Are your parents stuck on their phones? Experts say it's time to talk about boomer phone use

Some parents' and grandparents' screen time has become a concern. But what do we know about phone use and the ageing brain?

Researchers are increasingly suggesting more attention needs to be paid to older adults' phone use. Source: SBS / Caroline Huang

Jenna (not her real name) says her mum's "chronic" dependence on screens is changing their family life.

Even when they're away on family holidays, Jenna, who is in her 40s, says her mum now prefers to stay inside scrolling on Facebook or watching TV series on her phone rather than spend time with grandchildren.

"I think it got even worse when Instagram Reels got integrated into the feed of Facebook," Jenna tells The Feed.

"Over the past Christmas, I noticed it was quite severe and I noticed she didn't want to go anywhere or do anything with us. Whereas my father would come with me and the kids to do anything, my mother would just want to sit at home on her device."

Jenna says trying to pry her mother off her devices is "on par with what it takes to get a teenager off the phone".

Most research and policy regarding phone overuse and social media have focused on the cognitive and mental health effects on young people.

In December, Australia's world-first social media ban for children under 16 came into effect.

However, researchers are increasingly suggesting more attention needs to be paid to older people's phone use — and when it might become problematic.

Older people stuck on their phones

There is international evidence that older adults' phone use is increasing. One recent YouGov report found a around a fifth of Americans over 65 now spend five to six hours looking at screens per day — a figure comparable to other age groups.

However, the same survey also found a higher proportion of other generations spend more time on their screens — including 23 per cent of 18 to 29-year-olds who spend nine to 12 hours a day looking at them.

Source: SBS

In Australia, relevant research is limited, with the last nationwide study inspecting screen time among different age groups published by the Australia Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) in 2021.

That research found Australians over 65 were starting to engage in more online activities after the COVID-19 pandemic, as it drew more older people online looking for communication and entertainment.

One older Australian told National Senior Australia in a 2022 report that learning to use Zoom and FaceTime during the pandemic "made a huge difference in relieving the sense of isolation that the COVID lockdown has caused".

Another reported: "I also use Twitter a lot, for company as much as anything."

However, the internet is ever evolving, and Jocelyn Brewer — a psychologist and founder of Digital Nutrition, a course that teaches Australians to develop healthier habits with their devices — notes the landscape has changed markedly since 2021.

"I think what's happened in that time is not only the uptake of internet at home — and smartphones has increased — but in the last few years we've also had the introduction of our friend — or foe — generative AI and large language models, which have flooded the internet with what we'd call AI slop," she tells The Feed.

Mark Williams, a professor of cognitive neuroscience from Macquarie University, tells The Feed that while the data is limited, he is increasingly hearing anecdotal evidence that older generations are becoming dependent on their devices in concerning ways.

"I think it's probably an issue for the elderly because [phones] are very addictive," he says.

"I know quite a few people who are in their 70s or 80s who are on their devices quite a lot and they enjoy looking at social media and all the rest of it, so I think it's something that we should be starting to look at."

Jenna believes the problem is "more common than people think".

She hears the same complaints from friends and worries that for some people nearing or in retirement, "using their device is what they want to do with their day, and there comes a point where they don't want to do anything else".

But is heavy phone use later in life really a problem?

Susceptibility to scams

There are issues that disproportionately affect older people online. For example, there are clear generational divides in susceptibility to scams.

Australians aged 65 and older reported over $84 million lost to scams in 2025, while people aged 25 to 34 lost $27.7 million, according to data from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) ScamWatch.

The ACCC has previously reported that many older people have reported significant losses to scams that started with contact on social media.

Brewer says older people are less likely to pick up on misinformation and disinformation, as well as AI-generated material, compared to digital natives.

"[Their] information literacy is far lower than kids who can spot AI a mile off."

When it comes to fake news headlines, some studies have shown older people are better than other age groups at recognising fake headlines at first glance, but research suggests they are more susceptible to absorbing fake information over repeated exposure.

A recent study conducted by Australian aged care provider The CareSide also found the ability to detect generated AI content declines significantly across age groups. People aged 18 to 29 years old showed an average score of 79.8 per cent in a quiz, while people aged 65 and over scored an average of 65.5 per cent.

Mary (not her real name) says her dad has started to spend a lot of time scrolling through Facebook and short-form videos as he approaches retirement and often sends her Reels in the early hours of the morning. She worries he "lacks the nuance" needed to navigate social media and is unable to spot fake content.

She finds it distressing to see her dad respond to things that clearly aren't real.

"I saw a post of a spam account of someone being like, 'I'm seeking a relationship with someone for financial purposes' or something silly like that and I saw that he'd commented on it and was like, 'You shouldn't be seeking a relationship, what you should be doing is working on yourself'," she says.

There can also be more sinister outcomes.

Brewer says the limited capacity of many older people to spot misinformation and disinformation can lead them into "conspiracy theories, much deeper and narrower rabbit holes and echo chambers".

Lydia (not her real name) says she has witnessed firsthand how her grandmother was pulled into alt-right conspiracies regarding the trans community after being introduced to YouTube by Lydia's family member.

"She went from random cat videos and other typical internet things to somehow finding these obscure podcasts," Lydia says.

Lydia says the podcasts espouse conspiracies about gender-affirming surgery, although she doubts her grandmother has "ever encountered a trans person in real life".

"She's been conservative for a really long time but spent so much time online since COVID that she's become politically awry and just hyper-conservative in a way I don't even understand."

Is 'digital dementia' a thing?

There are also concerns about the physical and cognitive effects of phone overuse among older people.

Mark Williams, a professor of cognitive neuroscience, believes that older people becoming "addicted to devices" could increase the rate of Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders.

"We know your brain is a 'use-it-or-lose-it' paradigm, and we know you're more likely to get Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases later in life if you're not using your brain," Williams says.

However, claims of 'digital dementia' — the idea that overusing digital devices weakens overall cognitive abilities, including faculties like memory — in older people are controversial in scientific literature.

One meta-analysis from Baylor University in Texas, published last year, appeared to challenge this notion entirely, finding that lifetime use of digital technology is associated with a lower risk of cognitive impairment. However, no causal link was established.

Another review of screen time across computers, television and phones published last year by Pennsylvania State University found active screen use — such as web browsing or cognitive games — among adults 40 and older is associated with positive cognitive outcomes in memory, executive function and attention. But passive screen use has been linked to poorer verbal memory and declines in cognition.

Williams also says any reduction in social interactions created by phone dependency could be harmful for older people.

"We need to be really careful that [older people] aren't removing that drive to socialise because of the fact that they're on their phone or because of the fact that they're on devices — because it's really, really important for us."

Maintaining social contact and independence

However, some researchers are also looking to highlight the potential benefits of older people becoming more technologically savvy.

Nikki-Anne Wilson from the Australian Ageing Futures Institute at the University of New South Wales tells The Feed phone use can be a way for older Australians to remain in contact with family and friends as they lose mobility.

Lily, 85, tells The Feed she has come to rely on using her smartphone for staying socially connected.

She frequently uses WhatsApp on her phone and iPad, although she says she isn't "glued" to her phone and tends to use it only in the mornings and evenings.

"I really use it more for connecting with friends from long, long ago. Friends I've known since I was 10 years old even and friends I know so well overseas."

Wilson says older people tend to use technology to "socially connect or play brain training games" and not so much the "mindless scrolling that we have all been guilty of as younger people using social media".

Older people can also harness technology to use tools like reminders to take medication to maintain independence for longer.

However, Wilson says concrete evidence around how phone use affects older people is still emerging.

"Our brains change over time and it's really going to be important to keep up with how social media and technology impact brains as we age — and that's an area of research we're still learning about."