How elderly people who crossed the "digital divide" jumped out of "digital addiction"
How did the ancients grow old? Wang Wei, a poet in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem in his later years, "The pine wind blows the belt, and the moon shines on the mountain to play the qin." Reading books and enjoying the rain is also leisure.
Today, with the rapid popularization of the mobile Internet and smart devices, mobile phones play an increasingly important role in the lives of the elderly. Through a single screen, one can "listen to the pine, play the piano, read books, and enjoy the rain". However, after the elderly cross the "digital divide", the hidden worries of falling into "digital addiction" also follow, the most typical problem is various problems caused by excessive use of mobile phones. What are the health risks of "digital addiction"? How to help the elderly stay healthy online?
"Retire" on the phone
"Grandma Liu" (screen name), who lives in Hangzhou, is nearly 80 years old. From social chatting to online shopping, his proficiency in operating smartphones is no less than that of young people.
She spends more than 8 hours a day playing with her phone, and she mocks herself for "retiring" on her phone.
"The mobile phone has brought me happiness and self-confidence. By watching videos of many travel bloggers, I have made up for the regret of being unable to travel when I am too old." "Grandma Liu" said happily.
In addition to being happy, "Grandma Liu" also mentioned that usually when the child goes to work, he is left at home, and it is inevitable that he will be lonely and lonely.
"In the city, there are relatively few neighbors, and relatives and friends are all on WeChat, and they can only communicate through mobile phones."
The daughter of "Grandma Liu" recently felt a little helpless about her mother's addiction to mobile phones.
"Mother often reads short videos on the bed in the morning, and she doesn't get up after we go to work." She said that sometimes when she urged her mother to get up, the old man was not happy and said not to restrict her freedom.
According to the 49th "Statistical Report on Internet Development in China" released by the China Internet Network Information Center, as of December 2021, the number of elderly netizens aged 60 and above in my country reached 119 million, and the Internet penetration rate of this group was 43.2%. more than half.
At the same time, the "2020 Seniors' Internet Life Report" released by the media shows that more than 100,000 seniors are online for more than 10 hours a day, presenting an extremely lonely life, living on the mobile network almost 24/7.
It can be seen that the "digital divide" of the elderly coexists with the "digital addiction", and the sheer number of the latter is surprising.
In December 2021, the Institute of Gerontology of Renmin University of China conducted a survey on the use of short videos among middle-aged and elderly people, and selected 187 middle-aged and elderly people from 24 provinces.
"The results show that about 11% of the elderly have excessive use of short videos, and the proportion of their normal life is significantly increased due to the use of short videos for a long time." Vice President of Renmin University of China, Director of the Institute of Gerontology of Renmin University of China According to Du Peng, about 16% of the elderly often take up their rest time to watch short videos (such as staying up late), and about 15% of the elderly say that they often forget the time because of watching short videos, which seriously affects their daily life arrangements.
To explore the causes of the "digital addiction" of the elderly, many experts tried to explain from the perspectives of individuals, families, and society in combination with the characteristics of the elderly group.
"Scientific research shows that addictive behavior is related to the reward mechanism of the brain." Qu Shan, deputy chief physician of the Department of Medical Psychology, Peking University People's Hospital, said that the large amount of immediate pleasure feedback generated by the brain to the online world will continuously bring users back to the online world. , and even make some users indulge in behavior.
"Insufficient family support is also an important reason for being addicted to the Internet." Zuo Meiyun, a researcher at the National Development Institute of Renmin University of China and director of the Institute for Smart Elderly Care, believes that the lack of companionship, loneliness, and wanting to integrate into the lives of children are the reasons why many elderly people "touch" The original intention of "Internet", but the lack of guidance and care from family members, some elderly people began to indulge in the Internet until they could not extricate themselves.
"Some apps use big data algorithms and other technical means to continue to do what they like, and push similar content to the elderly to 'stick' them." Zhang Li, an assistant researcher at the China Population and Development Research Center, said that algorithms have caused some elderly people to fall into deep traps. "Information cocoon room" can not extricate themselves.
The health risks of 'digital addiction'
"My mother often has cervical spine pain, numb shoulders, stiff neck, blurred vision, and dry eyes this year. According to the doctor, these are all caused by playing with mobile phones for a long time." The daughter of "Grandma Liu" is very worried.
Tong Gang, Deputy Chief Physician of the Department of Orthopedics, Beijing Tongren Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, has the most direct observation on the health risks of "digital addiction".
"There is a 93-year-old man who likes to surf the Internet at home, watch news, funds, and stocks. I have performed femoral surgery on him before." Tong Gang said.
"At that time, the old man stayed in one position for too long while surfing the Internet, and his legs became numb before he knew it. Just when his family called for dinner, he fell when he got up and fractured his femur."
"Sedentary time is prone to cervical and lumbar degeneration, lower extremity blood flow stasis, local synovitis of the knee joint and other symptoms." Tong Gang added, from the perspective of orthopaedics, the time spent online by the elderly is controlled in the morning and afternoon. 1 hour is enough, any longer is not good for health.
In addition to orthopedic diseases caused by "digital addiction", eye diseases are also "hardest hit".
