Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Smartphone Use, Digital Addiction and Physical and Mental Health in Community-dwelling Older Adults: a Population-based Survey

  • Mobile & Wireless Health
  • Published:
Journal of Medical Systems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study aims to assess mobile technology use (cell phones and smartphones), level of digital addiction, and the association of these factors with physical, mental and social health and quality of life (QOL) in community-dwelling older adults. A population-based study of a city with a low-income population in Brazil was carried out. Sociodemographics, cognition(MMSE), mental health(DASS-21), QOL(WHOQOL-bref), sleep quality(Pittsburgh Index), instrumental activities of daily living(Lawton), loneliness(UCLA), digital addiction(Internet Addiction Test) and cell phone/smartphone use were investigated. A total of 668 older adults (93.6% of total) were included; 175(26.2%) owned cell phones, 172(25.7%) smartphones and 321(48.1%) no mobile device. Smartphones owners were predominantly younger, white, had higher income, MMSE scores and social support, and were less dependent. However, no group differences were observed for depression, anxiety or stress symptoms, QOL, sleep disturbances or loneliness. Among 172 smartphone users, Structural Equation Models revealed that the degree of digital addiction was correlated with better physical and environmental conditions, in detriment of a poorer sleep quality. Hours of use were not correlated with health outcomes, whereas greater importance of the smartphone in life correlated with less depressive symptoms and lower loneliness. Different from previous studies in adults or adolescents, older adults who were smartphones users had similar health outcomes than those without Internet access. These findings serve to further our understanding on technology use in this age group.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Xavier AJ, d'Orsi E, Wardle J, et al. Internet use and cancer-preventive behaviors in older adults: findings from a longitudinal cohort study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2013 Nov;22(11):2066-74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Paiva SB, Del-Masso MCS. Information technology as a technical resource for the memories: memories of unati-marília in the virtual environment. Journal of Information Systems and Technology Management. 2013;10(2):377-388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Krug RRX, Xavier AJ, d'Orsi, E. Fatores associados à manutenção do uso da internet, estudo longitudinal EpiFloripa Idoso. Vol. 52. 2018.

  4. Xavier AJ, d'Orsi E, Wardle J, Demakakos P, Smith SG, von Wagner C. Internet use and cancer-preventive behaviors in older adults: Findings from a Longitudinal Cohort Study. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention. 2013;22(11):2066–2074.

  5. Barnes DE, Santos-Modesitt W, Poelke G, et al. The Mental Activity and eXercise (MAX) Trial: A randomized controlled trial to enhance cognitive function in older adults. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2019;173(9):797-804.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Cotten SR, Ford G, Ford S, Hale TM. Internet use and depression among retired older adults in the United States: A Longitudinal Analysis. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B. 2014;69(5):763–771.

  7. Rowe JW, Kahn RL. Successful aging 2.0: Conceptual expansions for the 21st Century. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. Vol. 70. United States2015. p. 593–6.

  8. Elhai JD, et al. Non-social features of smartphone use are most related to depression, anxiety and problematic smartphone use. Computers in Human Behavior; 2017. p. 75–82.

  9. Matar Boumosleh J, Jaalouk D. Depression, anxiety, and smartphone addiction in university students- A cross sectional study. PLOS ONE. 2017;12(8):e0182239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Loredo ESMP, de Souza Matos BD, da Silva Ezequiel O, et al. The Use of Smartphones in Different Phases of Medical School and its Relationship to Internet Addiction and Learning Approaches. J Med Syst. 2018 Apr 26;42(6):106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Ho RC, Zhang MW, Tsang TY, et al. The association between internet addiction and psychiatric co-morbidity: a meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry. Vol. 142014. p. 183.

  12. Cheng C, Li A. Internet addiction prevalence and quality of (real) life: A meta-analysis of 31 nations across seven world regions. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. Vol. 172014. p. 755–60.

