Recent studies conducted in the United States affirm that women over 50 who use the Internet are less likely to suffer from depression than those who do not use the network. Specifically, a tool as basic today as email can help these people, especially when they are in a situation of total or partial isolation, to combat both loneliness and depressive states of mind. The fact that the most pronounced effect is observed in those women who live alone suggests that it is the permanent connection with other people that eliminates the feeling of abandonment.
Overcome depression thanks to the internet
- The research followed more than 3,000 elderly participants over a period of six years and, after its conclusion, affirms that both the Internet and new communication technologies play an essential role in giving older women the possibility of communicating, of being in contact with their relatives through social networks and, above all, of not finding themselves alone . Cases of depression in these people are often combined with a clear inability to travel long distances and visit family or friends, so using email to exchange photos of their children or grandchildren greatly favors communication skills.
- Specifically, researchers from the University of Michigan -the site where the aforementioned study was carried out- link the use of the Internet in older women with a 33 percent reduction in the chances of suffering from depression. A statement that comes to partially contradict a growing current of theories that situate social networks as vehicles of strong psychological disorders, especially among the younger population.
- Older women, given the case in which they are suffering from a disease as harsh as depression, are more motivated when it comes to keeping their social networks up to date. This fact suggests that the Internet can be potentially beneficial for both the physical and psychological health of the people who use it, essentially improving the social life of those who find themselves in a situation of abandonment or social isolation.