At 100, one would expect Anandavally Rajam to spend most part of her days resting. But come bedtime, Anandavally reaches for her mobile phone, and starts doom scrolling endlessly, clicking on all kinds of links indiscriminately, mostly on Facebook, till 5am. At times she switches to shopping apps, and buys “unnecessary stuff”, according to her anxious family.Similar is the case with Saraswathi*. The 74-year-old was always tech savvy, and used to play games on the phone often, but it became a problem when her children noticed that she was playing games online till 2am and waking up at 11am. “Every day, parcels would arrive at home, ordered by our mother. She was paying religious groups online for “divine gadgets”,” says her son, Sivaram.“While mobile addiction in the young is given a lot of attention, few acknowledge the same problem in the elderly, says psychiatrist Dr S Janani.But FOMO is present in the elderly, says clinical psychologist Poornima Rajan Misra. “People who were social and now lonely, or empty nesters, are most susceptible, because it becomes their only way to connect with people.”Connecting online can prove to be positive in a lot of cases but becomes a problem when the quality of life of the person is impaired or it causes a risk or stress for themselves or someone else, says Poornima.A 2026 study published in Springer Nature that assessed prevalence of internet addiction in retirees in Chennai found that one-third showed problematic internet use. “It highlights the need for targeted interventions to promote healthy digital engagement,” says Dr Bhuvanesh Aravindh, lead author of the study. “Most of the elderly did not realise they were addicted,” he says. More retired men were found to be addicted than women, who still had a range of activities at home post-retirement.Most interesting was the correlation between personality traits and addiction. “Those who were disciplined were less likely to be addicted and set time limits for browsing. We need to take cognizance of the quality of life of those above 60. Mobile addiction could accelerate neurological degeneration but more studies need to be done on that.”Retirement is one of the primary factors which involuntarily transition people from being busy to having a lot of time on their hands, says Dr Janani. “They feel like they’re not contributing anything to the family or society and may have become dependents over time, with medical issues. And if they haven’t or are unable to cultivate hobbies, the easiest go-to is social media. Conflict in family relationships is another factor.”If spending time on the phone is something they do apart from other activities, it’s fine, but if it’s their only go to, it isolates them even more, she says.In Anandavally’s case, she lives alone with care takers, and with nothing much to do all day, turned her attention fully to the phone a few years ago. This can in turn be a vicious cycle, and the number of hours spent in front of a screen pushes people towards mood issues, says Dr Janani.Most often, the patient is brought in by the family for symptoms such as moodiness, irritability and difficulties with sleep, says Poornima. The person would be up all night watching videos on WhatsApp or YouTube, and it might have affected sugar levels in some cases. “There would even have been a critical incident such as getting subjected to online scams, or extreme vulnerability towards WhatsApp and Facebook forwards, or hypochondria after following health related content online. The family would be frustrated but the elder would be dismissive.”Besides finding new hobbies, Poornima says elders need to plan for retirement which involves physical activity and connecting with people. “Senior living communities have been found to be successful in this aspect, as it is difficult for people living at home to find new connections. In such communities, they will be on their own but part of some group as well. Conscious ‘no phone days’ are also recommended. Physically active people with a social circle are least likely to get addicted to phones.”(*name changed)Signs of mobile addiction in seniors1. Compulsive checking of messages/news, often tied to loneliness or health anxiety (repeatedly googling symptoms, checking on family).2. Withdrawal from in-person social contact or hobbies they used to enjoy, replaced by scrolling.3. Sleep disruption from late-night use — worse for them given age-related sleep architecture changes.4.Physical strain; neck pain, worsening tremor or arthritis from prolonged holding/typing, eye strain.5. Increased vulnerability to scams and misinformation, which itself feeds anxiety and repeat-checking behaviour.6. Using the phone as the primary or only emotional support, especially in widowed or living-alone patients.7. Irritability or distress when separated from the phoneSocial media addiction in the elderly vs teensUnderlying driver | Teens’ use is largely driven by peer validation, FOMO. Elderly use is more often driven by loneliness, health vigilance, and filling unstructured time post-retirement.Content | Teens gravitate to social media/gaming. Elderly users skew toward news, WhatsApp/family groups, and health-related searches — the compulsion is anxiety-driven rather than reward-driven.Cognitive impact | In teens, concern centres on attention span and emotional regulation during a developing brain. In the elderly, it is on accelerating decline in an already vulnerable brain, and on physical comorbidities (falls, sedentary lifestyle)
