Comment by kube-system a day ago
The increase was greatest in the groups least likely to engage in that behavior.
The hypotheses in the article are much stronger. To me, the increasing use of mind altering drugs in geriatric care is an obvious contributor... so much so that these drugs list that risk on the label.
> the groups least likely to engage in that behavior.
Actually, the Elderly are even more hooked into technology and its distractions.
The Phone-Based Retirement Is Here - https://archive.ph/eieyI
The hypotheses in the article are much stronger. To me, the increasing use of mind altering drugs in geriatric care is an obvious contributor... so much so that these drugs list that risk on the label.
I would hope the article is better than the gut feeling of some random programmer commenting on hn before his standup.
The increase was greatest in the groups least likely to engage in that behavior.
I must point out that the elders in my life are the most tech addicted people I know. They barely know how to use it, but they never put it down. Which means they are constantly struggling to get their fix. I saw this behavior 25 years ago doing tech support for a dial-up ISP, and it has become way more common since. To the point that the senior citizen posting nonsense on facebook, and forwarding email chains is a common trope.
Again, I'm sure the article is doing better research than my personal experience, I was just surprised it wasn't mentioned.
Elderly people scroll facebook while sitting down, not while walking around... especially if they are of the physical condition where a fall at grade would kill them.
My mother fell and broke her shoulder a few years ago because she heard a ding on her ipad and was rushing back to check it. In 1999, it would have only been the telephone giving her alerts.
Last millennium there were vanishingly few phones that elderly people just had in their pocket ready at a moments notice. Wouldn't it have previously been more likely that people had to run across the house for the phone before pocketable phones, texting, and voicemail?
Anecdotally, several of my extended family are now on SSRIs because it helps alleviates their pain from rheumatoid arthritis. My mom in particular often complains about fainting; if I was taking similar high dosages of painkillers, SSRIs, and other drugs targeting the nervous system I would faint too.