  13. Xin M, Xing J, Pengfei W, et al. Online activities, prevalence of Internet addiction and risk factors related to family and school among adolescents in China. Addictive behaviors reports. 2018 Jun;7:14-18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Joseph J, Varghese A, Vr V, et al. Prevalence of internet addiction among college students in the Indian setting: a systematic review and meta-analysis. General Psychiatry. 2021;34(4):e100496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Abi-Jaoude E, Naylor KT, Pignatiello A. Smartphones, social media use and youth mental health. Cmaj. 2020;192(6):E136-E141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Guo N, Luk TT, Ho SY, et al. Problematic smartphone use and mental health in Chinese adults: A population-based study. International journal of environmental research and public health. 2020;17(3):844.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Sela A, Rozenboim N, Ben-Gal HC. Smartphone use behavior and quality of life: What is the role of awareness? PloS one. 2022;17(3):e0260637.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Li G, Jin C, Zhao B, et al. Smartphone use, technology affordance for healthcare and elders' life satisfaction [original research]. Frontiers in Public Health. 2022 2022-April-11;10.

  19. Liang X, Xiong F, Xie F. The effect of smartphones on the self-rated health levels of the elderly. BMC Public Health. 2022 2022/03/15;22(1):508.

  20. Minagawa Y, Saito Y. An analysis of the impact of cell phone use on depressive symptoms among Japanese elders. Gerontology. 2014;60(6):539-47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Bertolucci PHF. Brucki SMD, Campacci SR, Juliano Y. O Mini-Exame do Estado Mental em uma população geral: impacto da escolaridade. Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria. 1994;52:01–07.

  22. Castro-Costa É, Fuzikawa C, Uchoa E, et al. Norms for the mini-mental state examination: adjustment of the cut-off point in population-based studies (evidences from the Bambuí health aging study). Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria. 2008;66(3A):524-528.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Folstein MF, Folstein SE, McHugh PR. “Mini-mental state”: A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. Journal of Psychiatric Research. 1975 1975/11/01/;12(3):189–198.

  24. Conti MA, Jardim AP, Hearst N, Cordás TA, Tavares H, Abreu CN. Evaluation of semantic equivalence and internal consistency of a Portuguese version of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT). Archives of Clinical Psychiatry 2012;39(3):106-110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Vignola R, Tucci A. Adaptation and validation of the depression, anxiety and stress scale (DASS) to Brazilian Portuguese. Journal of affective disorders. 2013 10/28;155.

  26. Buysse DJ, Reynolds 3rd CF, Monk TH, Berman SR, Kupfer DJ. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: a new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Res. 1989 May;28(2):193-213. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1781(89)90047-4.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Bertolazi AN, Fagondes SC, Hoff LS, et al. Validation of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Sleep Med. 2010 Jan;12(1):70-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Fleck MP, Louzada S, Xavier M, et al. Aplicação da versão em português do instrumento abreviado de avaliação da qualidade de vida "WHOQOL-bref". Revista de Saúde Pública. 2000;34:178-183.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Pinheiro MdR, Ferreira JA. O questionário de suporte social: Adaptação e validação da versão portuguesa do Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ6). Psychologica. 2002;30:315–333.

  30. Mireku MO, Mueller W, Fleming C, et al. Total recall in the SCAMP cohort: Validation of self-reported mobile phone use in the smartphone era. Environmental research. 2018;161:1-8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. König R, Seifert A, Doh M. Internet use among older Europeans: an analysis based on SHARE data. Universal Access in the Information Society. 2018 2018/08/01;17(3):621–633.

  32. Recio-Rodríguez JI, Lugones-Sanchez C, Agudo-Conde C, et al. Combined use of smartphone and smartband technology in the improvement of lifestyles in the adult population over 65 years: study protocol for a randomized clinical trial (EVIDENT-Age study). BMC Geriatr. 2019;19:19.

  33. Sales MB, Amaral MA, Sene Junior IG, et al. Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação via Web: Preferências de usuários idosos [Artigos]. 2014 2014–12–15;17(3):59–77.

