Social needs of older adults can't be met by technology alone, says new COVID-19 research
A University of British Columbia researcher is warning of a looming loneliness crisis for seniors, and says that a “digital-only” future won’t be able to support an aging population in the long term.
UBC sociologist Dr. Yue Qian, a co-author of a new study published in Frontiers in Sociology, says that virtual interaction, like phone calls, video calls and texting during pandemic lockdowns were not helpful on their own as an alternative to face-to-face time for people over 60.
“Our findings demonstrate that face-to-face household contact is crucial to sustaining older adults’ mental wellbeing,” Qian said.
The pandemic severely curtailed face-to-face contact between households, particularly for older adults, due to their high risk of developing severe illness if infected by COVID-19.
“Our findings show that despite rapid digitization in the U.K. and elsewhere, virtual means of social interaction cannot replace in-person contact in supporting older people’s mental health,” says first author Dr. Yang Hu of Lancaster University.
“This has to do with a complex set of factors, such as digital access, device affordance, tech know-how and potential digital stress among the aging population.”
However, virtual contact in addition to face-to-face contact was found to have a positive impact.
Qian and Hu analysed results from the U.K.’s Economic and Social Research Council-funded Understanding Society COVID-19 Survey and the USA Health and Retirement Survey.
The data was collected from 5,148 people aged 60 and up in the U.K., and 1,391 people in the U.S. who were surveyed both before (2018–2019) and during (June 2020) the pandemic.
The results also show the limitations of technology in supporting seniors, Qian said.
“Policymakers and practitioners need to take measures to pre-empt and mitigate the potential unintended implications of household-centred pandemic responses for mental well-being,” Qian said.
“Beyond the context of the pandemic, the findings also indicate the need to enable strong inter-household ties to bolster public mental health in the long run.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Former Air Canada employees among suspects identified in gold heist at Pearson Airport: police
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year, Peel Regional Police said Wednesday.
MPs summon ArriveCan contractor to the House to be admonished in rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archaeological site in southwest France.
10 years in U.S. prison for Canadian man who stole millions with fake psychic fraud
A former Montreal resident has been sentenced to 10 years in a United States federal prison for a multi-decade fraud that manipulated more than one million Americans into sending money to fake psychics.
'Enormous sum of money': Actor Hugh Grant settles privacy lawsuit against tabloid
British actor Hugh Grant has settled a lawsuit against the publisher of Rupert Murdoch's tabloid newspaper, The Sun, over claims journalists used private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house, he said on Wednesday.
O.J. Simpson was chilling with a beer on a couch before Easter, lawyer says. 2 weeks later he was dead
O.J. Simpson's last robust discussion with his longtime lawyer was just before Easter, at the country club home Simpson leased southwest of the Las Vegas Strip. About a week later, on April 5, a doctor said Simpson was 'transitioning.'
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.