Social Media Prevents Elderly Health Decline
Tweet Your Medicine
How many of you have grandparents on social media? I know
that they exist out there, making odd comments or putting their Google searches
into status bars. No one needed to know granddad’s search history.
My grandparents and social media aren't the best of friends.
Though one of my grandparents is quite tech savvy and loves his Blackberry,
social media to him couldn't be more of a waste of time. Even if it rolled out
neat vodkas for him at the end of a day.
However, they could be ignoring some of the health benefits that
social media brings to older folks the University of Exeter found in a recent
study.
 |
| sciencedaily.com |
The issue of loneliness effecting issues of health is immensely
true. You would never assume that feeling isolated would lead to a decline in physical
and mental health but unfortunately the two are linked. Especially with the
elderly who live alone without family or partners. My great grandma is 102 years old now; she
lives alone and is aware of how lonely she is. She’s still very quick, witty
and incredibly stubborn. I expect her stubbornness is keeping her going! However,
her loneliness is greatly impacting her mental health causing her to confuse
times of the day and to suspect that people are stealing many tins of mackerel
from her. She doesn't eat mackerel.
As she is 102 now, I feel as though her chance to embrace
more technology is gone, but if there is an opportunity to prevent this loneliness
and the health issues it brings we should take full advantage of it.
Dr. Thomas Morton who led the study commented on health
issues and said: ‘Human beings are social animals, and it’s no surprise that we
tend to do better when we have the capacity to connect with others. But what
can be surprising is just how important social connections are to cognitive and
physical health. People who are socially isolated or who experience loneliness
are more vulnerable to disease and decline.’
One person who took part in the study spoke about the
benefits she felt it brought: ‘Having this training changes people's lives and
opens up their worlds, invigorates their minds and for lots of us gives us a
completely different way of recognising our worth as we age.’
Taking care of the elderly is something that we should all
take very seriously. If you’ve got a lonely family member you should do
whatever you can to make sure that they don’t feel such a way.
I think this study and the training offered to the elderly
is a very simple way to make sure that they don’t spend years alone with
deteriorating health.
 |
| listden.com |
Here’s a quote from one of the carers which I think is a
good way to end this article: ‘Seeing the smiles on my participant's faces when
they Skyped a family member in the UK or abroad was such a special moment.’
Tom has just graduated from University of East London in Creative and Professional Writing. He loves writing and is currently interning as a content writer hoping to go further. His other loves include Arnold Schwarzenegger films and his dog. Follow him @TomAtSMF
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Social Media Prevents Elderly Health Decline
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Reviewed by Unknown
on
Friday, December 26, 2014
Rating:
Unknown
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