  34. Krug RR, Xavier AJ, d'Orsi E. Fatores associados à manutenção do uso da internet, estudo longitudinal EpiFloripa Idoso. Rev Saude Publica. 2018 Apr 9;52(1):37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Lincoln P, Fenton K, Alessi C, et al. The Blackfriars Consensus on brain health and dementia. The Lancet. 2014;383(9931):1805-1806.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Vorrink SNW, Antonietti AMGEF, Kort HSM, et al. Technology use by older adults in the Netherlands and its associations with demographics and health outcomes. Assistive Technology. 2017 2017/10/02;29(4):188–196.

  37. Halmdienst N, Radhuber M, Winter-Ebmer R. Attitudes of elderly Austrians towards new technologies: communication and entertainment versus health and support use. Eur J Ageing. 2019;16(4):513-523.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Morris ME, Adair B, Ozanne E, et al. Smart technologies to enhance social connectedness in older people who live at home. Australasian Journal on Ageing. 2014;33(3):142-152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Kekade S, Hseieh C-H, Islam MM, et al. The usefulness and actual use of wearable devices among the elderly population. Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine. 2018 2018/01/01/;153:137–159.

  40. Elliot AJ, Mooney CJ, Douthit KZ, et al. Predictors of older adults' technology use and its relationship to depressive symptoms and well-being. The journals of gerontology Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences. 2014;69(5):667-677.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Seifert A, Schelling HR. Seniors online: Attitudes toward the internet and coping with everyday life. journal of applied gerontology. 2016 2018/01/01;37(1):99–109.

  42. Archana R, Sharma MK, Keshav KJ, et al. Does mild internet use augment cognitive functions?: Preliminary evidence. J Family Med Prim Care. 2019;8(12):3876-3880.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Cotten SR, Ford G, Ford S, et al. Internet use and depression among retired older adults in the United States: a longitudinal analysis. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2014 Sep;69(5):763-71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Chopik WJ. The Benefits of Social Technology Use Among Older Adults Are Mediated by Reduced Loneliness. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2016 Sep;19(9):551-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Mohlman J, Basch CH. Health-related correlates of demonstrated smartphone expertise in community-dwelling older adults. Journal of Applied Gerontology. 2020:0733464820902304.

  46. Khalaila R, Vitman-Schorr A. Internet use, social networks, loneliness, and quality of life among adults aged 50 and older: mediating and moderating effects. Quality of Life Research. 2018 2018/02/01;27(2):479–489.

  47. Yoo C. Cohort effects associated with reduced sleep duration in adolescents. Sleep Medicine. 2020 2020/03/01/;67:184–190.

  48. Tan Y, Chen Y, Lu Y, et al. Exploring Associations between Problematic Internet Use, Depressive Symptoms and Sleep Disturbance among Southern Chinese Adolescents. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016;13(3):313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Kumar VA, Chandrasekaran V, Brahadeeswari H. Prevalence of smartphone addiction and its effects on sleep quality: A cross-sectional study among medical students. Ind Psychiatry J. 2019 Jan-Jun;28(1):82–85.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Geriatrics, School of Medicine, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil

    Fernanda Martins Bertocchi, Giancarlo Lucchetti & Alessandra Lamas Granero Lucchetti

  2. Division of Geriatrics, School of Medicine, University of Vassouras, Vassouras, Brazil

    Aparecida Carmem De Oliveira

Authors
  1. Fernanda Martins Bertocchi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Aparecida Carmem De Oliveira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Giancarlo Lucchetti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Alessandra Lamas Granero Lucchetti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Giancarlo Lucchetti.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, under permit no. 2.847.717.

Consent to participate

All participants who voluntarily agreed to participate signed a consent form.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no confict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Mobile & Wireless Health

Supplementary information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 742 KB)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bertocchi, F.M., De Oliveira, A.C., Lucchetti, G. et al. Smartphone Use, Digital Addiction and Physical and Mental Health in Community-dwelling Older Adults: a Population-based Survey. J Med Syst 46, 53 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-022-01839-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-022-01839-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation