Cognitive, social, emotional, and subjective health benefits of computer use in adults: A 9-year longitudinal study from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS)

Author

Andree HARTANTO, Singapore Management UniversityFollow
Jose C. YONG, National University of Singapore
Wei Xing (ZHUO Weixing) TOH, Singapore Management UniversityFollow
Sean Teck Hao LEE, Singapore Management UniversityFollow
Yue Qi Germaine TNG, Singapore Management UniversityFollow
William TOV, Singapore Management UniversityFollow

Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

3-2020

Abstract

Computer use has been proposed to carry a host of benefits for cognitive function and socioemotional well-beingin older adults. However, the literature on computer use remains equivocal as extant research suffers from mixedfindings as well as methodological limitations, such as overreliance on cross-sectional designs, small samplesizes, and use of narrow criterions. The current studies (NStudy 1 ¼ 3,294, NStudy 2 ¼ 2,683) sought to address theselimitations through the use of a large-scale, nationally representative, and longitudinal dataset. We found thatfrequency of computer use—over a period of approximately 9 years—longitudinally predicted positive changesin executive functioning, hedonic well-being, eudaimonic well-being, sense of control, optimism, self-esteem, andsocial relationships with family and friends. We also found that these cognitive and socioemotional benefits areassociated with greater computer use over time. In contrast to studies showing that computer use promotedsedentary lifestyles or adverse physical health outcomes, we instead found that computer use longitudinallypredicted better self-reported physical and mental health and reduced functional disabilities. The current findings attest to the promising benefits of computer use in promoting healthy cognitive and socioemotional functioning across midlife and old age.

Keywords

Executive functions, Hedonic well-being, Eudaimonic well-being, Physical health, Computer use

Discipline

Personality and Social Contexts | Social Psychology and Interaction

Research Areas

Psychology

Publication

Computers in Human Behavior

Volume

104

First Page

1

Last Page

11

ISSN

0747-5632

Identifier

10.1016/j.chb.2019.106179

Publisher

Elsevier

Citation

HARTANTO, Andree, YONG, Jose C., TOH, Wei Xing (ZHUO Weixing), LEE, Sean Teck Hao, TNG, Yue Qi Germaine, & TOV, William.(2020). Cognitive, social, emotional, and subjective health benefits of computer use in adults: A 9-year longitudinal study from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS). Computers in Human Behavior, 104, 1-11.

Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3035

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.106179