Eyes exposed to electronic screens for a long time are prone to visual fatigue and dry eye syndrome. If things go on like this, vision will also decline.
If you look at your phone in a poorly lit environment, the difference in brightness between the background light and the screen light can also cause eye damage.
Science has shown that long-term exposure to a large amount of blue light, especially looking at mobile phones in the dark, can cause damage to the visual cells in the macular area of the retina, and even cause macular degeneration.
Fundus macular disease, also known as "eye cancer", once irreversible, can eventually lead to blindness.
"At present, the elderly in my country have become a high-risk group of fundus macular disease, which is significantly related to the annual increase in the proportion of domestic elderly people who are addicted to the Internet." said Hu Gengdan, a professor and doctoral supervisor in the Department of Psychology of Tongji University.
In addition to the physical level, the hidden dangers of mental health caused by the "digital addiction" of the elderly should not be underestimated.
The elderly addicted to the Internet is more like a compensatory behavior, compensating for the loss and emptiness caused by the change of social roles, compensating for the lack of effective companionship for children after independence, compensating for death anxiety, depression, sadness, pain, etc. caused by aging and disease.
However, this kind of compensation cannot be an equivalent substitute for a fulfilling old age and the warmth of family. If you rely too much on the Internet, it will not only fail to alleviate the negative emotions of the elderly, but also bring some new psychological problems to them.
"For example, unwillingness to manage real life, laziness and decadence, poor lifestyle, and then a stronger sense of guilt, meaninglessness and loneliness, manifested as difficulties in social adjustment, decreased social function, lack of interpersonal support, as well as indifference, paranoia, Negative emotions such as disgust and depression." Hu Gengdan said that multiple studies have confirmed that there is a significant positive correlation between mobile phone addiction and depression.
"The elderly are addicted to the online world and self-isolate from the real world, which will lead to decreased social skills, self-lost, and more serious mental illnesses." Chen Bangding, director of the psychological intervention department of Changde Rehabilitation Hospital in Hunan Province, believes.
To cure Internet addiction in the elderly, the prescription is prescribed to the whole society
"At present, the elderly are really lonely and lonely. The community lacks a leisure and entertainment environment for the elderly, and the mother has to be accompanied by a mobile phone. So, how can she return to a healthy life?" Difficulties in the problem of "digital addiction" in the elderly.
The reporter's investigation found that there are many people who realize the problem, but few who put it into practice.
Chen Bangding observed during the consultation that many parents came to the hospital to ask how to help their adolescent children get rid of Internet addiction, but few adult children came to ask how to help their aging parents get out of "digital addiction".
"We hope that our sons and daughters can help their parents cope with Internet addiction scientifically, help the elderly get rid of Internet addiction, and live a better quality of life in old age."
"Ignorance is a killer of health, and unpreparedness is a hidden danger to life." Hu Gengdan said that popular science education on how to use the Internet scientifically for the elderly should be actively carried out to help them clarify the "double-edged sword effect" of the Internet, so as to arouse their health crisis awareness, Develop a reasonable habit of surfing the Internet, improve health literacy, and self-prevention of Internet addiction compliance.
Hu Gengdan believes that the elderly should correctly deal with their role changes and relieve various negative emotions.
Objectively speaking, when returning to the family from the workplace and the children leaving their side independently, the sense of low value and loss in the heart of the elderly is inevitable. This is a normal phenomenon of maladaptation caused by retirement, and there is no need to feel ashamed to face it or suppress it. Or deny these feelings.
"There are two levels to deal with the problem of Internet addiction among the elderly from the perspective of active aging." Du Peng said that at the level of practical intervention, we should avoid the traditional problem perspective and provide equipment, technology and environmental protection for the healthy use of the Internet for the elderly from the perspective of advantages. At the level of concept advocacy, avoid the one-size-fits-all form of "giving up food because of choking", actively improve the information literacy of the elderly, advocate the healthy use of the Internet by the elderly, and promote the construction of a digitally inclusive society for the elderly.
"How to cure the Internet addiction of the elderly? This prescription should not only be prescribed to the elderly, but also to the children of the elderly, to the society, and to our doctors themselves." Chen Bangding said that it is not easy for the elderly to be addicted to the Internet medical problem, but a complex social problem.
Chen Bangding believes that for the elderly, we must learn to use mobile phones reasonably, learn to surf the Internet, and more importantly, learn to "get off" the Internet, so as not to be kidnapped by the Internet; for children, we must give the elderly high-quality companionship, don't ignore, don't be left out in the cold ; For the society, in terms of urban infrastructure construction and spiritual civilization construction, we should pay more attention to the elderly, provide more venues for the elderly, and organize more activities that the elderly are willing to participate in, so as to enrich their lives and help them better. Integrate into society and stay away from "digital addiction".
"As a doctor engaged in psychological intervention, I feel that our medical services should not only focus on 'Internet addicted teenagers', but also on 'Internet addicted elderly'. For the youngest, give better medical assistance to the 'little' and the 'old' who need the most help, to help them get rid of Internet addiction and return to health." Chen Bangding added.
(Reporter Mrs. Xiao)