I saw this study the other day, and since I still feel like I'm 18 years old, I didn't think twice about it.
Until I did.
I just turned 29, after all--not quite the spring chicken I once was. Also, I'm always looking for ways to prove that spending time on the computer is salubrious--not dissimilar to my affinity for studies that prove (then disprove and prove again) the health benefits of coffee and red wine.
At UCLA, researchers determined that the Internet is healthy for middle-aged and older people!
Healthy!
Apparently, time spent searching online leads to neural stimulation, which leads to better reasoning and decision-making. Searching requires people to temporarily store information and determine relevant information from a whole lot of it.
Which makes sense. When you're searching, you have to plow through endless piles of data in order to get the information you want, paying careful attention to avoid porn sites and lame advertisements.
A Google session is like a spinning class for the ol' noggin!
We're lookin' at stimulating and building brain function, potentially counteracting age-related psychological slow down.
It's like crossword puzzles or knitting or (my personal fav) Sodoku, only so much more 21st century.
Can't wait until the study on middle-aged Wii use comes out :)
In related news, did you know that older web users are called "silver surfers?"
that photo of the two playing Wii, that was my parents, 25 years ago, they were the first on the block to buy nintendo, and the night before christmas the neighbors and my parents stayed up till midnight setting it up and trying to figure out how to play mario bros, no doubt as they made mario and luigi jump, so did they as they hit the B button! i love it!
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