A new study by Italian psychogeriatrics shows that seniors who frequently participate in social networking, video conferencing and web surfing can keep their brains more active and flexible than seniors who don’t. The scientists say these types of online activities can improve a senior’s cognitive performance because they work on memory, attention span and perception.
To conduct the study, researchers provided seniors in two Italian care facilities with laptops and wireless Internet. The seniors underwent training sessions to learn how to use the Internet, and how to use and setup accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Skype.
They were then set loose. The seniors who embraced these new technologies were able to stay alert longer and remember more than seniors who didn’t. The study’s lead psychogeriatric professional also noted that these seniors enjoyed keeping in touch with friends and younger members of their families through these media.