessary. This approach should involve individual, family, peer, and community-level strategies.
Individual-level strategies focus on empowering older adults to manage their digital use effectively. Experts recommend that adults limit recreational screen time to less than two hours per day, excluding work-related usage. Exceeding this amount may increase the risk of developing symptoms associated with digital addiction.
Involvement and dedication from family members can be very important in reducing digital addiction. One way to lessen the dependence on digital gadgets for social connection is to support family members emotionally and encourage them to participate in activities together.
Peer support groups and community initiatives can provide older adults with opportunities to share experiences and strategies for managing digital use, while community programmes and initiatives that encourage offline activities and social interactions can help reduce the reliance on digital devices.
It’s important to note that digital addiction is characterised not solely by the quantity of screen time but by the degree to which device use interferes with daily activities, responsibilities, and overall well-being.
It is feasible to reduce the risks of digital addiction and encourage older persons to engage in digital activities in a healthy way by raising awareness, supporting offline activities, and creating supportive surroundings…CONTINUE READING>>
