Can Social Media Reduce Depression in Older Adults With Chronic Pain?

A study published in Journals of Gerontology, Series B considered how social media use affected the mental health of older adults with chronic pain, reports The Fix . The researchers followed 3,401 people 67 or older, all of whom lived in the community rather than in an assisted living or nursing home. Fifty-four percent of participants said they had experienced pain in the past month, and 15 percent of those who did not use social media showed signs of depression. This declined to 6 percent among people engaged with social media. "Using online social media to maintain contact with family members and friends is a good way to compensate for seniors who restrict their social activities due to pain," says the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor's Shannon Ang. "It is not going to replace seeing people in person, but it will help supplement their reduced activities. For us, this study is about preserving mental health." Still, only 17 percent of participants were using social media, and Ang thinks programs that teach seniors how to use computers and engage online could be beneficial. He wants future research to focus more on the connection between social media and mental health, studying the various platforms and patterns of use that are most closely associated with mental health benefits.