Senior citizens’ use of computers and mobile phones might shave 10 years off their mental age

A new study, published in the journal Intelligence, found that the use of computers and mobile phones could partly explain why senior citizens today appears to be four to eight years younger, cognitively speaking, than a similar population less than a decade ago. The positive effect stands up even after controlling for factors such as education, gender, and health.

To arrive at this conclusion, Valeria Bordone of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and her colleagues used data collected by cohorts in England and Germany of those over the age of 50. Some 2,000 people were tested in 2006 and another 3,000 were tested in 2012. Bordone warns that currently her results shown only a correlation -- greater use of technology is associated with better mental abilities. Yet, she believes technology use could explain the correlation because it creates rewarding, complex challenges that help boost cognitive skills.